Football Player Profile: German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger
Germany are due to play Argentina, in what is one of the most highly anticipated Quarter-finals at this World Cup. The match will be a repeat of the Quarter-final from the World Cup in 2006. The Germans, who were hosting the tournament, went on to win the match on penalties, after a 1-1 draw but the match was remembered more for the violent scenes that marked its’ end.
Four years on and both teams are facing each other again, with one clear difference, Bastian Schweinsteiger will be lining up in the centre of midfield, a spot previously occupied by the injured Michael Ballack. In the last World Cup, Schweinsteiger occupied a role on the left of midfield, cutting in and supplying passes to the likes of Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski. It is astonishing to see how similar the line-up is which can only mean that the team has gotten better.
Bastian Schweinsteiger is currently playing for the German Champions, Bayern Munich. He played an instrumental part in them re-gaining the Bundesliga crown, winning the German Cup and reaching the Final of the UEFA Champions league where Bayern eventually lost to Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan. Schweinsteiger came through the youth ranks at Bayern, earning a reputation as one of the best young players in Germany. His antics off the field threatened to ruin his career on it but with age, he has matured and put all of those things behind him.
A highly gifted athlete, Schweinsteiger had to choose between two sports. One being football while the other was Skiing. His success on the football pitch eventually convinced him that it was going to be football that he would pursue professionally and the decision appears to have been the right one. What seperates Schweinsteiger from other midfield stars is his versatility.
Although he is a right footed player, for a large period in his career he played on the left side of midfield. His excellent dribbling and ball retention skills mean that he can also play in the centre of the midfield, on the right or just behind the strikers. For Germany in this World Cup, he is playing a holding role, something he has mastered to perfection. Schweinsteiger is also deadly from set-plays, whether it is shooting on goal or crossing for on-rushing team-mates.
Schweinsteiger is one of the most reliable men for the job. It is not shocking that he has been linked with the English Champions, Chelsea. It has been heard that the English giants have been interested with a move for the Bayern ace. Chelsea Midfielder Frank Lampard saw his England team ripped apart by a German team, with Schweinsteiger pulling the strings in midfield and with Michael Ballack leaving Chelsea, it is fitting that his replacement in the national side, replaces him at club level too.
Still only 26 years’ of age, Schweinsteiger has been one of the best players of the World Cup so far. His contribution to the team may not be apparent if the number of goals scored is looked at but his influence on the German team is unmistakeable. Argentina will have to closely mark, or cut off the supply of the ball, to him if they do not want to be eliminated by Germany once again.
Having said that marking one person will not stop them from playing their football, Being one of the most balanced teams in the tournament, Germany look unstoppable in their march towards the final and there is no doubt that if they lift the World Cup for a 4th time, the contribution of Bastian Schweinsteiger will not be forgotten.
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