Liverpool idol Mohamed Salah has revealed he built himself a pitch at his rented house in Italy during his time with Roma so he could practise his finishing after training. The Egypt international spent two seasons at the Stadio Olimpico before being snapped-up by the Reds in 2017.
Salah first joined Roma on loan from Chelsea in 2015 after being deemed surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge. And his deal was made permanent the following summer as the Blues cashed in on the ace.
The forward illustrated his prodigious talents in Italy as Roma narrowly fell short of landing the Serie A title in both his campaigns in the country. And he registered 34 goals and 22 assists in 83 appearances for the team.
Salah has become a blockbuster star since moving to Anfield and has got his hands on virtually every trophy available to him, including the Champions League, Premier League and Club World Cup. And the 31-year-old doesn’t understate the work he put in during his time in the Italian capital.
“Many people were saying about [me] that he couldn’t finish well, he couldn’t do that, he didn’t do that,” Salah told BT Sport ahead of Liverpool’s return to the Europa League. “And honestly in Rome I built a field for myself alone. I rent a house, I build a field. Goal and balls and cones and everything. I was training every day. Practise every day.
“When you have that goal and you have something to cover the goal but there are four sides open. I need to shoot in the corner here or corner there or corner there or corner there. So I was practising that every day.”
Salah has also paid tribute to his Roma mentor Luciano Spalletti, who has gone on to manage Inter Milan and Napoli and is now in charge of the Italy national team. “To be honest the manager helped me a lot to practise,” Salah added.
“Because I asked him a lot: ‘Boss I need to practise a lot.’ And from my first day here we were doing that a lot and in Rome also. Mr Spalletti, honestly, he doesn’t know how much I love him. But he’s always there for me. He said: ‘Mo, if you want something come.’ Then I will go to him every day, also after training. I go practise with him. Then I go home and practise in the evening.”
