a schweini-article from the sportbild...
This article (amongst other things) inspired me to write Differing Expectations. I promised wispykitty a translation long ago and here it is! Sorry for the delay! I hope my English isn't too atrocious in this.
Bastian Schweinsteiger - His Serious Crisis
Bastian Schweinsteiger has lost his easygoing attitude both in life and on the pitch, and his coaches at Bayern and the national team are worried about the young star. Jogi Löw believes, however, that "he wants to overcome everything."
Whenever he is troubled by problems, Bastian Schweinsteiger (22) likes to sit in the dining room of the Pension Seidl. There, he isn't Schweini but "Hax", as the owner Sepp Seidl has baptized him. His family have always meant peace and quiet for Schweinsteiger. To be close to them, the young Bayern star has even bought a house in Großdingharting, a village of 800 souls outside the gates of Munich. Even now, right in the middle of his current crisis, he often sits there, even though he hasn't been dating the owners' stepdaughter Daniela (20) anymore for three weeks.
His split private situation says a lot about his sports-related situation: Schweinsteiger doesn't really know where he belongs anymore. Even Ottmar Hitzfeld has left the midfielder on the bench once. "Bastian has to concentrate on the important things now. For him, that means playing football," says the Bayern coach. "He has to get the things that trouble him out of his head and fully concentrate on his job."
But even on the pitch, Schweinsteiger doesn't know his place anymore. The former coach Felix Magath wanted to make a play maker out of the national player; Hitzfeld, however, put him back to the left side. "In his situation, it's best to focus on things he used to do well," Hitzfeld says. "For him, everything that counts at the moment is take one step after the other to get back his former sureness."
A measure from last Thursday demonstrates how worried the club is about its young star: The publicly announced press conference with Schweinsteiger was cancelled on short notice. "Sometimes you have to pull the boy out of the spotlight. Bastian is currently in danger of being overtaxed," says Hitzfeld and adds that, "this was a signal for Bastian, too."
The Bayern bosses have not remained oblivious of Schweinsteiger's new way of living. Even before training sessions, one becomes aware of it as soon as he arrives at the Säbener Straße in his white Audi TT Coupé. No other Bayern professional has ordered such an eye-catching model from their sponsor. In private, he's even driving a Porsche Cayenne.
Schweinsteiger likes it exclusive in other parts of his life, too. He has exchanged the adidas coats with the posh brand Dolce & Gabbana, with a silk scarf to complete his outfit. That's how you dress in the high society.
His football buddy Lukas Podolski (21) likes buying nice clothes in the posh boutiques of the Maximilianstraße, too. Still, since Podolski has followed his colleague from the national team to Bayern, the so highly-praised pitch pair Poldi and Schweini has never been seen together on Munich's streets.
Outside the pitch, the two of them share very little, anyway, and especially not their social surroundings. Poldi doesn't want to be close to Munich's celebrities, Schweinsteiger seeks their closeness. So, for example, Schweinsteiger gets invitations from Giulia Siegel (32) and is allowed to try the food that TV spectators only get to see the TV show "Das perfekte Promi-Dinner" ("The perfect celebrity dinner"), which composer Ralph Siegel's daughter moderates.
Schweinsteiger has become more than just a star on the pitch. "Since the World Cup at the latest, Bastian has been celebrated like a pop star," Hitzfeld realized with worry. "I think it's insane how everything crashed down upon him in those days. The things he had to bear with are simply not manageable."
The national coach shares his opinion. "Many things accumulated for him back then, especially with the World Cup movie, in which Schweini plays a very big part," says Joachim Löw, who is aware of the many side sounds. He too has invited Schweinsteiger to talk; he spent half an hour with his trouble child when the DFB met in Düsseldorf at the beginning of the month. "You are our player, you've done a lot for us," he told him on the first floor of the team's hotel Hilton and promised Schweinsteiger his support during the crisis. "Your career has taken a considerable leap. Now, we have to work for you to reach the next step."
Still, to take this next step, Schweinsteiger would do best to take one step back first. Oliver Kahn has experienced the thin line between sports star and pop star himself. Celebrated as the goalkeeper titan, the Bayern keeper became the centre of the so-called "Society" - until he called it a day and quit. This short escape from his sports life hasn't affected Kahn's efforts much. With Schweinsteiger, it's different. "It has all gone very, very slowly. I advanced step by step, so the chance of being thrown back wasn't that high," Kahn compares the two situations. "With Schweini, everything went horribly fast, however, and eventually, you arrive at a point where you realize that it can't go on like this."
The question is: Has Schweinsteiger really realized this point? He has! At least, that is what Löw says. "He knows that he has to work with himself. I see his willingness to overcome everything." That's the impression the national coach got from their talks. "Bastian has learned from the consequences." It would be the necessary step to get back to his old form - and out of his crisis.
