International Boss Fires Back at 'Nonsense' Claims Surrounding Arne Slot: 'You Have No Idea'

Hungary national team head coach Marco Rossi has brushed off reports of a rift with Liverpool manager Arne Slot as "nonsense," questioning how anyone could believe he thought himself on a par with the Premier League title-winning boss.

Rossi had only himself to blame for the controversy. No one compelled the veteran coach to publicly challenge Slot's decision to deploy star midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai at right back this season. Nor was he pressured into dismissing the Dutch manager's requests to manage his players' minutes during the international break.

"If we needed to protect his energy, whether for him or anyone else, we could have done so," Rossi remarked ahead of Hungary's friendly against Slovenia. "But for us, the national team comes first — right now, that means putting in strong performances."

Szoboszlai and his Liverpool teammate Milos Kerkez both featured from the start in Saturday's 1–0 victory in Budapest. Nevertheless, Rossi was eager to highlight that he brought both players off as substitutes, while doing his utmost to quash the swirling tension.

"I've been reading absolute rubbish in the press," the Hungary coach said bluntly. "You can't seriously think I would be so arrogant, conceited, and foolish as to put myself in the same bracket as a manager running a Premier League club."

"I am in no way comparable to the Liverpool manager, and I never intended for it to come across that way. Arne Slot expressed a hope that his players wouldn't feature in both matches. I gave Dominik Szoboszlai 10 minutes' rest and Milos Kerkez 20."

"Slot manages one of the top clubs in the world. He commands the utmost respect. I am nobody. But as the head coach of the Hungarian national team, I believe Hungary also deserves respect — if nothing else, for the history it carries."

Liverpool Workload on International Duty

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Correct as of March 30, 2026.

Slot's worries about his players on international duty extend well beyond Szoboszlai and Kerkez. If anything, the two Hungarians involved in a couple of low-stakes friendlies were arguably the least of his headaches compared to some of his other key men.

During international windows, travel distance matters just as much as playing time. France representatives Ibrahima Konaté and Hugo Ekitiké each started just one of Les Bleus' March friendlies, yet were required to make the long journey to the United States to face Brazil and Colombia. As French boss Didier Deschamps was quick to note, navigating entry procedures into the country and the venues was far from smooth.

Alexis Mac Allister may have faced fewer logistical hurdles while playing on home turf this month, but the nearly 14,000-mile round trip to Buenos Aires is hardly conducive to recovery. The 27-year-old has appeared lethargic at times this season, and those grueling international journeys have done little to help his cause.

In the first half of the season, Mac Allister visibly struggled in all three of his outings immediately following an international break. The Argentine was substituted at the interval against Burnley in September, before toiling through losses to Manchester United and Nottingham Forest in October and November respectively.

The remainder of Liverpool's international players have fortunately stayed within mainland Europe. Andy Robertson has even been given a slight advantage on his journey home, as Scotland's friendly against Ivory Coast on Tuesday is set to be held at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium.