Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is delighted for former goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler over his call-up to the Germany squad.

Zieler, who spent almost five years at Old Trafford before signing for Bundesliga side Hannover 96 in July 2010, played 90 minutes for the national team in an entertaining 3-3 draw in Ukraine.

"Did he really?" Sir Alex asked. "That's fantastic. I must send him a message.

"He got an injury here in the Reserves and was out for about eight months," the Reds manager told manutd.com. "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."