“I had a good record against Lionel Messi. When he saw me in Qatar, I think he was happy I wasn’t on the pitch any more!”
YOU ASK THE QUESTIONS
Not many footballers can claim to have had the upper hand over Lionel Messi, but Bastian Schweinsteiger is one of them. Across eight competitive fixtures for club and country in which both featured in the squad, Messi triumphed in two and Schweinsteiger six, including Bayern Munich’s 7-0 aggregate win over Barcelona in the 2013 Champions League semi-finals – and, of course, the 2014 World Cup final.
Reminded of that statistic as he sits down with FFT, there is unsurprisingly a massive grin on the 39-year-old’s face. Friendly and jovial throughout, Schweinsteiger is completely comfortable talking to the media, having made his career as a German TV pundit since hanging up his boots in 2019, as well as spending more time with his children and his wife, , former tennis star Ana Ivanovic.
Schweinsteiger showed promise as a skier in his teenage years [right], even faring well against a future world champion, before establishing himself as a legend in football. During exactly 500 appearances for Bayern, he lifted the Champions League and eight Bundesliga titles, also earning 121 caps for his nation in an era when Germany became a much more exciting side to watch than the teams before them.
Admittedly the midfielder’s time at Manchester United didn’t go to plan, but he’s ready to discuss that during a wide-ranging chat about an otherwise glorious career…
Is it true you had to choose between skiing and football as a youngster?
Chris Strobl, Augsburg It is. I grew up next to the mountains, one hour south of Munich, close to the Austrian border. My father was a ski racer and also a footballer, so when I was two-and-a-half, I started skiing. My close friend is Felix Neureuther: he became a top slalom racer and he’s my age. We were competing – he’d win a race, I’d win a race. When I was 14, I had to make a decision: I got an offer to join FC Bayern’s academy and it was impossible to do both. Bayern got lucky that they asked for me in the summer, so I decided to play football! [Laughs]
Your older brother, Tobias, was also a professional footballer – did that motivate you?
Aaron Hecher, Munich It definitely helped me to compete with older guys. He’s two years older and protected me in a few situations, but it was an
