Chapter 196: The Pharaoh's Debut

Chapter 196: The Pharaoh's Debut

For a title-chasing Roma, the match against Udinese was crucial, almost like a six-pointer. A loss at Friuli Stadium would see them fall eight points behind the leaders, but a victory could potentially cut the gap to just two points. This was especially possible since Juventus also had a tough match against Inter Milan later that evening. Should Juventus fail to secure all three points at home, a win for Roma could see them leapfrog Juventus into second place.

Roma was determined to secure three points against Udinese, but Udinese was equally eager to win at home.

At this moment, Mohamed Salah, wearing the number 20 jersey, was standing on the sideline, waiting for a break in play. Guidolin decided to bring on Salah to replace Muriel. The Colombian forward had started the match alongside Di Natale but had performed poorly.

Guidolin was using a 4-4-2 formation, with Di Natale and Muriel as the strikers. Bruno, Kanté, Guilherme, and Widmer formed a diamond midfield. Salah was coming on for Muriel in a like-for-like substitution.

Guidolin stood next to Salah, with one arm around the Egyptian, giving him final instructions before he went on.

"Their number 13, right-back Maicon, is getting old and will soon face a fitness crisis," Guidolin said. "Do you know what to do?"

"Use my speed to exploit him," Salah replied.

"Exactly," Guidolin continued. "Your job isn't to dribble past him. I'll have Antonio feed you the ball. Your job is to use your speed to get behind him. Got it?"

"Got it!" Salah nodded. He knew his strengths were speed and explosiveness, with decent dribbling, though his shooting needed improvement. But if his job was simply to use his speed to get behind Maicon, Salah was confident.

Salah was well aware of Maicon. The Brazilian, once hailed as the world's best right-back, was nearly 35 years old and far from his peak. Facing a 35-year-old veteran, Salah was brimming with confidence.

Thinking of Maicon reminded Salah of that famous scene at the San Siro over four years ago. Maybe he could recreate that memorable moment achieved by the Welshman.

"Bruno and Antonio will also try to play through balls behind him," Guidolin continued, unaware of Salah's thoughts. "Your job is to run, use your speed, get the ball, and cause chaos in Roma's penalty area."

Salah didn't speak, only nodding vigorously. He was a bit nervous but also excited and eager.

The team needed goals, and the coach was putting him on at this critical moment. This was a show of trust.

Being subbed in when the team needed a goal, saving the day, and becoming a hero was a dream for many young players. Now, Salah hoped to make that dream a reality.

A stoppage finally occurred, and Udinese made the substitution.

Commentator Diletta Leotta said, "Udinese makes their first change, with 22-year-old Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah coming on for Muriel. Muriel's performance today clearly didn't satisfy Coach Guidolin."

"Salah started his career with Al Mokawloon in the Egyptian Premier League and transferred to Basel in March 2012. In two years, he played 79 matches, scoring 20 goals. He then moved to Chelsea during last winter's transfer window. However, his time at Chelsea was disappointing. In the second half of last season, he played 11 matches across all competitions, scoring just two goals. This season, he was completely sidelined by Mourinho, making only 107 minutes of appearances without any goals or assists, earning the label of a flop."

"Three days ago, Salah announced his transfer to Udinese, with Udinese trading their key defensive midfielder Allan Marques to Chelsea in exchange. This deal has been heavily criticized by the media, as the 24-year-old Brazilian had been outstanding for Udinese over the past two years, playing over 120 matches across all competitions and being a key player in their quadruple win in 2014."

"I don't think bringing on Salah at this critical moment, when a goal is desperately needed, is a good idea. Salah has hardly played any competitive matches recently, so his form is uncertain. Moreover, he has only been with Udinese for three days and lacks understanding with his teammates."

"If Coach Guidolin truly believes in the Egyptian, it might be better to give him a chance to find his feet in a less pressured situation, perhaps when the team is leading comfortably."

Salah sprinted onto the field and first approached his partner, team captain Di Natale, to say something, but the latter didn't seem to understand.

Born in Egypt, Salah initially only spoke Arabic. His two years in Basel allowed him to learn basic French, and his year at Chelsea helped him pick up some English, but he knew no Italian.

At this point, Guidolin called Bruno over to relay some instructions. Bruno then ran back onto the field to inform Di Natale of the coach's latest directives.

"This kid needs to learn Italian quickly," Guidolin remarked from the sidelines.

Salah's Arabic and French were decent, his English was poor, and his Italian was nonexistent, making communication with teammates and the coaching staff difficult. Guidolin could communicate with Salah in simple English, but it was a struggle.

Bruno, now fluent in Italian and proficient in English, had no problem communicating with both Salah and Di Natale.

The current dead ball situation was a throw-in for Roma in the attacking third.

Roma's left-back Holebas threw the ball to his teammate, left midfielder Kevin Strootman.

Strootman controlled the ball, performed a slick turn, and slipped past Cancelo with a deft touch.

"Strootman gets past Cancelo."

"Too aggressive!" Assistant coach Portoluzzi said worriedly from the sidelines.

Guidolin remained silent. Part of it was Cancelo's lack of experience, and one-on-one defending was never his strong suit.

Fortunately, Udinese still had the iron-clad Kanté in midfield.

Strootman passed the ball to De Rossi, who had just received it and turned, only to be met by the imposing figure of Kanté.

The French defensive midfielder tackled the ball cleanly, dispossessing De Rossi and causing him to stumble, thwarting any chance of an immediate recovery.

Guidolin nodded in approval. After a year and a half of honing his skills, Kanté's defensive abilities had become exceptional, and his experience had grown significantly!

This was one reason why Guidolin felt comfortable letting Allan go. With the increasingly impressive Kanté, along with the defensive potential in Widmer, Guilherme, Badu, and Pinzi, Udinese had ample defensive midfield options. Conversely, they lacked a reliable goal scorer up front besides Di Natale.

Guilherme intercepted the ball ahead of others and passed it to the advancing Cancelo.

Having been outplayed by Strootman earlier, the young left-back showed his attacking prowess by lifting his head, spotting his target, and delivering a long diagonal pass.

"Counterattack! This is Udinese's chance!"

The pass targeted Di Natale.

Roma's center-back Manolas challenged Di Natale, but the 23-year-old quickly realized he couldn't outmaneuver the 37-year-old veteran.

In the aerial duel, the experienced Di Natale anticipated the ball's trajectory better and out-jumped the Roma defender despite the latter's 14-year age advantage and nearly 10-centimeter height difference.

"Bruno!" Di Natale shouted.

This was a header flick-on from the Udinese captain!

Bruno surged forward, executing a first-time volleyed pass into the attacking third.

Suddenly, a black-and-white blur darted down Udinese's left flank. It was Salah sprinting forward.

Roma's other center-back Astori turned to chase the ball. He thought he had the advantage, being closer to the ball, but was stunned to see the young Egyptian rapidly closing the gap.

Astori, shocked, made no hesitation and slid in for a tackle.

"Salah! What speed! Astori slides in! He clears it back towards his keeper!" Diletta Leotta exclaimed. "Astori's experience shows. He knows he's being caught up—Oh my! The Egyptian! He's accelerating even more!"

Just when everyone thought Udinese's attack was over, assuming Roma's goalkeeper De Sanctis would clear the ball, Salah sped past the fallen Astori and continued to sprint, accelerating towards the ball.

(End of Chapter)