Janko criticizes Sabitzer: "You have to play for your country"
The former ÖFB striker calls his ex-teammate's decision "very, very bad."
ÖFB national team coach Ralf Rangnick announced his squad on Monday for the upcoming four UEFA Nations League matches.
Marcel Sabitzer is not included, which was already clear hours before the official squad announcement. The 102-cap ÖFB international decided, after consultation with Rangnick, to take a break from the ÖFB national team and to no longer feature for the national team in 2026.
This is how Sabitzer explains his decision >>>
One person who cannot understand the decision is Marc Janko. In his joint podcast with Andreas Herzog, "HERZERL mit JANKO", he criticizes his former ÖFB national team colleague.
Sabitzer's Decision? "Very, very bad"
"I think it's very, very bad," says Janko. He also criticizes the international trend of taking longer national team breaks, as Manuel Neuer in Germany or Thibaut Courtois in Belgium are doing or have done.
"It's becoming more and more prevalent for players to say, 'I don't want to play for the national team for X number of months'," says Janko. "I don't think you can choose that."
"If you are a key player, then you have to play for your country. If you don't want to do that anymore, then you have to be consistent and say, 'then I'll retire'," the 43-year-old wishes for more clarity.
"To say, 'I'll take a break now and maybe I'll come back if we qualify', I don't think that's good," Janko continued.
"A disastrous sign!" - Unless...
However, the former ÖFB national team striker also mentions that his comments should be taken with a pinch of salt: "We don't know the whole story, perhaps there were issues in his private life that no one should know about."
But: "Should there have been nothing in his private life that mentally derails him and he needs this time, then honestly, I find that a disastrous sign."
His podcast colleague Andreas Herzog is a bit more reserved: "Sabi also knows that not all fans will take kindly to this, but ultimately it's his decision." However, he also adds: "I wouldn't have done it."
