Bastian Schweinsteiger

"Schweinsteiger" redirects here. For his older brother, also a footballer, see Tobias Schweinsteiger.
Bastian Schweinsteiger

Schweinsteiger in action for Germany at the Euro 2012
Personal information
Full nameBastian Schweinsteiger[1]
Date of birth1 August 1984
Place of birthKolbermoor, West Germany
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current team
Bayern Munich
Number31
Youth career
1990–1992FV Oberaudorf
1992–1998TSV 1860 Rosenheim
1998–2002Bayern Munich
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2001–2005Bayern Munich II33(2)
2002–Bayern Munich338(43)
National team‡
2000Germany U161(0)
2001–2002Germany U1811(2)
2002–2003Germany U197(2)
2004Germany U217(2)
2004–Germany109(23)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:28, 25 April 2015 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:01, 29 March 2015 (UTC)

Bastian Schweinsteiger (pronounced [ˈbasti̯an ˈʃvaɪ̯nʃtaɪ̯ɡɐ]) (born 1 August 1984) is a German footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team, serving as captain. A right-footed player, he usually plays as central midfielder. Earlier in his career he primarily played as a wide midfielder. As of July 2014, he is the Bayern Munich vice-captain to long-time teammate Philipp Lahm. On 2 September 2014, Schweinsteiger was named captain of the National Team following Lahm's international retirement.[3]

Schweinsteiger's honours for Bayern include eight Bundesliga titles, seven German Cups, a UEFA Champions League title, and two League Cups.[4] From his international debut in 2004, he has earned over 100 caps for Germany, scoring 23 goals. He was selected in their squads for three European Championships and as many World Cups, including their victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Schweinsteiger signed with Bayern Munich as a youth team player on 1 July 1998[2] and rose through the club's youth sides. A talented youth ski racer, he had to decide between pursuing a professional career in skiing or one in football.[5] Having won the German youth championship in July 2002, Schweinsteiger quickly earned a place in the reserves, producing a string of solid third division displays. He initially earned a reputation for being a rebel off the pitch, making headlines for the wrong reasons but has since settled down.[6]

A left midfielder who can also play on the right, he has excellent dribbling skills and is a specialist at set pieces. Schweinsteiger also has a hard shot and often scores from outside the penalty area. He can play as a defensive midfielder or just behind the strikers. During his first appearances in the titular eleven, he played left-back. After just two training sessions with the first team, coach Ottmar Hitzfeld gave Schweinsteiger his debut, at the age of 18,[5] as a late substitute in a UEFA Champions League game against RC Lens in November 2002, and the youngster made an immediate impact, creating a goal for Markus Feulner within minutes. He signed a professional contract the following month and went on to appear in 14 Bundesliga games in 2002–03, helping Bayern to a league and cup double. The next season he played 26 Bundesliga games. He scored his first Bayern goal against VfL Wolfsburg in September 2003.

Surprisingly sent back to Bayern's reserve team by new coach Felix Magath at the beginning of the 2005–06 season despite his international exploits of the summer in the Confederations Cup, Schweinsteiger swiftly returned to play a role in the double-winning campaign and scored in Bayern's Champions League quarter-final first-leg defeat at Chelsea.

Over the next three seasons, up until the end of 2007–08, Schweinsteiger made 135 appearances in all competitions for Bayern Munich (Champions League, Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal), scoring 10 goals in the process.

On 15 August 2008, Schweinsteiger scored the first Bundesliga goal of the 2008–09 season. In December 2010, he extended his contract with Bayern until 2016.[7]

Schweinsteiger during training in January 2013

On 25 April 2012, Schweinsteiger scored from the last and match-clinching penalty kick against Real Madrid to send Bayern through to the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, where they would face Chelsea. The match, played at Bayern's Allianz Arena, ended 1–1 and went to a penalty shoot-out. With the shoot-out poised at 3–3, Schweinsteiger's effort was saved by Petr Cech. Didier Drogba then scored his penalty to seal the title for Chelsea.

In the 2012–13 season, Schweinsteiger performed considerably well, continuing his duties as central midfielder along with new signing Javi Martínez. On 6 April 2013, Schweinsteiger scored a backheel flick goal against Eintracht Frankfurt which sealed the Bundesliga title for Bayern.[8] The season ended on a high for Schweinsteiger, as Bayern secured a treble of Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League.

Schweinsteiger received the 2013 German player of the year due to his performance for Bayern Munich.[9][10] He was described by then manager Jupp Heynckes as the best midfielder in the world and Heynckes wanted either Schweinsteiger, Ribéry or Thomas Müller to win the Ballon d'Or.[11] After the treble-winning season with Bayern in 2012–13, Schweinsteiger has impressed new manager Pep Guardiola with his passing, work rate, assists and terrific long shots.

