Sometimes in life you can do everything right, work hard, play by the rules, but in the end it still doesn’t work out and it’s entirely not your fault. A lot of times there are just factors way outside your control and that’s what ultimately determines whether or not a situation works out in the end.
Just because it didn’t work out that doesn’t mean the decision was wrong. Chicago Fire midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger had a very unsuccessful spell at Manchester United. His first season was plagued by injury, suspension and when match fit, general ineffectiveness.
In his second season, Schweinsteiger saw himself frozen out, beyond benched, and training with the U21s for a time. The way United Manager Jose Mourinho treated Schweinsteiger was so controversial that it even drew allegations of illegality from labor law experts (although those claims were later walked back).
Mourinho hardly ever apologizes to anybody, and he rarely admits wrong-doing, but he went full on public mea culpa regarding Schweinsteiger.
In our interview with Schweinsteiger on the 8th, the German legend said that Mourinho’s apology conveyed the man’s “character,” and he described what happened at Old Trafford as “an unfortunate situation.”
Despite it not working out with the Red Devils, Bastian Schweinsteiger expressed no regret over the move to MUFC, as he told SPORT1 today:
“It was the right (move). I always had the objective to win the Champions League with Bayern Munich and that is why I always stayed there and didn’t move abroad.
“I achieved that in 2013 and that defined an era. The step to Manchester was definitely an important one. Louis van Gaal called me and he wanted to have success quickly. Of course things started very well for me. We were top of the league, level on points with Leicester.
“Then I got suspended and shortly after I was fouled and injured. We still won a title in the end — the FA Cup — and that’s not something you just win by fluke.”
Bastian Schweinsteiger, later added in the interview that he was “surprised” by the way he was treated under Mourinho.
“Of course that surprised me, But I had always hoped that the situation would change and that I would play for United once again, and I also succeeded in doing that in the end.”
The Captain of the 2014 German World Cup Championship team has adjusted quite well to MLS. In his first four games with the Chicago Fire, Bastian Schweinsteiger has two goals, and the team has two wins, one draw and one loss.
Additionally, fans from all over the world, many of which belong to Man United supporter clubs, are coming out to watch him play with the Chicago Fire.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times and NBC Chicago.com, contributes to Chicago Tribune.com, Bold, WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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