Picked by many to be dark horses during the Euros, Austria failed to impress and sadly limped out of the tournament at the group stages after only scoring one goal.
The Stoke winger, who scored 12 goals and provided six assists for his teammates in 40 appearances last year, is being accused of not giving his all for his team as well as his fitness being questioned.
Former Austria defender Anton Pfeffer told Servus TV, relayed by Kleine Zeitung: “He played great in qualifying, but during the Euros he gets upset that he has to defend.
“I saw him at the Parc des Princes against Portugal, and he was exhausted for about five minutes after sprinting back… For me, that’s unbelievable.”
The newspaper did try and calm things down after the quotes, trying to excuse some of the fitness levels by stating a lot of the players involved had had tough seasons with their clubs.
Whether you agree or disagree with Pfeffer is up to you, but the general consensus around Europe remains the same: Austria should’ve made it out of their group.
