Bastian Schweinsteiger

Bastian Schweinsteiger (pronounced [ˈbasti̯an ˈʃvaɪ̯nʃtaɪ̯ɡɐ] ) (born 1 August 1984) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Manchester United and the Germany national team . A right-footed player, he usually plays as central midfielder . Earlier in his career, he primarily played as a wide midfielder . On 2 September 2014, Schweinsteiger was named captain of the national team following Philipp Lahm's international retirement. [3] He spent 13 seasons at Bayern Munich, playing in exactly 500 matches across all competitions and scoring 67 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 two DFB-Ligapokals . [4] He joined Manchester United in 2015. Since making 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 Bayern Munich 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] 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 Bunde