Manchester United landed their second major coup of the transfer window last week, snapping up Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger on a three-year deal. The 30-year-old – who will become the first ever German footballer to play for the Red Devils – insisted that United was the only club he’d considered joining:
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Bayern Munich, it has been an incredible journey and I didn’t take the decision to leave lightly. Manchester United is the only club that I would have left Munich for. I feel ready for this new and exciting challenge in what I regard as the most competitive league in the world and I am looking forward to working with Louis van Gaal again. I will never forget my time at Bayern Munich and I would like to thank everyone at the club and the fans for the great memories.”
The History
Born in Bavaria, Schweinsteiger cut his teeth at local clubs FV Oberaudorf and TSV 1860 Rosenheim, before joining Bayern Munich’s youth academy at the age of 13. Having turned out some impressive performances for the reserves in the third tier of German football, he went on to make 14 appearances for the senior side in the 2002/03 season as Bayern claimed the league and cup double.
Schweinsteiger started out at left-back but was quickly shifted into midfield by head coach Ottmar Hitzfeld. Over the course of the next two campaigns, he tallied seven goals and 11 assists in 35 starts, operating predominantly from a left midfield berth in a 4-4-2 diamond set-up. The versatile Schweinsteiger then went on to produce 13 goals and 31 assists in the following four seasons before the appointment of Louis van Gaal in the summer of 2009 saw him assigned a deep-lying defensive midfield role.
The next four years harvested 16 goals and 17 assists in 115 league outings, with his best attacking output coming in the 2012/13 season, where he netted seven times and chipped in with five assists. After Bayern claimed the treble (Bundesliga, German cup and Champions League) in 2013, Schweinsteiger scooped the German Player of the Year award.
In his first season under former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola, Schweinsteiger was limited to 22 starts because of tendon irritation and went on to accrue four goals and five assists. In the subsequent campaign, he managed just 15 starts due to injury, bagging five goals and four assists in the process.
Schweinsteiger has been a stalwart for Germany since his senior debut in 2004 against Hungary. With 111 appearances (23 goals) to his name to date, the 30-year-old midfielder ranks fifth on the list of Germany’s all-time most-capped players. The crowning moment of his international career undoubtedly arrived in the 2014 Brazil World Cup, when he played every minute of the knockout stages en route to the trophy.
The Prospects
Although he’s versatile enough to play in a number of roles across the centre of the park, it seems more likely that Schweinsteiger will be utilised in front of the back-four by Van Gaal once again.
Considering that the Dutchman employed his former charge as an enforcer during his managerial spell at the Allianz Arena, one might expect him to do the same at United. Van Gaal – in an interview with the club’s official site – said that Schweinsteiger’s ability to dictate the rhythm of a match will be vital:
“Bastian is, of course, no stranger to me. I worked with him during my time at Bayern Munich and I am truly delighted he is joining Manchester United. His record speaks for itself; he has won every honour at club level and was a major part of the successful Germany World Cup-winning team last summer. Bastian is the ultimate professional and there is no doubting his talent and his ability to control games. He brings a wealth of experience and is an excellent addition to our squad.”
Michael Carrick excelled as a holding midfielder in the latter stages of the previous season, which might make Van Gaal loath to sideline the former Tottenham recruit. Indeed, United’s switch to 4-1-4-1, set-up upon Carrick’s return from injury in Gameweek 29, sparked an upturn in their performances – the Red Devils subsequently went on a four-match winning streak, beating Liverpool at Anfield and Manchester City at home.
In the event that Carrick retains a starting role, Van Gaal is likely to plump for a 4-3-3 formation, with Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin patrolling the centre of the park. The same formation could see Schweinsteiger adopt that deeper role, with Schneiderlin and Ander Herrera playing further ahead. Given his wealth of options further forward, though, Van Gaal could opt for a 4-2-3-1 set-up, allowing Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin to partner up in the double-pivot.
At 7.0 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, Schweinsteiger looks fairly priced in light of his attacking output last term (five goals and four assists in just 1362 minutes), but Bayern’s complete dominance of their league has to be factored into our assessment. The Bundesliga titans averaged 70% possession and fired 17.4 shots per match, whereas United managed 61% and 13.5 respectively. Furthermore, his injury record over the last two seasons is something of a concern, having started only 37 of 68 league outings.
Although you’d expect Schweinsteiger’s scoring opportunities to be diminished, then, his underlying stats are promising. The German’s conversation rate (17.2%) trumps that of any United midfielder bar Juan Mata (27.3%), while his shot accuracy (38%) is second only to Marouane Fellaini (44.4%) among the Red Devils midfielders that fired off at least ten attempts. With the likes of Mata and Mephis Depay priced at 8.5, and a number of viable attacking contenders such as Nacer Chadli and Jordan Henderson at 7.0, though, it remains to be seen whether Schweinsteiger can force his way into many managers’ plans in the season ahead.
United’s start to the new campaign throws up a couple of tricky home match-ups against Tottenham and Liverpool, yet Van Gaal’s men will fancy their chances after winning both corresponding fixtures 3-0 last term. United’s schedule between Gameweeks 2–4 (avl, NEW, swa), meanwhile, could serve up a wealth of attacking returns if their new signings acclimatise quickly, though whether the German is one of the main benefactors is another matter entirely.
Further Reference
Bastian Schweinsteiger Wikipedia Page
