Berlin: Germany World Cup-winning midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger retired from football aged 35 on Tuesday and has already been offered the chance to join the national side’s backroom team.
The former Bayern Munich and Manchester United player said on Twitter: “The time has now come: I would like to thank both you and my teams @FCBayern, @ManUtd, @ChicagoFire and @DFB_Team and of course @AnaIvanovic and my family for their support!”
His last game was for Chicago Fire in the MLS on Sunday, a 5-2 victory away to Orlando City.
Schweinsteiger is most closely associated with home club Bayern, where he won eight Bundesliga titles and seven German Cups. He lifted the Champions League as part of the 2013 treble under coach Jupp Heynckes.
A year later in Rio de Janeiro, Schweinsteiger played a heroic battling role as Germany defeated Argentina 1-0 after extra-time to lift the World Cup. He played 121 times for his country and scored 24 goals. He went on to marry tennis star Ana Ivanovic.
“Saying goodbye as an active player makes me feel a little nostalgic, but I am also looking forward to the exciting challenges that await me soon. I will remain
faithful to football,” his statement continued.
His next challenge may be helping Germany boss Joachim Loew as a trainee coach.
Loew told a news conference before the announcement: “There is always a place for him with us.”
Of the 2014 World Cup winners, former striker Miroslav Klose has already been part of Loew’s coaching team.
The sporting case for continuing in Chicago, after three seasons, was limited after the team missed out on the play-offs for the second successive year.
Schweinsteiger made his debut for Bayern in 2002 after coming through the club’s youth system. He went on to play 345 Bundesliga games, scoring 45 goals and making 70 assists according to the team.
He was inducted as the 18th member of Bayern’s hall of fame in 2018, three years after he left the club for Manchester United.
The spell at Old Trafford, however, did not work out as Schweinsteiger was dropped from the squad by manager Jose Mourinho when he replaced Louis van Gaal — who signed the midfielder after working with him while coach of Bayern.
That prompted a 2017 move to Chicago and though the Fire reached the play-offs in his first season, they were eliminated in the opening round. — dpa
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