A nice piece on the single upgrade of the team and I think it was a major one.
Have to say, revisiting some of his performances over the years for this particular draft has made me appreciate him a lot more and considering the pool for the reinforcements(and even in open pool), he was one of the best possible choices for upgrade on Dinu.
An ode to the generation's most underrated midfielder
Schweinsteiger was the architect of Germany's 2014 World Cup triumph
On the 13th of July, 2014, Germany and Argentina immersed themselves in one of the most tense FIFA World Cup finals ever. Deep into extra time, Mario Gotze popped up with a moment of magic to hand the Germans the lead in the 113th minute. Yet, one sensed that the Argentines had one final roll of the dice in store.
Subsequently, the Die Mannschaft looked towards heaven in inspiration, hoping for some divine intervention to enable them to see out the remainder of the game. Little did they know that their Guardian Angel was standing beside them, rather than somewhere intangible. After all, a certain Bastian Schweinsteiger had rolled up his sleeves.
Blood dripped down the midfielder’s face, his breathing reached exponential proportions yet, he stood there, in the face of adversity, like a rock, thwarting everything Argentina threw at the Germans.
A few minutes later, the Die Mannschaft triumphed and embraced each other jubilantly. Yet, none deserved that victory more than Schweinsteiger, who had lived through the Germans’ reputation as underachievers, overseen their offensive revolution and ultimately, led them to the summit of world football.
And, the bravery, courage, grit and skill the midfielder showcased on that evening in Rio de Janeiro embodied Schweinsteiger in a microcosm.
Over a career spanning nearly two decades, the former German skipper specialized in grabbing games by the scruff of the neck and tilting it his side’s way.
He spent an astounding 17 years at Bayern Munich, amassing 500 appearances across all competitions while he also laid his hands on the Bundesliga eight times, DFB Pokal Cup seven times, in addition to a solitary UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
Through his span at the Bavarian giants, Schweinsteiger underwent a startling transformation from being a wide midfielder to a central midfielder capable of dictating the tempo of games.
Blessed with an indomitable spirit and equally unflappable temperament, he combined invention with industry on countless occasions, often leading his team’s charge with a string of defence-splitting passes or enabling his side to hold the fort, courtesy of his crunching tackles.
More importantly, though, Schweinsteiger was able to carve out a niche for himself as a box to box midfielder at a time when specialist attacking and defensive midfielders were in vogue.
The aforementioned change occurred through the early stages of the 21st century and continued well into the 2010s, before making a return a few years ago. Yet, the former Bayern Munich player refrained from altering his game to align himself with what was unfolding around him, rather backing his own strengths and eventually, etching himself into folklore.
And, though the German ended his tenure in Bavaria as one of the best to have ever donned the Bayern jersey, his journey wasn’t completely devoid of troughs.
Back in 2005, Schweinsteiger was relegated to the reserve team despite having shone for Germany in the Confederations Cup. Though he returned in a trice, that setback certainly wasn’t one the midfielder was expecting.
A few years later, in 2012, after powering Bayern Munich to the cusp of the UEFA Champions League crown, the German missed the decisive spot-kick against Chelsea in the final, a disappointment compounded by the encounter being played at the Allianz Arena.
Yet, he bounced back from that heartbreak to instantly capture Europe’s elite club competition a year later, a run that included a 7-0 mauling of Barcelona in the semi-final.
He stayed at Bayern for two more seasons before sealing a shocking switch to Manchester United, of all clubs. For the Red Devils, they intended the signing to signal that they still boasted the ability to attract high-profile footballers. Yet, that move failed to materialise as envisaged for both parties.
In the aftermath of the 2014 World Cup though, Schweinsteiger started showing signs of slowing down, albeit slightly. And, that particular aspect immensely dented the midfielder’s propensity to control matches, considering he earlier did so using a combination of energy and effervescent movement across the pitch.
Consequently, he started arriving in scoring positions a tad late or not at all, meaning that a major facet of his game was significantly hampered. Incidentally, his loss of form also dovetailed with the Red Devils’ spectacular fall from grace, thereby contributing to an unhappy time for all those involved.
And, while he got himself an FA Cup winner’s medal, that was hardly how Schweinsteiger would’ve hoped his last stint at a European superpower to transpire.
In 2017, Chicago Fire acquired the German’s services. At the MLS, the midfielder performed consistently and found himself in the MLS All-Star XI to face Real Madrid the same year. Apart from the above, he also scored several clutch goals, symbolising that although he had lost a bit of pace, he hadn’t been rid of the immeasurable class he possessed.
