Ireland vs. Germany: Final score 1-6, Germans humiliate Ireland in Dublin

Schweinsteiger signed with Bayern Munich as a youth team player on 1 July 1998^[2] and rose through the club's youth sides. A talented youth ski racer, he had to decide between pursuing a professional career in skiing or one in football. Having won the German youth championship in July 2002, Schweinsteiger quickly earned a place in the reserves, producing a string of solid third division displays. He initially earned a reputation for being a rebel off the pitch, making headlines for the wrong reasons but has since settled down.^[5]

A left midfielder who can also play on the right, he has excellent dribbling skills and is a specialist at set pieces. Schweinsteiger also has a hard shot and often scores from outside the penalty area. He can play as a defensive midfielder or just behind the strikers. During his first appearances in the titular eleven, he played left-back. After just two training sessions with the first team, coach Ottmar Hitzfeld gave Schweinsteiger his debut as a late substitute in a UEFA Champions League game against RC Lens in November 2002, and the youngster made an immediate impact, creating a goal for Markus Feulner within minutes. He signed a professional contract the following month and went on to appear in 14 Bundesliga games in 2002–03, helping Bayern to a league and cup double. The next season he played 26 Bundesliga games. He scored his first Bayern goal against VfL Wolfsburg in September 2003.

Surprisingly sent back to Bayern's reserve team by new coach Felix Magath at the beginning of the 2005–06 season despite his international exploits of the summer in the Confederations Cup, Schweinsteiger swiftly returned to play a role in the double-winning campaign and scored in Bayern's Champions League quarter-final first-leg defeat at Chelsea.

Over the next three seasons, up until the end of 2007–08, Schweinsteiger made 135 appearances in all competitions for Bayern Munich (UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup), scoring 10 goals in the process.

On 15 August 2008, Schweinsteiger scored the first Bundesliga goal of the 2008–09 season. In December 2010, he extended his contract with Bayern until 2016.

On 25 April 2012, Schweinsteiger scored from the last and match-clinching penalty kick against Real Madrid to send Bayern to the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final. However, in the final of 19 May 2012, Schweinsteiger hit the post against Chelsea after a touch from the Chelsea F.C goalkeeper, Petr Čech.

As of 21 June 2012, Schweinsteiger has been capped 93 times and has scored 23 goals for the Germany national football team since making his debut in 2004. He has also been to five major tournaments with the German squad: UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal, FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany, UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria-Switzerland, FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa, and UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland-Ukraine.

Bastian Schweinsteiger made his international debut in 2004 in a friendly against Hungary.^[6] Right after taking part in the U-21's disappointing run at the 2004 European Championships, he was called-up for Euro 2004. Bayern's number 31 earned rave reviews for his performances in Portugal, showing combative skills and even setting up the opening goal for former Bayern teammate Michael Ballack in Germany's 2–1 loss against the Czech Republic.

He scored his first two international goals on 8 June 2005 against Russia and scored his first goal in a competitive match against Tunisia on 18 June 2005 at the Confederations Cup in Germany.^[7] He was called-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup on home soil and shot into prominence at the tournament with his two brilliant long-range strikes in the third place match against Portugal, which won him the Man of the Match award.^[8] The match ended 3–1 with the 22-year-old nearly claiming a hat-trick but his deflected free kick was credited as an own-goal to Armando Petit.

At the age of 22, he had already played 41 matches for the German national team, a record for any German player at the time. This record was soon broken, however, by Lukas Podolski who was capped 44 times at the age of 22. At the same age, Lothar Matthäus (the German all-time record holder with 150 caps) had only played 13 times for the German national team.

During Euro 2008 qualifiers, he scored two goals en route to a record 13–0 win over San Marino in San Marino. He scored the third goal in Germany's 4–1 win over Slovakia in Bratislava.

Schweinsteiger lost his place in the starting eleven when manager Joachim Löw moved striker Lukas Podolski to his usual position on the left wing to accommodate the strike partnership of Miroslav Klose and Mario Gómez, and he made two substitute appearances in the group stages. In the second match against Croatia, he was shown a straight red card for reacting to a challenge from Jerko Leko as Germany succumbed to a 2–1 shock defeat. After serving his suspension by missing the game against Austria, he returned to the starting lineup in the quarterfinal against Portugal, as Löw reverted back to the old 4–4–2 formation when Gómez was benched after failing to make an impression. Once again he was instrumental in Germany's 3–2 win, scoring one goal and setting up the other two. He also scored his country's first goal in the 3–2 semifinal victory against Turkey. He captained the team for the first time in a friendly against the United Arab Emirates.

Schweinsteiger featured often in 2010 World Cup qualifying, playing 9 of the 10 games and contributing 3 goals. He started in Germany's third pre-warm up game vs. Bosnia on 3 June 2010, and scored 2 penalties in a 3–1 victory in the space of four minutes, but in the 87th minute he was substituted off for Bayern Munich teammate Toni Kroos.

During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Schweinsteiger was charged with replacing the injured Michael Ballack at the center of midfield. He performed admirably in this role, adding valuable leadership and international experience to a very young German side. He was vital to both the German attack and defense, as was apparent when he was named the Man of the Match after the quarterfinal match against Argentina, where he provided two assists while also managing to contain Lionel Messi. Germany subsequently lost to Spain in the semifinals. Germany was able to rally for a 3–2 victory over Uruguay in the third place match, and, with Philipp Lahm resting on the bench because of illness, Schweinsteiger served as captain.

Overall, Schweinsteiger recorded three assists in seven matches in South Africa, which tied him for the most assists in the finals with Dirk Kuyt, Kaká, Thomas Müller and Mesut Özil.^[9] In recognition of his excellent play throughout the tournament, he was chosen as one of ten finalists for the prestigious Golden Ball, awarded to the most outstanding player of the tournament.^[10]

In Germany's qualification in Group A he established himself as first choice as defensive midfielder. He played 5 matches – once against each opponent: Belgium, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Austria and Turkey – and helped Germany win ten out of ten games scoring once and providing one assist.

Schweinsteiger began his career as a winger and a utility player. With the arrival of Louis van Gaal to Bayern, he began playing in centre midfield to accommodate wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry. Bastian Schweinsteiger has excellent dribbling skills, ball control, precise passing and good tackling capability, plus he is a set piece taker. Schweinsteiger is also a superb reader of the game and has scored spectacularly due to his good positioning. He has been called "the brain" of the German national team by his coach Joachim Löw.^[11] He also has the ability to shoot at target from distance, as in the third-place match against Portugal during the 2006 World Cup where he scored two goals from long range and almost a third from a set piece. He has since thrived in his new role and uses his passing and tackling to great effect in initiating attacks and dictating play.