Voghts had hoped to tempt England star to switching alliances.
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Former Scotland coach Berti Voghts has revealed that he attempted to approach Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney in order to convince him to abandon England in favour of earning international honours north of the border instead, the Mirror reports.
Rooney qualified to play for Scotland through his his grandmother, but Voghts’ approach to represent them at international level was swiftly rejected.
Voghts was in charge of the Scottish national side between 2002-04 and spoke to a 16-year-old Rooney, who was then on the books at Everton.
Upon hearing of Rooney Scottish roots, Voghts had hoped to get the jump on England by declaring as one of their own. However, talks were short lived as Rooney’s response to the question was; “I’m so sorry boss, I’m English.”
Reflecting on his invite, Vogts said: “I spoke to Wayne Rooney – his grandmother, she is Scottish.
“The Scottish Football Association found the grandmother and I made the call. I flew from Glasgow to Everton. He was playing under David Moyes at Everton and I spoke to him – a young lad of 16 years of age. I said to him ‘you can play for Scotland’.”
Vogts added: “(Rooney told me) ‘I am English, I am English!’. Okay, sorry.
“You have to speak to the player but he told me ‘I’m so sorry boss, I’m English’.”
Rooney has gone on to collect 84 caps for England since being called up for the first time in February 2003 and is now their fifth all-time top scorer with 36 strikes for the Three Lions.