Basti Schweinsteiger interview

The German legend tells FFT all about Jose Mourinho, World Cup glory and life with Chicago Fire

How would winning the MLS Cup at Chicago Fire compare to the other successes in your career? Talking about winning the MLS Cup is one thing, but doing it won’t be so easy. Chicago Fire weren’t that successful in the previous two seasons, so we have to improve step by step. There’s a new philosophy; now we have to transfer it onto the pitch. You can see progress already – it’ll take some time, though.

How did it feel to score on your Chicago debut? It was a tremendous feeling. I only wish that we had won [Fire drew 2-2 with Montreal]. I’m very happy here – the fans gave me a great reception.

You took your wife [former world tennis No.1 Ana Ivanovic] to see the Chicago Bulls in your first week. Were you a Bulls fan growing up? I was, yes. My dad rooted for them, too. Basketball isn’t big in Germany but we have some pretty good players in the NBA: Dennis Schroder, Dirk Nowitzki...

And Nowitzki recorded a welcome video for you. Yeah, I saw it! He’s such a nice guy – we’ve known each other for many years. Everybody in Germany is proud of Dirk. He’s done great things in America.

How did your move to Chicago Fire come about? It took a while and I had to be patient, but it was worth it. I talked with [general manager] Nelson Rodriguez and [head coach] Veljko Paunovic, and was impressed by their vision for the club and how much they know about soccer. I knew I wanted to work with these guys, so I pushed for the transfer.

“BEATING BRAZIL 7 1 WAS SURREAL I SAW LOTS OF PEOPLE IN THE STANDS CRYING. WE’D WON A BIG GAME BUT I DIDN’T FEEL LIKE CELEBRATING”

Jose Mourinho said you could have played a few games for Manchester United before the season’s end. Did you want to move to play regularly? We had a few honest conversations. I told him what I wanted, he let me go, and I appreciate that. Now I can move on and focus on my MLS career.

How will you look back on your time at Manchester United? Any regrets? The most important memory for me is winning the FA Cup. We’d started the league season very well, playing good football under Louis van Gaal, but in the end the injuries caught up with us. There were a lot of positives: I loved the fans and they showed me tremendous support when I returned after my injury. I would have loved to have helped the team more, but that was not the case and I had to move on. I wish them all the best, though.

Which moments stand out for you personally over your whole career? The best moments were always with the national team. Nothing gave me more joy than making everybody in Germany happy. Of course, winning the World Cup was the best feeling ever, but also, when we played for third place against Portugal in 2006, the support we got in Stuttgart was unbelievable. It is great to win the Champions League title and many other trophies, but I always wanted to make German people proud first.

What are your overriding memories of the 7-1 thrashing of Brazil in the crazy 2014 World Cup semi-final? It was such a weird experience. I was actually a little bit sad, as I saw lots of people in the stadium crying and the tortured faces of the Brazilian players. I felt for them, as it wasn’t nice to see them like that, particularly my Bayern team-mates. So it was kind of surreal: we’d won a big game, but I didn’t feel like celebrating – I could feel the pain in the air. Later, when we were driving to the final against Argentina, Brazil fans came onto the streets to show their support. That was pretty special. They were rooting for us, and we won.

Chicago’s called the Windy City. Is it that windy? Windier than England? Well, I was in Manchester for a couple of years and that’s a really windy city, to be quite honest. Plus it rained a lot. But I don’t mind that. I grew up in the mountains, where it’s often very, very cold. I’m really enjoying Chicago. It’s a big city and people are very friendly.