Ferguson Talks Up German Keeper

Sir Alex Ferguson has spoken of his joy at the news that former Manchester United reserves keeper Ron-Robert Zieler made his debut for the Germany national team, as the side drew with Ukraine last night.

Zieler played at Old Trafford for five years before making the move to Bundesliga side Hannover in 2009. Ferguson was unaware that he had featured for 90 minutes in the match, and when told, he exclaimed: "Did he really? That's fantastic. I must send him a message."

The match between the countries ended 3-3, and the former Red Devil is hoping to have a long running career representing both his club and country.

Ferguson explained that while he saw potential in Zieler at United, Ben Amos came into good form, and inadvertently pushed the player out of the possibility of game time. The Scotsman also explained that a move away from the club was best for his future.

"He got an injury here in the Reserves and was out for about eight months," he told the official United website. "Unfortunately, when he came back, Ben Amos had jumped ahead of him in the pecking order. I'm really pleased to hear this news, though. I'm glad he's doing well.

"We helped Ron-Robert orchestrate his move to Hannover. We had a scout over there at the time and I gave him a call. He then came across, spoke to Ron and got the Hannover coach across to Manchester to watch him train.

"They were happy to take him and we were delighted to organise that move for him. He's since come on leaps and bounds and is obviously doing fantastically. He always worked hard and he's a very nice lad."

United have been through a keeper transition of their own over the past few months, with Edwin van der Sar retiring and young Spanish stopper David De Gea taking over one of the toughest posts in the game.

While De Gea had a bit of a shaky start for the club, Ferguson pleaded with fans to be patient and allow him time to adapt to the Premier League. And after keeping clean sheets for United in their last four matches, and for the Spain Under 21 side, he is starting to show what the manager saw in him during his time at Atletico Madrid.