With Liverpool enjoying one of their best seasons in recent memory, you would’ve thought that there would be people queueing up to praise Jurgen Klopp and his players for their achievements.
Whilst that may ostensibly be true, former FC Sion boss, Arno Rossini, has belittled the part that Xherdan Shaqiri played in the Reds’ triumph.
“Xherdan is not a champion,” Rossini told Tio, cited by the Daily Mirror.
“We certainly cannot say that he left his mark with the teams with which he won. Not with the big guys at least. He was the protagonist in Basel, certainly not at Bayern or Liverpool.
“Let’s say that over the years he has often followed the games of his teams as a spectator, sitting in the best places. And millions have also been paid for it.
“This, taking everything into account, makes me think that the Swiss is not one who always gives his best.”
Given the form of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah, as well as Shaqiri’s own injury troubles, the Swiss was always going to find it difficult to break into one of the world’s best attacking line-ups.
However, for Rossini to take Shaqiri to task at a time when he should be basking in the glory alongside his team-mates is a little unfair to put it mildly.
The fact is that if players manage to play a certain amount of games for their clubs during a championship-winning campaign, then they are entitled to a medal.
Of course there will be those that play more than others, but a club can only be successful if it has a squad capable of being called upon at a moment’s notice, and for any player to play his part however fleeting that may be.