Groomed at Manchester United FC, where he played youth and reserve team football but never for the first XI, Ron-Robert Zieler has emerged as one of the finest young goalkeepers in Germany, becoming the heir apparent to the late Robert Enke at Hannover 96.

• Born in Cologne, he left local club 1. FC Köln to join United at the age of 16, making his debut for the English giants' reserve team in March 2007.

• Made it on to the bench for the first team in a September 2008 League Cup tie against Middlesbrough FC; made his professional debut on loan at third-tier Northampton Town FC − against Walsall FC on 21 February 2009 − before returning to United, where he broke his arm and struggled to recover his place in the reserves the following season.

• Left Old Trafford in summer 2010, returning to his homeland to join Hannover; had to wait till January for his Bundesliga debut but shone in a 3-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt and replaced Florian Fromlowitz as the club's first-choice keeper for the remainder of the season as they finished fourth to qualify for the UEFA Europa League.

• Handed the No1 shirt for 2011/12 campaign after signing a new contract keeping him at Hannover until 2015; made nine UEFA Europa League appearances, play-off included, as Hannover reached the round of 16.

• A regular international for Germany at various age levels, and a European champion with the Under-19s in 2008, he made his senior debut in a 3-3 draw with Ukraine in Kyiv on 11 November 2011.

UEFA honours
UEFA European Under-19 Championship: winner 2008