Bastian Schweinsteiger

Bastian Schweinsteiger, born on 1 August 1984, is a former German professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Early in his career, he played mostly as a wide midfielder, but later he switched to a central midfield role. Former Germany national team manager Joachim Löw called him one of the greatest players Germany has ever had.

Schweinsteiger spent 17 seasons at Bayern Munich, playing exactly 500 matches and scoring 68 goals. He won many titles there, including eight Bundesliga titles, seven DFB-Pokal titles, a UEFA Champions League title, a FIFA Club World Cup title, and a UEFA Super Cup title. In 2015, he joined Manchester United and later played for Chicago Fire before retiring in October 2019.

He played for the German national team from 2004 to 2016, earning 121 caps and scoring 24 goals. Schweinsteiger was part of Germany's teams in four European Championships and three World Cups. He was very important in Germany's 2014 FIFA World Cup win, especially in helping to defend against Lionel Messi in the final. After Philipp Lahm retired from international play, Schweinsteiger became the team's captain. His last match for Germany was against Finland on 31 August 2016, after which he stopped playing for the national team.

Since retiring in 2019, Schweinsteiger has worked as a football analyst for German television broadcaster ARD and its weekend programme Sportschau.

Club career

Bayern Munich

Bastian Schweinsteiger joined FC Bayern Munich as a young player in 1998 and grew up through their youth teams. He had to choose between skiing and football, and he picked football. He started playing for the main team in 2002 and soon became an important player. He helped the team win many prizes, including league titles and the UEFA Champions League.

Schweinsteiger played in many big matches for Bayern Munich. He scored important goals and became a favorite of the fans, who called him “football god.” He stayed with the club for 17 years before moving to a new team in 2015.

Manchester United

In 2015, Schweinsteiger moved to Manchester United. This was the first time the team had a German player in its main squad. He played for them for a couple of years but faced some injuries and changes in the team’s management. He scored goals and helped the team in important matches.

Chicago Fire

In 2017, Schweinsteiger joined Chicago Fire, a team in the United States. He helped the team improve and played in big games, including an All-Star match. He continued to score goals and assist his teammates until he decided to stop playing professional football.

Retirement

Schweinsteiger announced he was retiring from football in 2019. After retiring, he began working as a football expert for broadcasts, helping viewers understand the games.

International career

Bastian Schweinsteiger began playing for the German national team on June 6, 2004, in a friendly match against Hungary. He was part of Germany’s team in many big tournaments from the UEFA Euro 2004 up until Euro 2016.

In Euro 2004, he helped set up a goal in a match against the Czech Republic. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which was held in Germany, he became famous for scoring two long-distance goals in the match for third place against Portugal.

In Euro 2008, he scored important goals, including one in the quarterfinal against Portugal and another in the semifinal against Turkey. He also led the team as captain for the first time in a friendly match.

Schweinsteiger played a key role in Germany’s successful run in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He helped the team win the final against Argentina with smart passes from midfield.

He was named captain of the German team before Euro 2016 but missed some games due to a knee injury. He scored a goal in the tournament and set a record for the most appearances by a German player in European Championship matches. After Euro 2016, he retired from international football, having played 120 games and scored 24 goals for Germany. His last match was a friendly against Finland, and he was succeeded as captain by Manuel Neuer.

Style of play

Bastian Schweinsteiger could play in the centre or on the wings, either left or right. He was known as one of the best midfielders in the world during his time with Bayern. He had a powerful shot from far away, was great at passing the ball, and was very good at set pieces.

He could play many different positions, like holding midfielder, attacking midfielder, or box-to-box midfielder. He was strong, skillful, and could control the game well. Coaches called him the “brain” of the team because he was so smart and could read the game well. He was also good at defending and tackling. In 2013, he was voted the best German player of the year. Sometimes, he even played as a central defender. His former manager called him “unique and special” because he could do so many things well on the field.

centre wing crossing set-pieces holding midfielder attacking midfielder box-to-box deep-lying midfield Joachim Löw Jonathan Wilson The Guardian central defender sweeper Veljko Paunović

Personal life

Bastian Schweinsteiger is a Roman Catholic and is often called "Schweini" or "Basti" by fans. He is also known for being childhood friends with Felix Neureuther, and he was once a talented ski racer.

Schweinsteiger dated model Sarah Brandner from 2007 to 2014. In 2014, he began a relationship with Serbian tennis player Ana Ivanovic. They married in Venice, Italy, in 2016 and have two sons, born in 2018 and 2019. In February 2023, they shared the news that they were expecting their third child together.

Career statistics

Club

International

Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Schweinsteiger goal.

Honours

Bastian Schweinsteiger won many awards during his football career. With Bayern Munich, he helped the team win the Bundesliga many times, as well as the DFB-Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. He also played for Manchester United, where he won the FA Cup.

With the Germany national team, Schweinsteiger achieved great success, including winning the FIFA World Cup. He was also recognised individually, earning awards such as the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt and being named Germany national team Player of the Year in 2010.