By DPA,
Johannesburg : If Germany win the World Cup, thank a Dutchman.
Without Louis van Gaal, youngsters Thomas Mueller and Holger Badstuber would not be in South Africa. And Bastian Schweinsteiger, once known as Schweini, would not be pulling the strings in the middle of the park.
Schweinsteiger is now the pivotal player for Germany who launch their World Cup campaign Sunday in Durban against Australia.
Under van Gaal at Bayern Munich, Schweinsteiger came in from the flanks to play a strategic central role in midfield. He was a key figure in Bayern’s league and cup double and Champions League final campaign. No player in the Bundesliga had more ball contacts, the statistics show.
It gave Germany coach Joachim Loew food for thought. Until quite recently he was planning to use Schweinsteiger in his customary wide role. Now there are no doubts about his best position.
Schweinsteiger has now taken over Michael Ballack’s job. When the Chelsea midfielder’s World Cup hopes were smashed by Kevin Prince Boateng’s tackle in the FA Cup final, it was Schweini’s moment.
But just don’t call him Schweini any more. That cheeky young chappy – always good for a laugh and a stylish new haircut – has undergone a metamorphosis. As the new midfield general, he wants to be treated as one of the seniors – which despite his 25 years he now is.
“I don’t think Schweini exists any more. I have changed,” he told Kicker magazine at the start of a season in which he finally lived up to his years of promise.
“My game has changed now. The days when I tried to dribble past a player and cut inside, that doesn’t happen any more.
“Now I am on the ball more often. I can help dictate the play because I am always close to the ball. When I was playing wide I was always too dependent on others.”
There were times when people doubted his ability, despite his high number of caps.
In fact, at 25 years and 10 months there has not been a player in the German game with such a high success rate. The hit list includes five league titles, five cup titles, 74 caps, a third place at the 2006 World Cup and runners-up medals at Euro 2008 and the 2009-2010 Champions League. In comparison, former keeper Oliver Kahn was 26 before he won his first title.
But the big breakthrough could only be coming now.
Bayern president Uli Hoeness, who sometimes doubted whether it would ever happen, said: “This season he has taken the great leap from a flippant young guy who had no orientation in life to a player very aware of his responsibilities.”
Confirmation of Schweinsteiger’s increasing influence for Germany came following the Ballack injury when Loew appointed him vice-captain behind new skipper Philipp Lahm.
Schweinsteiger is clearly relishing the responsibility. In two pre-World Cup friendlies it looked as if he was already forming a fruitful midfield partnership with Stuttgart’s Sami Khedira.
He stepped up to score twice from the spot in a 3-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, and he and Khedira interchanged intelligently as they shared the defensive midfield duties.
Ballack’s injury may yet be a blessing in disguise for the Germans.