Hamann: Carrick is the best holding midfielder in England by a country mile

Sep 19, 2012 9:20:00 PM

The former Liverpool man believes that the Englishman is underrated by those in the national set-up and took to Twitter to praise the 31-year-old after he scored versus Galatasaray

Former Germany international Dietmar Hamann says that Manchester United man Michael Carrick is "the best holding midfielder in England by a country mile", after he netted the opening goal in their Champions League clash against Galatasaray.

The 31-year-old former Tottenham man was left out of the Three Lions' Euro 2012 campaign this summer, but was recently recalled to the squad by manager Roy Hodgson for the friendly against Italy and the World Cup qualifiers with Moldova and Ukraine.

Although Carrick played the full 90 minutes against the Azzurri, he did not start in either of the qualifying clashes and Hamann - who scored the final goal at the old Wembley Stadium for Germany in 2001 - believes that the Newcastle-born midfielder is being underused by the national team.

He tweeted: "Great goal by Carrick, how he doesn't start for England I will never know.

"He [Carrick] is the best holding midfielder England have got by a country mile."

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