(by Christian Falk, SportBild, February 28th 2007)
Bastian Schweinsteiger - His Serious Crisis
Bastian Schweinsteiger has lost his easygoing attitude both in life and on the pitch, and his coaches at Bayern and the national team are worried about the young star. Jogi Löw believes, however, that "he wants to overcome everything."
Whenever he is troubled by problems, Bastian Schweinsteiger (22) likes to sit in the dining room of the Pension Seidl. There, he isn't Schweini but "Hax", as the owner Sepp Seidl has baptized him. His family have always meant peace and quiet for Schweinsteiger. To be close to them, the young Bayern star has even bought a house in Großdingharting, a village of 800 souls outside the gates of Munich. Even now, right in the middle of his current crisis, he often sits there, even though he hasn't been dating the owners' stepdaughter Daniela (20) anymore for three weeks.
His split private situation says a lot about his sports-related situation: Schweinsteiger doesn't really know where he belongs anymore. Even Ottmar Hitzfeld has left the midfielder on the bench once. "Bastian has to concentrate on the important things now. For him, that means playing football," says the Bayern coach. "He has to get the things that trouble him out of his head and fully concentrate on his job."
But even on the pitch, Schweinsteiger doesn't know his place anymore. The former coach Felix Magath wanted to make a play maker out of the national player; Hitzfeld, however, put him back to the left side. "In his situation, it's best to focus on things he used to do well," Hitzfeld says. "For him, everything that counts at the moment is take one step after the other to get back his former sureness."
A measure from last Thursday demonstrates how worried the club is about its young star: The publicly announced press conference with Schweinsteiger was cancelled on short notice. "Sometimes you have to pull the boy out of the spotlight. Bastian is currently in danger of being overtaxed," says Hitzfeld and adds that, "this was a signal for Bastian, too."
The Bayern bosses have not remained oblivious of Schweinsteiger's new way of living. Even before training sessions, one becomes aware of it as soon as he arrives at the Säbener Straße in his white Audi TT Coupé. No other Bayern professional has ordered such an eye-catching model from their sponsor. In private, he's even driving a Porsche Cayenne.
Schweinsteiger likes it exclusive in other parts of his life, too. He has exchanged the adidas coats with the posh brand Dolce & Gabbana, with a silk scarf to complete his outfit. That's how you dress in the high society.
His football buddy Lukas Podolski (21) likes buying nice clothes in the posh boutiques of the Maximilianstraße, too. Still, since Podolski has followed his colleague from the national team to Bayern, the so highly-praised pitch pair Poldi and Schweini has never been seen together on Munich's streets.
Outside the pitch, the two of them share very little, anyway, and especially not their social surroundings. Poldi doesn't want to be close to Munich's celebrities, Schweinsteiger seeks their closeness. So, for example, Schweinsteiger gets invitations from Giulia Siegel (32) and is allowed to try the food that TV spectators only get to see the TV show "Das perfekte Promi-Dinner" ("The perfect celebrity dinner"), which composer Ralph Siegel's daughter moderates.
Schweinsteiger has become more than just a star on the pitch. "Since the World Cup at the latest, Bastian has been celebrated like a pop star," Hitzfeld realized with worry. "I think it's insane how everything crashed down upon him in those days. The things he had to bear with are simply not manageable."
The national coach shares his opinion. "Many things accumulated for him back then, especially with the World Cup movie, in which Schweini plays a very big part," says Joachim Löw, who is aware of the many side sounds. He too has invited Schweinsteiger to talk; he spent half an hour with his trouble child when the DFB met in Düsseldorf at the beginning of the month. "You are our player, you've done a lot for us," he told him on the first floor of the team's hotel Hilton and promised Schweinsteiger his support during the crisis. "Your career has taken a considerable leap. Now, we have to work for you to reach the next step."
Still, to take this next step, Schweinsteiger would do best to take one step back first. Oliver Kahn has experienced the thin line between sports star and pop star himself. Celebrated as the goalkeeper titan, the Bayern keeper became the centre of the so-called "Society" - until he called it a day and quit. This short escape from his sports life hasn't affected Kahn's efforts much. With Schweinsteiger, it's different. "It has all gone very, very slowly. I advanced step by step, so the chance of being thrown back wasn't that high," Kahn compares the two situations. "With Schweini, everything went horribly fast, however, and eventually, you arrive at a point where you realize that it can't go on like this."
The question is: Has Schweinsteiger really realized this point? He has! At least, that is what Löw says. "He knows that he has to work with himself. I see his willingness to overcome everything." That's the impression the national coach got from their talks. "Bastian has learned from the consequences." It would be the necessary step to get back to his old form - and out of his crisis.
(by Christian Falk, SportBild, February 28th 2007)