Bastian Schweinsteiger

Bastian Schweinsteiger ( 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 before later switching 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.

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. 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 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.