Ottmar Hitzfeld: I turned down the Manchester United job

Head coach Ottmar Hitzfeld of Switzerland looks on during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group E match between Switzerland and France at Arena Fonte Nova on June 20, 2014 in Salvador, Brazil.

Switzerland manager Ottmar Hitzfeld has revealed that he turned down the chance to manager Manchester United, citing the fact that he did not believe his English was good enough.

In 2002 60 year old Sir Alex Ferguson was considering retirement and Hitzfeld was lined up as a replacement but the German boss rejected Manchester United’s advances because he didn’t feel that he would be able to get his message across to the players.

Once Ferguson found out that the then England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson was being lined up as his potential successor he reversed his decision and continued to manage at Old Trafford for more than a decade.

“I don’t want to go into too many details because it was between myself and Manchester United,” Hitzfeld said. “But I decided to stay in Germany because when I am coaching I prefer to express myself in German, because this is my mother tongue.

“I did not think I would be able to do myself justice if I had to speak to the players in English. I would not be able to get my emotions and feelings across. The players in the Swiss dressing room speak a variety of languages, including Italian, French and English, but when they come to work, I coach them in German.

“All the players understand it. If there are some special expressions required then one of my coaches might use a bit of Italian or French, but I coach them only in German and it is better that way.”

Hitzfeld has already confirmed that he will be retiring from management at the end of this World Cup. The Switzerland manager has enjoyed an illustrious career winning six Bundesliga titles and winning the Champions League with two different clubs, one of only four managers to do so.

Switzerland opened their World Cup campaign with a 2-1 victory over Ecuador and will face France in their next match.