Bastian Schweinsteiger

Bastian Schweinsteiger
Schweinsteiger in 2023
Personal information
Full name Bastian Schweinsteiger[1]
Date of birth (1984-08-01) 1 August 1984 (age 40)[1]
Place of birth Kolbermoor, West Germany
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1990–1992 FV Oberaudorf
1992–1998 TSV 1860 Rosenheim
1998–2002 Bayern Munich
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2005 Bayern Munich II 34 (2)
2002–2015 Bayern Munich 342 (45)
2015–2017 Manchester United 18 (1)
2017–2019 Chicago Fire 85 (8)
Total 479 (56)
International career
2000 Germany U16 1 (0)
2001–2002 Germany U18 11 (2)
2002–2003 Germany U19 7 (2)
2004 Germany U21 7 (2)
2004–2016 Germany 121 (24)
Medal record
Representing  Germany
Men's football
FIFA World Cup
Winner 2014 Brazil Team
Third place 2010 South Africa Team
Third place 2006 Germany Team
UEFA European Championship
Runner-up 2008 Austria–Switzerland Team
Third place 2012 Poland–Ukraine Team
FIFA Confederations Cup
Third place 2005 Germany Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Bastian Schweinsteiger (/ˈʃwaɪnʃtaɪɡər/ SHWYNE-shty-gər, German: [ˈbasti̯a(ː)n ˈʃvaɪnʃtaɪɡɐ] ⓘ; born 1 August 1984) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Earlier in his career, he primarily played as a wide midfielder; he later switched to a central midfield role. Former Germany national team manager Joachim Löw has referred to Schweinsteiger as one of the greatest players the country has ever produced.[3]

Schweinsteiger spent 17 seasons at Bayern Munich, playing in exactly 500 matches across all competitions and scoring 68 goals. His honours at the club include eight Bundesliga titles, seven DFB-Pokal titles, a UEFA Champions League title, a FIFA Club World Cup title and a UEFA Super Cup title.[4] He joined Manchester United in 2015, playing sparingly for 18 months before moving to Chicago Fire. He announced his retirement from playing in October 2019.

Schweinsteiger played for the German national team from 2004 to 2016. He is Germany's fourth-most-capped player of all time, having earned 121 caps and scored 24 goals. He was selected in their squads for four European Championships and three World Cups, including their victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, when he was widely regarded as one of the most important contributors in Germany's campaign, playing an especially important role in defending Lionel Messi in the final.[5] Following Philipp Lahm's international retirement on 2 September 2014, Schweinsteiger was named captain of the national team. He played his last match for Germany against Finland on 31 August 2016, after which he retired from international football.

Since his retirement as a player in 2019, Schweinsteiger has worked as an on-air football analyst for German television broadcaster ARD and its weekend programme Sportschau.[6]

  1. ^ a b "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players: Germany" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Bastian Schweinsteiger" (in German). FC Bayern Munich. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
  3. ^ Hanson, Peter (9 October 2019). "Schweinsteiger was one of Germany's greatest players - Low". Goal.com. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Bastian Schweinsteiger Bio". ESPN soccernet. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  5. ^ "Schweinsteiger lives up to his 'Chosen One' tag as Germany beat Argentina". The Independent. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  6. ^ Hofer, Sophia (11 October 2019). "Bastian Schweinsteiger wird ARD-Experte". Zeit Online (in German). Retrieved 19 September 2023.