Bastian Schweinsteiger

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Schweinsteiger spent 13 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. 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. Following Philipp Lahm's international retirement on 18 July 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.

In Their Own Story

On 23 May 2015, Schweinsteiger marked his 500th appearance for Bayern with an opening goal in a 2–0 win over Mainz, which proved to be his final match for the club. He had extended his contract until 2016 in December 2010 following a 3–0 victory over St. Pauli. His career at Bayern was marked by significant adaptability; initially known as a rebel off the pitch and playing left-back, he settled into a central role that defined his legacy. He scored an equaliser against Manchester United in the first leg of their 2013–14 Champions League quarter-final but received a red card later in that match. His final season began with a debut as a substitute for Mario Götze in a 4–0 win against 1899 Hoffenheim on 16 May 2015, where he came off the bench. Despite playing sparingly after his move to Manchester United in July 2015, his Bayern legacy remained intact with eight league titles and seven domestic cups.

Reader's Guide

Schweinsteiger signed with FC Bayern Munich as a youth team player on 1 July 1998 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. 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. 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, 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 2004–05 season, Schweinsteiger swiftly returned to play a role in the double-winning campaign and scored his inaugural Champions League goal in Bayern's 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 that year, he extended his contract until 2012. Two years later, in December 2010, he extended his contract with Bayern until 2016, with the announcement came at the Allianz Arena following a 3–0 victory over St. Pauli. 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, Petr Čech tipped Schweinsteiger's shot onto the post, allowin

Did You Know?

• Schweinsteiger scored his first Bayern goal against VfL Wolfsburg in September 2003.
• He scored the first Bundesliga goal of the 2008–09 season on 15 August 2008.
• Schweinsteiger scored the match-clinching penalty against Real Madrid on 25 April 2012 to send Bayern to the 2012 Champions League Final.
• He scored a backheel flick goal against Eintracht Frankfurt on 6 April 2013 that sealed the Bundesliga title for Bayern.
• Schweinsteiger scored on his 500th appearance for Bayern in a 2–0 win over Mainz on 23 May 2015, his last match for the club.