Club Career
Schweinsteiger signed with 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.
A left midfielder who can also play on the right, he has excellent dribbling skills and is a specialist at set pieces. Schweinsteiger also has a hard shot and often scores from outside the penalty area. He can play as a defensive midfielder or just behind the strikers. 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 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 2005–06 season despite his international exploits of the summer in the Confederations Cup, Schweinsteiger swiftly returned to play a role in the double-winning campaign and scored in Bayern's Champions League 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 (UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup), scoring 10 goals in the process.
On 15 August 2008, Schweinsteiger scored the first Bundesliga goal of the 2008–09 season. In December 2010, he extended his contract with Bayern until 2016.
On 25 April 2012, Schweinsteiger scored from the last and match-clinching penalty kick against Real Madrid to send Bayern to the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final. However, in the final of 19 May 2012, Schweinsteiger hit the post against Chelsea after a touch from Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Čech.
Read more about this topic: Bastian Schweinsteiger
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