Since Hossam Hassan took over the coaching duties of the Egyptian national team along with his twin brother Ibrahim, messages have been directed towards Egypt's top star and one of the world's best players, Mohamed Salah.
It seems that the Hassan twins, initially seeking to change the stereotypical image of the Egyptian team after Salah's departure during the recent Africa Cup of Nations, started by threatening and warning that what happened before would not be repeated and that the team is bigger than any player. Since the incident only occurred with Salah, logic suggests that the words are directed at him directly, hinted at rather than outright stated.
Salah did not initiate congratulations to Hossam upon assuming the leadership of the Pharaohs, while he bid farewell to the former coach, Vitoria, with an emotional message. Furthermore, he refused to join the first national team camp under the leadership of "the Dean" and restricted his communication only with the Minister of Youth and Sports, who became the only means connecting Salah with the team.
According to announcements, Salah is still undergoing the final stages of rehabilitation from injury and is gradually returning to play normally with his club, Liverpool. Therefore, he preferred to focus on completing the rehabilitation process away from the travel and camps atmosphere, while preparing to join the Egyptian team later.
Contrary to all that is said, the leadership displayed by the Hassan twins in the recent friendly tournament revealed issues indicating a poor relationship with Salah, especially in the match against Croatia, where Hossam Hassan substituted Salah with the substitute player Mustafa Shalaby during the game. The surprise was giving Shalaby Salah's number in the national team (10), which many interpreted as a clear message that Salah is no longer in the coach's plans, and his replacement is a player making his international debut.
Another message directed to Salah by Hossam Hassan in his statements after Egypt's loss to Croatia 2-4, where he emphasized that the performance would improve upon the return of the injured players, notably mentioning the goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy, Zamalek's Ahmed Zizo, Ahly's Imam Ashour, and Pyramids' Ramadan Sobhi, completely ignoring mentioning the captain of the team, Mohamed Salah, which was strange. Even if the matter was justified as a mere oversight or that Salah was no longer injured, a player of Salah's caliber and status cannot be excluded from any coach's plans in the world, and his future with the national team deserved discussion.
After Salah left the Pharaohs' camp in the recent Africa Cup of Nations, many critics sharpened their knives and rushed to criticize Liverpool's star, considering his actions as fleeing from the battle and leaving his teammates without a leader. Perhaps Hossam Hassan himself was among the first when he analyzed the tournament on one of the channels, saying that what happened was a mistake, and if it were Vitoria's place, he would not have allowed Salah to leave. However, the days that followed revealed the truth of Salah's injury, which kept him away from the fields for a long time before gradually returning with Liverpool. Nevertheless, Salah was not spared from the threats and warnings of the twins, despite his innocence of the charge of fleeing.
In my opinion, Salah will not return to the Egyptian team as long as it is under the leadership of the twins, and Hossam and Ibrahim will not be able to bear the burden of the absence of a star like Salah, especially after the unsatisfactory performance he showed in the friendly tournament and the humiliating loss on home soil against Croatia, who won by a narrow margin and through penalty shootouts against the Tunisian team, depleted of players from Raja due to their participation in the quarterfinals of the African Champions League. Any attempt to mend the rift between the two parties will not succeed, and the solution will inevitably be the departure of one of them to pave the way for the other to continue the journey of challenge to its end.