Hodgson returns to familiar territory with Liverpool

Roy Hodgson may no longer be coaching Switzerland but he seems to have a fond attachment to the Alpine country.

Hodgson just took over as manager for Liverpool, the British premier league football club, at the beginning of the month.

Less than three weeks later he is heading a summer training camp for the team in Bad Ragaz, the thermal spa town in Saint Gallen, where players are staying in a luxury hotel.

Presumably, the decision was down to more than just good easyJet flight connections.

The English team has mixed in friendly games as part of its pre-season preparations, including one on Wednesday against Grasshopper, the Zurich team, which Hodgson also managed for a season a decade ago.

The match kicks off at 7.30 pm at the Herti Allmend stadium in Zug, an intimate setting (4,900 seats) to watch one of England’s top teams tackle a club with the most successful record in Swiss football history.

Interest in the Merseyside team heightened this week on news that Joe Cole - a star player with Chelsea, the Premier League winner for 2009-10 - is joining the Anfield club on a free transfer.

Cole, 28, flew to Switzerland on Monday and met Hodgson at Bad Ragaz.

The pair shook hands and posed for cameras on Tuesday against the mountain backdrop to signal the new relationship.  

The England national team player is expected to dress for the friendly match, subject to a medical exam.

Hodgson said he was pleased to acquire Cole.

“It's very important we try to improve our squad as much as we can in order to try and reach the high goals we've set ourselves,” he told Britain’s TalkSport radio.

“But it also pleases me very much to hear the reaction of the people has been as positive as our reaction, so at the moment that's perfect,” Hodgson said.

“Now, of course, it's up to Joe to show on the field he is the right man.”

Cole’s decision to move to Liverpool from his former London team was apparently encouraged by fellow England player Steven Gerrard.

Reports earlier suggested Gerrard wanted to leave Liverpool, which finished seventh in the Premier League in 2009-10, but he appears ready now to stay put.

Hodgson, 62, a former footballer, served as coach of Switzerland from 1992 to 1996,  guiding the national team to the final 16 of the 1996 World Cup and qualification for Euro 1996.

Prior to that, Switzerland had not qualified for a major tournament since the 1960s and the squad has struggled since he departed.

Fluent in five languages, including German and French, Hodgson managed Grasshopper in the 1999-2000 season.

He said on Tuesday he was happy to be back in Switzerland.

“It's a wonderful country,” he told SportsRadio.

“We've been very lucky with the weather and we're staying in a good hotel with excellent training facilities,” he said.

“In terms of a training camp you can’t get much better than this.”

Hodgson’s only worry is that the friendly games might be too much like regular season play and he has to ensure that his top players are fit several weeks from now when Premier League action gets under way in earnest.