Mohamed Salah Hekayet Batal (Mohamed Salah: The Story of a Hero), by: Emad Anwar, (Cairo: Arabi Publishing House), 2018.

Ahead of World Cup 2018 -- the most eagerly awaited football event, in which Egypt will participate for the first time since 1990 -- Al-Arabi Publishing House has released a book on Liverpool and Egypt national team star Mohamed Salah titled Mohamed Salah Hekayet Batal (Mohamed Salah: The Story of a Hero), authored by sports critic and writer Emad Anwar.

The book documents Salah's life from childhood, and his struggle to train under tough circumstances in a poor Egyptian village. The author then traces Salah's career from his start on the Arab Contractors team in Egypt to his rise as the star of one of Europe's most celebrated teams.

The author says in his foreword "Why does football love the poor, and why do they represent the majority of its stars? From Pele of Brazil and Maradona of Argentina -- the greatest players to touch the football in its history -- to Ronaldo and his nemesis Messi, and Egyptian star Salah, we have the stars known to everyone. The relation between them and football lies in the dirt and asphalt roads where they first practiced with their bare feet." 

Anwar, who is a journalist at Al-Ahram Institution's Al-Arabi Magazine, argues that Salah is an extraordinary player who has earned his stardom and the right to compete with world stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.