Hungary manager Marco Rossi has hit out at Liverpool’s Arne Slot for his public plea for protection for his players during the international break, firing back at the Dutchman’s own use of Dominik Szoboszlai this season.
Amid concerns over the fitness of his struggling stars, Slot admitted he hopes to see some of his biggest names rested during the current international break—a request which did not go down well with Rossi.
“Personally, I have never spoken to Slot, and I have never had any say in when and what decision he makes, when he will play Dominik as a fullback,” Rossi replied.
“I would expect him to treat me similarly. It is not just me who decides this, I am not obliged to play anyone. If Dominik said he would like to rest, of course I would allow him. But we know that he is the captain of this national team, the national jersey is his priority.
“If we had to save his energy, whether it was for him or anyone else, he could do it. However, for us, the national team is the priority, now it is to play good games.”
Szoboszlai’s Right Back Stint Divides Opinion
In what has been a difficult season for Liverpool, Szoboszlai is one of very few players who can hold his head high.
The attacking midfielder has 12 goals and eight assists to his name across all competitions, often popping up for his side in big moments while being asked to play in a number of positions to help combat injuries.
An injury to Jeremie Frimpong in the first game of the season saw Slot turn to Szoboszlai at right back. He has played at the back 10 times already this season, with the boss preferring him to young Calvin Ramsay—the only natural alternative in the squad—on a number of occasions.
To Szoboszlai’s credit, he has performed very well in the unfamiliar role, although his experiences in defense will be of no interest to Hungary’s Rossi as he seeks to build an attacking unit capable of making a deep run at the World Cup this summer.
Szoboszlai’s importance to Liverpool is made clear by his number of minutes played. While Virgil van Dijk is the only player to break the 4,000-minute mark this season, Szoboszlai sits narrowly behind on 3,848.
Unfortunately for Slot, Szoboszlai is Hungary’s talisman as well, backed up by another Liverpool star, left back Milos Kerkez. Both are key players for their country and Rossi will be well aware of the need to play both players as much as possible for the sake of the national team.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arne Slot Slammed by International Manager Over Use of Star Player.
