German football 'flummoxed' over Hodgson's selection as England manager

London, May 4(ANI): Senior figures in German football have expressed surprise over the Football Association's (FA) decision to appoint 'little-known' Roy Hodgson as England's new manager over Tottenham Hotspurs boss Harry Redknapp.

Many of them feel FA's delay in appointing the new manager for the national squad could prove detrimental to their chances of winning the Euros this year.

Germany's influential midfielder, Bastien Schweinsteiger has expressed a prevalent belief in German footballing circles that the FA had not chosen the obvious candidate, and claimed he didn't knew much about Hodgson.

"The work that Harry Redknapp has done at Tottenham is perfect [for the job of England manager]," The Telegraph quoted Schweinsteiger, as saying.

"The other one, I just don't know. I can't tell you anything about what he's like with players, or how he trains them. I've heard more about Redknapp at Tottenham and I saw them play very good football in the Champions League," he added.

Germany captain Philipp Lahm also said he wasn't aware about Hodgson, but hoped he would take England back to the path of glory.

"I don't know him. No, I'm sorry," Lahm said on Hodgson.

Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynkes seemed equally bemused by the FA choice, and said: "I don't know him that well. But I've followed the discussions and also heard the opinions of the national team players and they would have preferred the Tottenham manager."

"But as it is so often with national associations, they don't listen. I cannot say whether it's a good or a bad appointment because I don't know him that well," he added. (ANI)