A new beginning for Bastian Schweinsteiger

On March 22, Germany beat England in a friendly football game at Dortmund, with striker Lukas Podolski hitting a scorcher that landed in the back of the English net in the 69th minute. The match and the wonderful goal were the last moments of Podolski's German career, as he retired from international football at the end of the game. With Podolski's exit, the Die Mannschaft bid farewell to another player who was part of the team that won the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Before him, striker Miroslav Klose, defender Philipp Lahm and midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger had announced their retirement from international football after serving their team for over a decade.

Schweinsteiger, or Basti as he is affectionately called, was a indispensible part of the 2014 World Cup winning squad. His vision during the game, superb positioning on the pitch, pin-point passing, exuberant energy, stamina and superiorcontrol over the ball were his trademarks during his time in the German national team. The team's coach Joachim Löw has called Schweinsteiger "the brain" of the team, thanks to his masterful reading of the game.

Schweinsteiger honed his skills at Bayern Munich FC, inarguably the biggest club and most successful club in Germany. He spent nearly 13 years in the Bayern Munich senior team, where he won the German Bundesliga eight times, the DFB-Pokal cup seven times and the UEFA Champions League in 2013. After such accolades under his belt, Schweinsteiger made a high profile transfer to English giants Manchester United FC in July 2015, reuniting with his former Bayern coach Louis van Gaal. The move was seen as a gamble as United were seen as a club floundering since their talismanic manager Alex Ferguson left the club in 2013 after over 26 years of service.

Schweinsteiger's arrival at the club was considered a sign of greater things to come by Manchester United fans over the world. The results were something unexpected though. After his debut on August 8, 2015, Schweinsteiger did put in some notable performances. However, a spate of injuries and a three-match ban, imposed on him by The Football Association, limited his appearances for the Red Devils to only 18 games in the Premier League. The 2015-16 season itself, for United, was not too memorable. Barring a record 12th FA Cup win in May 2016, United's campaign was not too impressive. They finished a dismal fifth in the Premier League, denying them a possible UEFA Champions League spot for the 2016-17 season, and failed to qualify for the knockout phase of the 2015-16 Champions League.

Looking to turn their fortunes around, United signed José Mourinho as manager at the start of the 2016-17 season. Mourinho brought in four players in the summer transfer window. The new arrivals, defender Eric Bailly, striker Zlatan Ibrahimović and midfielders Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Paul Pogba, have now established themselves as integral parts of the squad. After a few shaky starts, United managed to gel well together as a team and began a spree of undefeated games in the Premier League. Mourinho's arrival was, however, the signal for the end of Schweinsteiger's time at the club.an outcast at united

Having been frozen out of the senior United team, Schweinsteiger was told to empty his locker in the dressing room and begin training with the Under-23 team. By doing this, Mourinho practically told Schweinsteiger that he had no room in the senior squad and was no more a favourable option. Schweinsteiger, a World Cup winner, was effectively being meted treatment normally reserved for fringe players. Many former teammates and pundits across the football world were critical of Mourinho and sympathy poured in for Schweinsteiger from everywhere. More importantly, fans of the club all over the world stood by Schweinsteiger and flooded social media with messages of sympathy and demanded his inclusion in the senior team.

Many, including his brother Tobias, were dismayed with the treatment meted out to Schweinsteiger and minced no words to express themselves. But Schweinsteiger managed to win the hearts of fans all over the world by whole-heartedly supporting the club in all competitions and turning out for many games as a spectator. Schweinsteiger's most notable gesture of his admiration for the club came in August last year, when he stated in a post on social media that "MUFC will be my last club in Europe. I respect other clubs, but Manchester United was the only one which could make me leave FC Bayern München. I will be ready if the team needs me."

His never-say-die attitude saw fans cheering for him on social media all along, while United themselves managed to put in some competitive performances without him. However, a midfielder with the qualities of Schweinsteiger was someone that United seemed to miss throughout their games. Many criticised other players, whom they perceived as stopping Schweinsteiger's entry into the team. Schweinsteiger, however, chose to let his work do the talking and kept on training vigorously to ensure that he got back into the senior team.

His efforts were finally rewarded when he made a substitute appearance in an EFL Cup quarter-final game against West Ham United. Later, he made his first start in over a year in a 4–0 win in the FA Cup fourth round home game against Wigan Athletic on January 29, in which he scored his first goal at Old Trafford for Manchester United. Schweinsteiger had two more appearances in the 2016-17 season. None of them, however, were in the Premier League; proof that he was seen as nothing more than "an option" by the manager.

Having fallen out of favour with the manager, Schweinsteiger was left with the option to transfer to Chicago Fire, an American football club. Many saw this as a respectable choice, one that would see Schweinsteiger play out the rest of his career playing good quality football, instead of warming the bench at Manchester. After he agreed to move to Chicago, tributes poured in from everyone in the international footballing fraternity, most notably from all of his Manchester United teammates.

Football, or soccer as they call it, in the United States has been on the upswing since the early years of the current millennium. One of the foremost recognised stars who moved to the Major League Soccer (MLS) in the early 2000s is former Manchester United and England football star David Beckham. His transfer from Spanish giants Real Madrid to LA Galaxy in 2007 made headlines all over the world. More importantly, it made other European footballers look at MLS – the premier soccer league for football clubs in US and Canada – as a league that could give them a challenge.

Since Beckham, several famous footballers have made their way to MLS teams. These include World Cup winners such as David Villa, Andrea Pirlo, Kaká, Thierry Henry and Alessandro Nesta. Schweinsteiger is set to join this list of elite athletes. He had embraced his situation and had nothing but praise for United and his teammates in a final video message on social media. Undoubtedly, this is one magnanimous and gifted athlete who never got his due at one of the world's biggest football clubs.After a less than impressive spell at Manchester United, where he fell out of favour with the current manager, Schweinsteiger will soon ply his trade in the United States with Chicago Fire