“Bayern Munich and Manchester United were the only clubs in Europe I wanted to play for”

A true Bavarian and German legend, Bastian Schweinsteiger is now playing his third season with the Chicago Fire, where he moved there after a relatively unsuccessful spell at Manchester United.

While playing for Bayern Munich, he achieved a status of a club legend. At the peak of his career, he won the triple in 2012 and the World Cup with Germany two years later. After 17 years in the Bavarian capital, he decided to move to Manchester.

Schweinsteiger was lured to the Premier League by his former manager — Louis van Gaal. But trouble came soon thereafter. Jose Mourinho was named the new manager and Schweini soon fell out of favor for the Portuguese coach. After suffering through torture with Jose, Bastian soon moved to MLS. In his interview with TZ he explained his decision:

I didn’t want to go anywhere else in Europe. FC Bayern and Manchester United were the clubs I always wanted to play for.

Schweinsteiger has had a successful run for Chicago Fire so far. He scored on his debut and was of huge importance in the most important matches. His debut campaign saw him voted into the MLS All-Star Fan XI to play in the 2017 MLS All-Star game, hosted in his new home city of Chicago.

What’s different in the USA?

Even though he greatly enjoys his life in the USA, he also has noticed some difference between his life in Europe and in the USA.

You don’t have as many game weeks as in England and not at the same level as in iEurope. Sometimes you need a bit of patience. [Punctuality] is not taken so seriously. If a meeting starts at 6 o’clock and the last player comes into the locker room at 6:10, that’s quite normal.

For a true German, the last part was probably quite shocking for Basti.

Return to Bayern?

Basti was often linked with a return to Bavaria. Even the CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was quite open about the move and stated that Basti is more than welcome to return. But, Basti still hasn’t decided on his future.

I usually do it in the autumn when I decide how to go on. That’s the way it will be. I’m still a player. I really appreciate that Bayern say such things about me. The question is always when, how, and where [he will take the next step in his career].

His former teammates have already taken some form of non-playing position at Bayern and I certainly see Schweinsteiger as a board member one day. But for now, let the man enjoy his football!