Champions League winner Bastian Schweinsteiger picks his favourites for Europe's biggest club trophy
The youthful teams have caught the eye of Bastian Schweinsteiger for the imminent UEFA Champions League semifinals.
Former German international and Bayern Munich legend Bastian Schweinsteiger has been enthralled by the UEFA Champions League campaigns of the young Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Barcelona outfits, backing one of the two sides to go all the way.
Schweinsteiger, a Champions League winner himself with Bayern Munich in 2013, was in South Africa over the past weekend for the Heineken UEFA Champions League trophy tour.
'I think Paris [Saint-Germain] actually,' Schweinsteiger told Daily Maverick. 'To knock out Liverpool was for me a surprise [especially] how they did it.'
PSG is set to face Arsenal on Tuesday in London in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal, while Inter Milan and Barcelona prepare to do battle in Spain a day later.
After finishing the league phase of the new format of the Champions League in 15th position, PSG fought through a play-off round to face the top-ranked side and newly crowned English Premier League champions Liverpool. They surprisingly overcame the scouse side – who Schweinsteiger initially had as favourites for the title – 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 stalemate over two legs.
After a slow start, PSG have turned their season around with a strategic shift, and the French club are now three matches away from their first Champions League trophy.
'Luis Enrique is doing a fantastic job over there,' Schweinsteiger said, complimenting the Spanish manager on PSG's performances. 'There are no Neymars, no Messis, no Mbappes, but still he has managed to play that kind of football. It was unexpected in my eyes, even though I know Luis Enrique is a fantastic coach.'
Spanish giants Barcelona, who, like PSG, have youth at the centre of their growing project, are the other side Schweinsteiger fancies to capture Europe's most prestigious club trophy.
'Barcelona and Hansi Flick,' Schweinsteiger said. 'They've shown their quality and what they're capable of, to control the game.'
Barcelona clinched the Copa del Rey trophy at the weekend, beating rivals Real Madrid 3-2 in extra time. The side from Catalonia are on course for a treble if they clinch the Champions League, as they lead La Liga by four points over Real Madrid, with five matches left in the season.
'[That] they also have an experienced player like Robert Lewandowski upfront is always helpful,' Schweinsteiger said on why he likes Barcelona, giving a special mention to his former Bayern Munich teammate. 'Those are my favourites.'
'German heart'
Speaking at the event held in Cape Town, Schweinsteiger joked that Barcelona's German manager Flick is the reason for his side's success.
'The German heart is definitely [at Barcelona] with Hansi,' Schweinsteiger said.
'I saw them against Bayern Munich, how they played, their way of football is very interesting. They have great chemistry in their team as well.
'For Hansi Flick, it would be something very special to play the final in Munich and also to lift the trophy with Barcelona in Munich.'
Arsenal are the only English outfit in the final four of the Champions League, with Italy, Spain and France also represented by one team each. Arsenal cruised past the Champions League royalty of Real Madrid 5-1 in the quarter finals to reach the semifinals for the first time since the 2008/09 season.
While Schweinsteiger didn't outline Arsenal as favourites to win their first Champions League trophy in the club's history, he did acknowledge that their 3-0 and 2-1 wins over Real Madrid – who have won the Champions League a record 15 times – meant that they were serious contenders.
'If you beat Real Madrid like they did, it's absolutely possible,' he said.
Heartbreak to joy
For three of the four teams left in the Champions League, it will end in heartbreak.
This is a disappointment Schweinsteiger had in 2012. Playing at home at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Bayern Munich lost 4-3 on penalties to Chelsea after a 1-1 draw.
Schweinsteiger missed the final penalty for Bayern before Didier Drogba sealed the winning spot-kick for the men from London.
Thomas Müller scored in the 83rd minute in regular time before Drogba equalised for Chelsea five minutes later, as the Ivorian went on to be Chelsea's hero on the day.
'We lost it – we say – in our own house, in Munich,' Schweinsteiger 'That's even more difficult to accept.
'Everything was prepared in Munich for a ceremony, the home team is winning the trophy.
'We were in that game, from minute one, dominant, we were the better team. Something was still missing in our finishing, but we were dominating until minute 88 when Drogba scored that header.'
Schweinsteiger believes that everything happens for a reason and said that no matter what they tried, they would have lost the match regardless, as the Bayern Munich forwards spurned several chances throughout the match.
'In that match, Chelsea was meant to be the champion and Drogba the hero,' Schweinsteiger said.
'We could've probably played another 120 minutes and wouldn't have probably scored and won the match.'
But that set the scene for jubilation a year later for Bayern Munich, who were crowned Champions League winners in the first all-German final, beating Borussia Dortmund, coached by Jurgen Klopp.
'If you lose the trophy in your hometown, in your living room, then it was sweeter to win it the next season against Borussia Dortmund, our biggest rival in that period in Germany,' Schweinsteiger said.
'There was a lot of pressure in that game. If we would have lost that match, it would have not been easy to recover from that one because to lose against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final [at] Wembley, it [would have been] painful.'
Mario Mandžukić opened the scoring for Bayern Munich before İlkay Gündoğan equalised. It looked like history repeating itself before former Dutch international Arjen Robben sealed the win for Bayern Munich with a deft finish in the 89th minute.
'Luckily, Arjen Robben scored the final goal in the last minute,' Schweinsteiger said. It led to Schweinsteiger's 'proudest moment' in the UEFA Champions League.
The four teams remaining in the tournament this year hope to emulate Bayern Munich on 31 May, the final coincidentally hosted at the scene of Schweinsteiger's 2012 heartbreak — the Allianz Arena in Munich.
'Lifting the trophy with [my] team, which lost the big final in Munich before, that was my proudest moment,' Schweinsteiger said. DM
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