He scored an equaliser goal in match against Manchester United in the first leg of their 2013–14 UEFA Champions League quarter-final at Old Trafford but saw a red card after that.[12]

He made his 2014–15 season debut[13] in a 4–0 win against 1899 Hoffenheim.[14] He came in for Mario Götze in the 78th minute.[15]

International career

Schweinsteiger made his international debut in 2004 in a friendly against Hungary.[5] As of 14 July 2014, Schweinsteiger has been capped 108 times and has scored 23 goals for the Germany national football team since making his debut in 2004. He has also been to all major tournaments with the German squad UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal.[5]

Euro 2004

Right after taking part in the U-21's disappointing run at the 2004 European Championships, he was called up for Euro 2004. Bayern's number 31 earned rave reviews for his performances in Portugal, showing combative skills and even setting up the opening goal for former Bayern teammate Michael Ballack in Germany's 2–1 loss against the Czech Republic.

2006 FIFA World Cup

He scored his first two international goals on 8 June 2005 against Russia[5] and scored his first goal in a competitive match against Tunisia on 18 June 2005 at the Confederations Cup in Germany.[16] He was called up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup on home soil and shot into prominence at the tournament with his two brilliant long-range strikes in the third place match against Portugal, which won him the Man of the Match award.[17] The match ended 3–1 with the 21-year-old nearly claiming a hat-trick but his deflected free kick was credited as an own-goal to Armando Petit.

At the age of 22, he had already played 41 matches for the German national team, a record for any German player at the time. This record was soon broken, however, by Lukas Podolski who was capped 44 times at the age of 22. At the same age, Lothar Matthäus (the German all-time record holder with 150 caps) had only played 13 times for the German national team.

Euro 2008

During Euro 2008 qualifiers, he scored two goals en route to a record 13–0 win over San Marino in San Marino. He scored the third goal in Germany's 4–1 win over Slovakia in Bratislava.

Schweinsteiger shooting for Germany in 2009

Schweinsteiger lost his place in the starting eleven when manager Joachim Löw moved striker Lukas Podolski to his usual position on the left wing to accommodate the strike partnership of Miroslav Klose and Mario Gómez, and he made two substitute appearances in the group stages. In the second match against Croatia, he was shown a straight red card for reacting to a challenge from Jerko Leko as Germany succumbed to a 2–1 shock defeat. After serving his suspension by missing the game against Austria, he returned to the starting line-up in the quarterfinal against Portugal, as Löw reverted to the old 4–4–2 formation when Gómez was benched after failing to make an impression. Once again he was instrumental in Germany's 3–2 win, scoring one goal and setting up the other two. He also scored his country's first goal in the 3–2 semifinal victory against Turkey. He captained the team for the first time in a friendly against the United Arab Emirates.

2010 FIFA World Cup

Schweinsteiger featured often in 2010 World Cup qualifying, playing 9 of the 10 games and contributing 3 goals. He started in Germany's third pre-warm up game vs. Bosnia on 3 June 2010, and scored 2 penalties in a 3–1 victory in the space of four minutes, but in the 87th minute he was substituted off for Bayern Munich teammate Toni Kroos.

During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Schweinsteiger was charged with replacing the injured Michael Ballack at the centre of midfield. He performed admirably in this role, adding valuable leadership and international experience to a very young German side. He was vital to both the German attack and defence, as was apparent when he was named the Man of the Match after the quarterfinal match against Argentina, where he provided two assists while also managing to contain Lionel Messi. Germany subsequently lost to Spain in the semifinals. Germany was able to rally for a 3–2 victory over Uruguay in the third place match, and, with Philipp Lahm resting on the bench because of illness, Schweinsteiger served as captain.

Overall, Schweinsteiger recorded three assists in seven matches in South Africa, which tied him for the most assists in the finals with Dirk Kuyt, Kaká, Thomas Müller and Mesut Özil.[18] In recognition of his excellent play throughout the tournament, he was chosen as one of ten finalists for the prestigious Golden Ball, awarded to the most outstanding player of the tournament.[19]

Euro 2012

Schweinsteiger during UEFA Euro 2012

"I have been really impressed by the Germany captain so far in Euro 2012 and he is the kind of midfield player that I really like. He can do everything. He tackles, defends, is powerful when going forward, has a good shot and is also good on the ball."

–Patrick Vieira, former French International [20]

Schweinsteiger established himself as first choice as defensive midfielder in Germany's qualification Group A. He played five matches – once against each opponent: Belgium, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Austria and Turkey – and helped Germany win ten out of ten games scoring once and providing one assist.

