Bastian Schweinsteiger
A German footballer for the Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and also for the German National Team, the appropriately named midfield mastermind is none other than Bastian Schweinsteiger. After staring his career as a wide midfielder, he now usually plays as central midfielder and is right footed. His awards and achievements are many, making him the most sought after and famous player of his nation and his club team as well. Bastain has a total of seven German Cups and the same number of Bundesliga titles for his current team. Also included are one UEFA Champions League title and two League cups. Another of his huge achievement is being voted the best player of his national team.
Bastian was born on 1st August 1984 on Kolbermoor, West Germany. Among his siblings are included an older brother Tobias Schweinsteiger, who is also a footballer.
Bastian’s club career started with the advent of signing into Bayern Munich as a youth team player on July 1st 1998. Also very talented in ski racing, he had the choice between pursuing to be a ski racer and a footballer. Bastian earned a place in the reserve team after having won the German youth championship in July 2002. He was once famous for being a rebel and doing things that constantly put him in the headlines of the news. Bastian appeared in the third division displays.
Bastian can play with both foots and is supposed to have perfect dribbling skills and set pieces. He scores primarily from outside the penalty area and also has a hard shot. Primarily a defensive midfielder, he also appears behind the strikers. Bastian’s first appearances in the titular eleven was as a left back. Bastian was given a chance to debut as a late substitute in the UEFA Champions League in November 2002 against RC Lens after just two training lessons. After making an immediate goal for Markus Feulner, Bastian got a transfer and signed in to a professional contract to appear in 14 Bundesliga Games. His efforts combined with the others’ helped Bayern to a league and cup double. He next played 26 Bundesliga games the next season. His first goal for Bayern was in September 2003 against Vfl Wolfsburg.
Despite Bastian’s international exploits of the Confederations Cup, he was sent back to the resever team by the new coach Felix Magath at the beginning of the 2005-06 season. He however returned and played a significant role in the double winning campaign. He scored in Bayern’s Champions League defeat at Chelsea, a quarter final first leg defeats.
Bastian made 135 appearances on total for Bayern Munich including the UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal for the next three seasons, and scored a total of 10 goals. His first Bundesliga goal was in the 2008-09 season on 15th August 2008. Bastian’s contract with Bayern has been extended until 2016.
Schweinsteiger scored a historic penalty kick goal on 25th April 2012 against Real Madrid, thus sending Bayern into the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final to a match against Chelsea. The match against Chelsea too gave an opportunity for Bastian to score but his effort was made futile after Chelsea won. The 2012-13 season also saw Bastian as a considerably good player, maintaining his duties as a central midfielder. 6th April 2013 saw him as a catalyst in the win of the Bundesliga title for Bayern as he scored a backheel flick goal against Eintracht Frankfurt. He obtained the German player of the year in 2013 for his contributions for Bayern Munich.
Internationally Bastian has appeared in 100 matches and scored 23 goals for the German national football team. His debut in the national football team was in 2004 against Hungary in a friendly and has since been on five tournaments with the German team. The major tournaments include UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal was followed by FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany, UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria-Switzerland and then the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa followed by UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland-Ukraine.
Bastian was called up for Euro 2004, and was known as jersey number 31. His performances in Portugal earned excellent reviews after he set up the opening goal against Czech Republic. On the 2006 FIFA World Cup on his home soil he was called upon to play for the team and became famous after his long range strikes against Portugal thus winning him the Man of The Match award. This then 22 year player was extremely appreciated for his hard work and playing skills after having played 41 matches for the national team.
Euro 2008 qualifiers over saw him scoring two goals in a 13-0 win over San Marino. Bastian also scored a goal in Germany’s 4-1 win over Slovakia. This season gave him a red card for his reaction to a challenge from Jerko Leko thus missing him a game with Austria. Bastian however bounced back up, scoring two goals for the victory against Turkey in a semi final match. He captained the friendly match against United Arab Emirates.
As for the 2010 World Cup, he features in qualifier matches contributing 3 goals. He replaced the injured Michael Ballack as a central midfield and played admirably being vital to both attack and defense. Bastian thus obtained the Man of the Match against Argentina. On total Bastian was tied for three a s sists in seven matches and was chosen as one of the ten finalists for the prestigious Golden Ball Award.
Bastian was the first choice as defensive midfielder in Germany’s qualifier matches in the Euro 2012. He played five matches and was instrumental in Germany’s ten out of ten wins with one score and one a s sist. As of 2014, he has appeared in five appearances for the World Cup qualifier matches.
Bastian has a height of 6 feet and a weight of 79 kg. His yearly salary is supposed to be 10 million Euros a year and his net worth is 20 million Euros. His first dating partner was Sarah Brander who met him at a party in Munich. They were together from 2007-2009. He started dating Sarah Brander in 2009, who is his live-in girlfriend as of now.