Bastian Schweinsteiger is one of the German greats, playing 500 matches for Bayern Munich across 17 seasons. The central midfielder also has 121 caps for Germany's National Team. In 2017, he landed in Major League Soccer. After a short stint with Manchester United, Schweinsteiger joined the Chicago Fire in March of 2017. Less than 17 minutes in his debut against the Montreal Impact, David Accam whipped a ball onto the head of Schweinsteiger for his first goal in MLS. Just two matches later, he weaved through New England's defense before placing a shot into the bottom left corner.
Coming off a last placed finish in the Eastern Conference, Chicago was aiming to qualify for the playoffs. Schweinsteiger was a big help in that department. He provided 6 assists on the season, along with 3 goals. He was named to the MLS All-Star team. Later, he was named the captain of the 2017 All-Star team. He played one half in the 1-1 draw with Real Madrid, losing in penalties. He scored his third and final goal of the season in an early-September match in Montreal. Schweinsteiger suffered a bad foul on what was a red card tackle from Montreal's Deian Boldor. He clearly was not too happy about it, as he smashed home the lone goal on a pass from Matt Polster. Chicago finished in third place in the Eastern Conference, a massive improvement for the team. The New York Red Bulls were having none of it, winning 4-0 in the knockout round match.
In 2018, Schweinsteiger took up a new role with Chicago, for the most part. His most common position played was in central defense, though he played all throughout the midfield plenty as well. In April, Schweinsteiger had his penalty stuffed by Alex Bono in Toronto, but he headed home a goal anyway later on. Alan Gordon, one of the clutchest players in league history, ended up equalizing at 2 late on. His next goal came against New England, as he unleashed an absolute rocket that curled away from the hands of Matt Turner. In a wild 4-3 loss to Philadelphia, Schweinsteiger assisted Aleksandar Katai, then later scored a 94th minute equalizer. David Accam had the last say, scoring in the 95th minute of a +3 against his former team. On August 4th, Schweinsteiger scored his greatest goal from his time with Chicago, loading up from 30 yards out and lacing it into the back of the net. Chicago returned to the cellar, finishing second to last. Schweinsteiger had an impressive 4 goals and 6 assists on the year, especially for playing a lot of CB.
In 2019, Bastian did make the full switch to center back. He made 27/30 of his appearances in defense. As a result, his goal scoring number dropped to just one single goal, and his assists halved, to 3. Though, he did keep 8 clean sheets, a large improvement over the 4 and 5 of the two previous seasons. Schweinsteiger returned to the MLS All-Star Game in 2019 for his defensive performances. He played 45 minutes in the match, a 3-0 loss to Atletico Madrid. His lone goal of the season came in August, a perfectly placed header on a Djordje Mihailovic corner kick. It was an 88th minute winner. He also assisted one to Dax McCarty. Chicago finished with a record of 10-12-12, just three points shy of qualifying for the postseason.
On October 8, 2019, the legendary German midfielder that is Bastian Schweinsteiger announced his retirement from professional soccer. After retirement, he and his wife, former professional tennis player Ana Ivanovic, settled in Austria. In May, the couple welcomed their third child to the family. Schweinsteiger is now 39 years of age, he was 35 when he retired from MLS. His last ever match was a 5-2 victory over Orlando City on October 6th. From the moment he stepped on the pitch in America, Schweinsteiger showed off his pure quality. He played anywhere that the coaching staff asked of him, embracing his position as a leader humbly. Basti was a model professional, remaining respectful even when a reporter asked if Chicago Fire could win the World Cup during his introductory press conference. Bastian Schweinsteiger comes in at #60 to round out the sixties.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS | CS |
2019 | CHI | 2,676 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
2018 | CHI | 2,726 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
2017 | CHI | 1,993 | 3 | 6 | 5 |
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