A couple of years later, on the 8th of October, 2019, Schweinsteiger announced that he would be hanging up his boots at the culmination of the current term, thereby bringing down the curtains on an illustrious career.
Through his sojourn as a professional footballer though, one might be forgiven to believe that the German was perhaps not given the requisite recognition, whether it be for his exploits with his nation or for Bayern.
Over the past few years, numerous midfielders have been decorated a lot more than Schweinsteiger, despite boasting an inferior trophy haul. Yet, that is a conversation one would do better to not indulge in at this juncture, especially when one of this generation’s greatest midfielders has bid adieu to the game.
And, though his time at Manchester United might have dwindled his sheen a shade, there’s no denying that Schweinsteiger competed in a short list to be termed the premier central midfielder across the globe, when in his prime.
After all, not many would be able to handle the pressure of a World Cup final, the sight of blood and heavy breathing to script a positive outcome, would they?
And some nice input from
@Balu as resident German expert over his contribution at his peak.
I don't think I've ever wanted a player to win a trophy as much as I wanted Schweinsteiger to finish the World Cup with a brilliant performance winning the trophy in the end and he delivered like he did so many times in the past 5 years. The way he turned his career around from 2009 onwards is simply incredible and I haven't seen a player who has fought so much for his club and country while constantly being treated like shit by fans and media at home. Picked out as the scapegoat for every failed title win in the past 5 years and called past it every year, he showed up at a time when it counted the most, again.
3 years ago, Sportbild started the 'Chefchen Schweini' campaign and publicly humiliated him and pretty much never stopped. They ridiculed all his standout performances and questioned his leadership in a way that was shocking and I still can't believe that Bayern didn't ban that shit newspaper from all press conferences for a season. Even throughout this tournament, he was criticised for not talking to the media and his abilities as a leader were questioned again. Even after the treble winning season, he rarely got the credit he deserved. Less than two years ago, several former German greats and the media started another huge campaign with the main topic 'does Germany need Schweinsteiger anymore' and even sensible people like Günther Netzer publicly declared that he should be out of the team and the new generation around Gündogan has already surpassed him.
The treatment he received for the CL final in 2012 and the Euro 2012 was some of the worst I've ever read. Carrying an injury and not fully fit, he fought and never stopped running and pretty much no one publicly took his side, he was again ridiculed by the media and fans in German stadiums whistled and booed him when he played for the nationalteam. Yet, he stood up again. Pretty much cut the ties with the press and focused on the game, and improved even further leading Bayern to a treble with countless outstanding performances and now finally brought the World Cup title back to Germany. While he was more a quiet hero in the shadow in the first knockout games, keeping things ticking and giving his teammates the freedom to excel, he was always there to bail them out when necessary. I called him the one player in the team who can make everything work, the one player in the team reading the game, seeing where things go wrong and being smart enough to always get himself in a position to bail others out. He's just a perfect complete midfielder now.
In the past 6 years, he won a treble, 2 more domestic doubles, made it to two more CL finals, a Euro final, a Euro semifinal and a World Cup semifinal, yet he still was the face of the 'loser generation'. Again, what a player and what a warrior. He deserved to lift that World Cup more than anyone in the world, he made sure of it with this fecking awesome performance in the final.
and one more from the same thread:
Feel the need to write a few lines about him:
A few years back we had the tedious debate in Germany about the lack of characters in the national team. One of the most criticised players back then was Bastian Schweinsteiger. As a personal favourite of mine despite his status as an icon of a rival team, Schweinsteiger was never the loudest or most intimidating person on the pitch.
He is an undisputed top class midfielder with an extremely well rounded skill set, but he was not blessed with the biggest presence or was a natural leader like Neuer, Hummels or Müller. No, he grew into that role. Fought his way into this role. Earned this role, which might be even more impressive in my book. From "Schweini" over Mr. Schweinsteiger to the boss of the national team.
While Manuel Neuer was our best player throughout the tournament, Jerome Boateng the best performer in the final and Mario Götze the scorer of the deciding goal, nobody will be remembered by me for this tournament as much as Bastian Schweinsteiger.
This final against Argentina was like the story of his career. This man had taken so many blows both physically (several severe injuries) and psychologically (e.g. lost CL final 2012 at home, treatment by the German Press), but stood up every time and kept on going, dragging his abused body over the pitch for an astounding work rate of over 15km. Schweinsteiger has not become a leader by grand words, he leads by example.
So here I am, a life long Dortmund supporter, taking a bow in front of someone who can only be described as a legend and one of the greatest football players in the rich history of German football.
Let´s see if he can lead the national team for his last missing major title: the European Championship in 2016.