Schweinsteiger started all five of Germany's matches at the UEFA Euro 2012 finals and assisted both of Mario Gómez goals in the 2–1 Group B win over rivals the Netherlands.

2014 FIFA World Cup

Schweinsteiger celebrates with the World Cup trophy after winning the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final.

Schweinsteiger made five appearances as Germany qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. On 15 October 2013, he won his 100th cap for the national team in a 5–3 win over Sweden.[21]

"If I was to pick my standout it would have to be, in a World Cup year, a World Cup winner. Thomas Müller, Toni Kroos and Bastian Schweinsteiger were all excellent, but if I had to pick one as my player of the year it would be Schweinsteiger."

–Paul Scholes, Manchester United legend [22]

After making a substitute appearance in the team's second match against Ghana, Schweinsteiger was selected to start in the third group game against the United States.[23] He retained his place in the team for Germany's round of 16 match, a 2–1 win against Algeria. He was instrumental in the World Cup finals against Argentina and led the mid-field with sweeping passes for the German attack. Germany won the world cup finals 1–0 through Mario Götze's 113th minute goal.[24]

Euro 2016

Prior to the start of qualification, Schweinsteiger was appointed as the new captain for Germany after Lahm's retirement.[25]

Style of play

Schweinsteiger largely operates in the centre on but he is versatile enough to provide an option on the wing, either left or right. He is regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world.[26] Schweinsteiger possesses a fearsome shot from range as well as a wicked delivery from set-pieces and his boundless energy serves him well.[27] Dubbed the "Midfield Motor",[28] Schweinsteiger is also a superb reader of the game and has scored spectacularly due to his good positioning. He has been called "the brain" of the German national team by his coach Joachim Löw.[29] He has been voted as the best German player in 2013.[30] He is also known as the "midfield mastermind".[30]

Career statistics

Club performance

As of 28 April 2015
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total Ref.
Club League Season App. Gl. App. Gl. App. Gl. App. Gl. App. Gl. App. Gl.
Germany League DFB-Pokal DFB-LigapokalEurope Other1 Total
Bayern Munich II Regionalliga Süd 2001–02 4 0 — — 4 0
2002–03 23 2 23 2
Bayern Munich Bundesliga 14 0 2 2 0 0 1 0 17 2 [31]
2003–04 26 4 3 0 1 0 3 0 33 4 [32]
Bayern Munich II Regionalliga Süd 3 0 — 3 0
2004–05 3 0 3 0 [33]
Bayern Munich Bundesliga 26 3 6 0 0 0 7 1 39 4 [33]
2005–06 30 3 4 0 1 0 7 0 42 3 [34]
2006–07 27 4 3 0 2 0 8 2 40 6 [35]
2007–08 30 1 4 0 2 1 12 0 48 2 [36]
2008–09 31 5 4 2 — 9 2 44 9 [37]
2009–10 33 2 4 1 12 1 49 4 [38]
2010–11 32 4 5 2 7 2 1 0 45 8 [39]
2011–12 22 3 3 1 11 1 — 36 5 [40]
2012–13 28 7 5 0 12 2 45 9 [41]
2013–14 23 4 4 1 8 3 1 0 36 8 [42]
2014–15 16 3 2 0 4 0 0 0 22 3 [43]
Bayern Munich total 338 43 49 9 6 1 100 13 2 0 495 66 —
Bayern Munich II total 33 2 — 33 2 —
Career totals 371 45 49 9 6 1 100 13 2 0 528 68 —

International goals

Honours

Club

Bayern Munich Junior Team[45][46]
Bayern Munich[47]

International

Germany[47]

