Bastian Schweinsteiger: Where would he fit in the Man United team?

Bastian Schweinsteiger is one of those players who need no introduction. He is one of the best midfielders in the world, and probably one of the reasons Germany won the World Cup in Brazil, 2014. As Bayern Munich’s Chairman Karl Heinz Rummenigge confirmed that the club is willing to leave the player, he is poised to play in the red jersey at Old Trafford next season.

He was been born in West Germany and has been playing for the Munich side ever since he was a kid. Rising through the ranks of hierarchy in the footballing world, he started making a mark and proving himself not just on the domestic level, but also on the international level. It would be quite shocking to know that he had almost chosen skiing as his sport, as he was quite adept at either. He was also known to be a rebel, and had quite the aggression on the pitch during his early years.

After winning the German Youth Championship back in 2002, a series of good quality games saw him rise up and play for the reserves. The then manager, Ottmar Hitzfeld found him and gave him his first match for the club.Since then, he never looked back (apart from a short spell back to the reserves in the 2005/06 season).

Even on the international level, he has played for all possible tiers of the national side, including the U-16 up to U-21. Germany was a homogeneous bunch of footballers; he gelled so well with, and into the team, that he practically made himself the center of the team as time progressed. From his start at Euro 2004, to the 2014 World Cup win, nobody could have blamed him for anything that went wrong.

All these are good and fine, but where does he fit in the Manchester United setup? To understand that, first we need to analyse United’s present formation, and what we can expect from the new set of players. Traditionally, United plays in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-2 diamond formation. Louis van Gaal though, prefers the single striker up ahead as it gives him the flexibility of going from defence to attack at the snap of your fingertips.

This 4-2-3-1 formation has the capability of what Louis wants, a dynamic, fast moving and an attacking setup. We all know what Rooney is capable of up ahead, and there’s no questioning it. Mata can easily provide enough support for Rooney when required, and can also make those crucial passes he is known for, apart from switching with Di Maria on the wings. On the wings, Di Maria and Depay(or) Young take their place, running by the flanks and providing those crucial balls in. They even have the capability of cutting in and taking a shot from the edge of the box when required. The  Bastian-Herrera  combination would play like bread and butter. While one of them would traditionally fall back, the other one would look to go ahead. The interesting part of this system is, both players can do either without compromising quality! So in case of a counter-attack, it would be difficult for the opposition to judge the movement.

Also, Herrera and Schweinsteiger both are quite adept at passing, more particularly, those essential balls which cut through the defence.  We could see Schweinsteiger lob passing a depay running about the flanks finding space. We could also see him do layoffs in the game, and the typical one-two’s with Mata if he plays an attacking role.

On a defensive role, he is known to hold the ball well, like he does for Germany at times. Supporting Lahm at the midfield, he maintains control of the play till the moment is perfect to strike. He has a keen sense of game and the temperament required to play at the defensive role. One might argue him being old would affect his quality of the game, but his play involves more of the vision and temperament, none of which fades with age(example-Xavi).

His experience would also play a vital role in the game. Having more experience is never a disadvantage, and even though the team had Rooney and Van Persie last season, lack of experience in the team could have been a reason for being knocked off the Champions League rat race.

With the number of players in United’s midfield, all the team requires is the gelling of the players. Having played under Van Gaal before, Bastian knows and understands the man, and it wouldn’t be a herculean task to adjust in the team’s play. The tougher challenge for him would be to adjust to the English atmosphere, which is challenging to many Europeans. If all goes well, the midfield might just win the League for us!