Bastian Schweinsteiger argues with referee Ted Unkel with Zlatan Ibrahimovic looking on (photo credit: Don MacGregor)
Every Major League Soccer fan should know the names Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Between them, the two European stars have won eight Bundesliga titles, seven DFB Pokals, one UEFA Champions League, two Eredivisie titles, four Serie A titles, three Coppa Italia, one La Liga title, one Club World Cup, one UEFA SuperCup, four Ligue 1 titles, a Europa League title and a World Cup. There are more, smaller trophies and individual accolades that I will skip over, I think you get the point.
It isn’t every day two of the biggest names in the league – both in length and pedigree – get to play each other, and usually those names are on opposite sides of the pitch.
Saturday’s matchup between the Chicago Fire and the Los Angeles Galaxy pitted two heavyweights – the German, Bastian Schweinsteiger and the Swede, Zlatan Ibrahomovic – into battle, face-to-face, as Fire coach Vejlko Paunovic opted to push Schweinsteiger into defense to help contain Zlatan.
For 80 minutes – the time Zlatan was on the field – Schweinsteiger did almost everything right. He was beat on only one play in that span. In stoppage time in the first half, a cross from Ashley Cole drifted just over the German’s head and fell to the Swede. Zlatan made no mistake and hammered his header home, scoring the only goal of the match.
Both on the ball and on defense, the German didn’t put a foot wrong, but Zlatan just couldn’t be contained for the whole match. He tallied four shots – the most in the game – and completed 26 passes – the most of any forward.
On the other side, Schweinsteiger was just as heavily involved in the match. He completed 78 passes with 99 touches on the ball – second only to Dax McCarty – and created two chances for Chicago and made two tackles. He only misplaced six passes all game, while Zlatan missed eight.
Both players were prolific on offense, and credit to Schweinsteiger, who was a stalwart on defense. If he was a few inches taller, maybe he could’ve gotten the necessary touch on Zlatan’s goal. At six feet tall he isn’t diminutive, but at 6’5″, Zlatan had the height advantage.
Not every European star comes to the U.S. and makes the immediate impact that the German and Swede have made. The MLS is a special challenge for players who have won at the highest levels, and isn’t always an easy one.
“Sometimes when you’re playing overseas or in South America, a player has a reputation and all of a sudden players give his respect and space and time on the field,” Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid said. “Maybe its just the American attitude, but its almost like we’re not going to respect him, and we’re going to play even harder. Its something that’s a little different in our league. Players look at it as a challenge and a way to make a name for themselves.”
Neither the German or the Swede was out to make a name for themselves that afternoon – they’ve both done that long ago – they took on the challenge and were the focal players for their respective teams.
After the game Schweinsteiger walked into the Galaxy locker room – for what, I couldn’t say – but he emerged almost a half-hour later with Zlatan, the two men laughing, one arm draped over the other’s shoulder. It appears from their brief time together at Manchester United, the two became friends. Perhaps it was that one year of vicinity that brought them close, or perhaps it was the shared experience of European stardom. There aren’t many players that have achieved what Bastian and Zlatan have, and fewer still that moved to the U.S. to ply their trade one more time before retirement (Ashley Cole on Galaxy for one). It’s just one more challenge to see if they still have what it takes to be winners.
Some might call MLS a retirement league, but one look at the match on Saturday would show any fan that those two men cared about what they did, and were still great at it. They played their hardest and were two of the best players on the field.
While both men walked away from European stardom, they still possess the quality to play at a top level. Manchester United might not want them anymore. But plenty of teams would be willing to pay a hefty price for their services across the continent. Maybe they didn’t want to stay in Europe, maybe they wanted to move to America and face a new challenge. Either way Bastian Schweinsteiger and Zlatan ibrahimovic showed they’re still up for it.
Chicago Fire