Individual

Personal life

Schweinsteiger's fans nicknamed him "Schweini" or "Basti" to distinguish him from his elder brother, Tobias, a professional footballer who also plays for Bayern, albeit in the reserve team.[52] Schweinsteiger was in a relationship with model Sarah Brandner from 2007 until July 2014.[53] They lived in Munich together.[54] He is currently dating Serbian tennis player Ana Ivanovic.[55] Schweinsteiger is Roman Catholic.[56]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Bastian Schweinsteiger". FC Bayern Munich. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
  3. ↑ "Duties split between Lahm and Schweinsteiger". fcbayern.de. 27 January 2011.
  4. ↑ "Bastian Schweinsteiger Bio". ESPN soccernet. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Sten-Ziemons, Andreas (2 September 2014). "Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mr. Never Say Die". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  6. ↑ Bennett, Mark (19 June 2004). "Bastian leads new generation". UEFA. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  7. ↑ "Schweinsteiger signs on at Bayern until 2016". UEFA.com. 11 December 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  8. ↑ Knight, Ben (6 April 2013). "Magical backheel seals Bayern's Bundesliga title". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Bastian Schweinsteiger 2013 German player of the year". DW.DE. 28 July 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Bastian Schweinsteiger ist Fußballer des Jahres" (in German). kicker.de. 28 July 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  11. ↑ Chambers, Miles (2 June 2013). "Heynckes: Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Ribery & Muller are Ballon d'Or favourites". Goal.com. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  12. ↑ "Manchester United 1–1 Bayern Munich – Schweinsteiger scores and sees red following Vidic opener". Dailymail.co.uk. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  13. ↑ Chase, Jefferson (22 November 2014). "Dortmund falter, Schalke squeak by, Bayern cruise". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  14. ↑ Schmid, Matthias (22 November 2014). "Zeit für Blödelbilder" (in German). Süddeutsche Zeitung. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  15. ↑ "Vier Tore, vier Torschützen: Bayern spaziert weiter". kicker (in German). 22 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  16. ↑ "Schweinsteiger: Anything is possible". FIFA. 20 June 2005. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  17. ↑ "Man of the Match: Bastian Schweinsteiger". FIFA. 8 July 2006. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  18. ↑ "World Cup Stats". FIFA. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  19. ↑ "Sneijder, Villa favourites for Golden Ball". soccerway.com. 9 July 2009. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  20. ↑ Vieira, Patrick (22 June 2012). "Euro 2012: Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger is a midfield colossus in the mould of Roy Keane". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  21. ↑ "Schweinsteiger hungry for more after century". UEFA. 16 October 2013.
  22. ↑ Swan, Rob (6 December 2014). "Paul Scholes believes Bastian Schweinsteiger deserves Ballon d’Or". givemesport.com. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  23. ↑ "Schweinsteiger proves Löw's depth". Deutsche Welle. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  24. ↑ "Kramer: "A world-class experience"". Deutscher Fußball-Bund. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  25. ↑ "Bastian Schweinsteiger announced as Germany's new captain". Deutsche Welle. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  26. ↑ "Bastian Schweinsteiger: The best midfielder in the world? –". givemesport.com. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  27. ↑ "Bastian Schweinsteiger –". espnfc.com. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  28. ↑ "Gomez joy tempered by Schweinsteiger blow –". Uefa.com. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  29. ↑ "The German Brain". espn.com. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "Bastian Schweinsteiger 2013 German player of the year". DW.DE. 28 July 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  31. ↑ "Schweinsteiger, Bastian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  32. ↑ "Schweinsteiger, Bastian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 "Schweinsteiger, Bastian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  34. ↑ "Schweinsteiger, Bastian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  35. ↑ "Schweinsteiger, Bastian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  36. ↑ "Schweinsteiger, Bastian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  37. ↑ "Schweinsteiger, Bastian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  38. ↑ "Schweinsteiger, Bastian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  39. ↑ "Schweinsteiger, Bastian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  40. ↑ "Schweinsteiger, Bastian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  41. ↑ "Schweinsteiger, Bastian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  42. ↑ "Schweinsteiger, Bastian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  43. ↑ "Bastian Schweinsteiger" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  44. ↑ "Players Info Schweinsteiger". DFB. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  45. ↑ "Bastian Schweinsteiger" (in German). Galerie des Sports. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  46. ↑ "Zweimal 10 Jahre: Bayern-Bubis auf dem Weg zu Rekordjägern" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 "B. Schweinsteiger". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  48. ↑ "DFB-Elf erhält Silbernes Lorbeerblatt". Rheinische Post (in German). Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  49. ↑ "World Cup 2010: FIFA All-Star Team Announced". goal.com. 15 July 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  50. ↑ "ESM-Top-11: Nur Torres und Ivanovic durchbrechen Bundesliga-Phalanx" (in German). kicker.de. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  51. ↑ "2009: Mario Götze". uefa.com. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  52. ↑ "Schweinsteiger-Bruder wechselt zum FC Bayern" (in German). Augsburger Allgemeine. 25 March 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  53. ↑ Corpuz, Rachelle (12 September 2014). "Bastian Schweinsteiger Spotted Holding Hands With Ana Ivanovic During A Stroll In NYC". au.ibtimes.com. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  54. ↑ "10 things about Bastian Schweinsteiger". bundesliga.com. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  55. ↑ "Schweinsteiger und Ivanovic jetzt offiziell ein Paar" (in German). Die Welt. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  56. ↑ "Jogador e cristão, Schweinsteiger vai enfrentar o Brasil na semifinal da Copa" (in Portuguese). catholicus.org. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.

External links

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Sporting positions
Preceded by
Philipp Lahm		 Germany captain
2014–present 		Incumbent