In the absence of regular captain Michael Ballack, the experienced Bastian Schweinsteiger has been chosen as the national team skipper for the friendly match against Dubai tomorrow. Schweinsteiger was thrilled to take up the position of leading the national side. "When you get a chance to play for the national team, it doesn't matter if it is Dubai, France or Alaska," he said.
"I will be leading the team from the front. We need to be clever when we play the UAE. We must let the ball do all the running. As we experienced in the China match, I doubt this is going to be an easy outing for us," noted the new captain.
With the heat and humidity playing a crucial role, Germany hope the ball will do the talking for them as they prepare to face hosts UAE in a friendly at the Al Nasr Club tomorrow.
"This match will be anything but easy for us considering the unusual heat and humidity at this part of the year here. The heat hits you really badly, but we will have to really cope with it and deliver a good brand of football," Oliver Bierhoff, manager of the team told the media at an official press conference yesterday.
In addition, the former German star admitted that fatigue may play a crucial role in the outcome of the game.
"Our players have had a tough season and they are tired. But more than that, they are tired after this long trip between Germany, China and the UAE," he stated.
Germany held out for a 1-1 draw in Shanghai against China last Friday and then took the next flight out to Dubai for the friendly against the UAE. "One of our missions is to take the team abroad and add better brand value to the national side. This is also an opportunity to bring together business and sport," Bierhoff stated.
Despite the odds stacked against them, Bierhoff was confident his side would come up with a creditable performance.
"The temperature may not be too much of a problem, but the humidity would be an issue. Hopefully, our players will adapt the conditions in the next couple of days," he added.
He further reiterated that the friendly is an apt chance for head coach Joachim Loew to bleed new faces into the squad. "With the World Cup one year away, this is correct time to start building a team for the future. Hence this match will be a true test for us. And with just 17 players at his disposal, the coach is on record that he is willing to give everyone a chance to play," the German manager remarked.
[Gulf News]
Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness has warned midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger he will need to improve his performances next season.
The Germany international failed to make an impression on Hoeness this campaign and has been told more is expected of him in the future.
"You have got to ask him quite clearly if he always just wants to be any old member of this squad," Hoeness told Sport Bild magazine.
"Is what he showed here last year how he imagined things to be with us at Bayern?"
Hoeness also said Philipp Lahm cannot expect to leave the club just because of his "nice guy" image.
The Germany full-back was strongly linked with Barcelona last summer and the Champions League winners are believed to be showing an interest again, but Hoeness is not listening to the rumours.
He said: "There is not one player who can leave us just because he is a nice guy. Are we a charity or something?"
Bayern Munich have confirmed midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has agreed a new three-year contract with the club.
The Germany international put pen to paper on the deal over the weekend to end speculation linking him with a move abroad with his previous contract due to expire in the summer.
"We are happy we have been able to tie down in a positive manner a further important player in Bastian Schweinsteiger," said chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on the club's website.
The 24-year-old has come through the ranks with Bayern, whom he joined as a schoolboy in 1998.
He made his first-team debut in 2002 and has since made 168 Bundesliga appearances and been capped 62 times by Germany.
His performances for the national team at Euro 2008 and during the first half of the season have attracted a lot of interest from many of Europe's top clubs, including Juventus, but he has followed team-mate Philipp Lahm by committing to Bayern.
Schweinsteiger's new contract with Bayern will run until June 2012.
...there's a great woman. Man of the Match Bastian Schweinsteiger attributed his success to a little encouragement from the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. Schweinsteiger revealed: "She said that I should not do the same foolish things, that I should just play as I did before.", and that "[when] Mrs Chancellor says you have to do something, you have to do it."
It is perhaps fitting that Germany's football-mad leader should have indirectly led the German football team to victory as well.
Read more about Schweinsteiger's performance in the Germany vs. Portugal match.>>
At just 23, Bastian Schweinsteiger can already be considered a mainstay of both the German national team and his club Bayern Munich.
A left midfielder, who can also play on the right, he has a hard shot, great dribbling skills and is a specialist at set pieces. He can also play as a defensive midfielder or just behind the strikers.
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.
A regular in Bayern's first team by the age of 19, a then-uncapped Schweinsteiger was one of the late additions to Germany's Euro 2004 squad and went on to feature in all three games Rudi Voller's men played there. He earned rave reviews for his performances, showing combative skills and even setting up the opening goal for teammate Michael Ballack in Germany's 2-1 loss against the Czech Republic.
The Bavarian-born youngster, who joined Bayern aged 14, has long been heralded as a future midfield general for club and country, but has played the vast majority of his senior football to date down the right flank.
Blessed with high levels of stamina, yet Schweinsteiger is much more than just a bundle of energy with his ability to make a yard of space and produce slide-rule passes making him stand out even at the highest level.
He scored his first two international goals on 8 June 2005 against Russia and scored his first goal at a major tournament against Tunisia on June 18, 2005 at the Confederations Cup in Germany.
This was followed up by two sublime strikes in the third place play-off game at the 2006 World Cup. He nearly scored a hat-trick as he caused Armando Petit's own goal to make the score 3-1.
Personal Data
| Position | Midfield |
|---|---|
| Date & place of birth | 1 August 1984 in Kolbermoor |
| Star sign | Leo |
| Nickname | Schweini |
| Height/weight/shoe size | 1.83 m / 79 kg / 44 |
| Marital status | Single (partner Sarah) |
| Education | High school |
| Motto | "Never lose your belief" |
| Homepage | www.bastian-schweinsteiger.de |
| Previous clubs | FV Oberaudorf (1990–92) TSV 1860 Rosenheim (1992–98) |
| Career record | German championship 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008 German Cup 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008 League Cup 2004, 2007 Third at 2006 World Cup Runner-up at Euro 2008 German U-17 championship 2001 German U-19 championship 2002 |
