liverpool Mohamed Salah won African soccer Player of the Year,

liverpool Mohamed Salah won African soccer  Player of the Year, Mohamed Salah won African Player of the Year, a reward for success on all fronts in 2017 for the Egypt forward after he inspired his country to a long-awaited World Cup place and had a phenomenal start to his spell at Liverpool. Egypt forward Mohamed Salah was named African Footballer of the Year for 2017 on Thursday, finishing ahead of his Liverpool team mate Sadio Mane of Senegal and Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Salah, 25, polled 625 points from a voting panel made up of national team coaches and captains, plus a selection of officials and journalists, to win the award.Mane finished second on 507 with Aubameyang third on 311. Salah, 25, had a memorable year, first as part of the Egypt team that made the Africa Cup of Nations final in February. Although Egypt lost in the Africa Cup of Nations final to Cameroon, the team were back in the tournament after seven years without qualifying. Salah was a pivotal part of the revival. He was then joint top-scorer in the final round of qualifiers as Egypt reached the World Cup for the first time since 1990.He has had a stunning first half of the season at Liverpool with 17 goals in 21 league games and 23 in 29 in all competitions, justifying Liverpool’s decision to break the club’s transfer record and pay £36.9m to buy him from Roma in the summer. Salah is the second Egyptian to win the award after Mahmoud Al Khatib in 1983. Salah and Mane were due to fly straight back to Liverpool by charter jet after Thursday’s ceremony, which finished at 2200 GMT. Liverpool play local rivals Everton in the FA Cup third round on Friday.He scored five goals in six games in the decisive qualifying round as Egypt sealed their place at the World Cup in Russia. Salah scored both goals, including the injury-time winner, in the 2-1 win over Congo in October that sealed Egypt’s place in Russia. “It was very difficult to explain that moment to qualify to the World Cup after 28 years,” he said at the awards ceremony in Ghana. “And to have a great season with the clubs, with Roma and Liverpool. This award is a big award for me … it’s a special moment for me in my career.”]]>