If there’s one thing you cannot criticise former Liverpool defender Stéphane Henchoz of, it’s not caring about the Switzerland national team.
Speaking to Blick, the Neuchatel Xamax assistant manager gave a lengthy interview about everything he liked and didn’t like about the his country’s footballing setup and the players representing it.
Taking shots at a number of them, his previous affiliation with the Merseyside club didn’t stop him from having a go at new signing Xherdan Shaqiri, who swapped Stoke City for Anfield over the summer.
He said: “We’ll see how he adapts. He had his chance at Bayern. He didn’t take it. He went to training, then hopped in his car, returned to Switzerland to see his mates and maybe even ate a kebab, then he drove back for two and a half hours to return to Munich.
“All that time in a vehicle isn’t good for the muscles in your legs. His injuries weren’t bad luck. You are unlucky when an opponent hurts you, but not when you don’t take care of your body.”
Swapping Bayern Munich for Stoke City back in 2015, the Swiss international surprised more than a few, and while he was the now Championship club’s best player last season, he was unable to stop them from getting relegated to the second-tier.
Bought as a backup for Jürgen Klopp’s attacking trio, Shaqiri has so far played just 27 minutes of Premier League football this season, but the season is long.
At least he can’t drive all the way back from Switzerland from Liverpool. It’s a bit far.
