Manuel Neuer Is Already Germany's Captain as Injuries Sideline Schweinsteiger

Officially, Bastian Schweinsteiger was named Germany's captain on September 2 following the international retirement of Philipp Lahm. The Bayern Munich midfielder had served as the right-back's deputy ever since Lahm replaced Michael Ballack in 2010 and was considered by many to be the natural successor to his club and international team-mate.

Or so it seemed.

A month into his tenure as captain, it's still uncertain as to when Schweinsteiger will actually lead the Germany team. The 30-year-old has struggled with knee problems ever since the World Cup, and Bayern coach Pep Guardiola refused to speculate last week as to when his vice-captain would return. Guardiola only said (per The Associated Press and via Daily Mail) that "Basti will come back" and that there is "no pressure" on the midfielder.

For Guardiola, perhaps, there is no pressure. But the Germany captaincy comes with a certain pressure of its own, and in all likelihood, it will not be before next March at the earliest that Schweinsteiger actually serves as captain.

The player has been ruled out of this month's Euro 2016 qualifiers, and German source Bild reported on Wednesday that he may not even play at club level before January. Assuming he misses November's international matches, the next possible chance for him to feature in a Germany shirt will be against Georgia at the end of March.

Schweinsteiger is a German footballing hero: The image of him, bruised and battered, smiling at the end of the 2014 World Cup final will forever be remembered as a symbol of the sacrifice he was willing to make for his country. But although heroic, he is also chronically injured. His knee problem is not an acute injury like a ligament tear, one that in this day and age can be (relatively speaking) easily repaired with surgery. It's tendinitis, a problem that can easily recur and can only heal with time. At this stage in his career, half a year on the sideline can be devastating. A chronic injury can be career-ending.

Schweinsteiger's knee isn't his only problem. Ever since February of 2012, he's been plagued by ankle injuries. He played through the pain barrier at the European Championship and repeatedly was forced to miss matches for Germany. Before this March, he'd gone 938 days since playing in an international friendly.

The sad reality is that Schweinsteiger's fitness at any tournament is far from a given. He admitted to playing through pain at Euro 2012 (per FIFA) and struggled to find his form, but the pressure was on him and he tried (and failed) to make an impact while keeping a number of perhaps better-prepared talents out of the lineup. He entered the 2014 World Cup lacking fitness, although he improved before his heroic final.

Since his ankle and knee became chronically injured, Schweinsteiger has been hit-or-miss at tournaments. The most important quality of being a captain is reliability, though, and therein lies the problem. If captain, he'll feel pressure to play even when he's not healthy enough to perform, a problem considering all the quality Germany have now and will have in 2016.

Schweinsteiger took on a leadership role even whilst being only deputy to the captain, Lahm, and it would be better to keep him as a vice-captain than give him the pressure and expectation that could lead him to make what could be a costly mistake.

Fortunately for Germany coach Joachim Low, he has a ready-made backup for Schweinsteiger in Manuel Neuer, who was named captain for the Nationalmannschaft's upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers. It appears that the Bayern goalkeeper will serve as captain whenever Schweinsteiger is unavailable, which could be quite often.

At 28 years of age, Neuer is experienced but still in his prime. He's more than a year older than Lahm was when the right-back was named captain and has 54 caps to his name, having already competed in three major international tournaments. Whereas Schweinsteiger, if fit, will in all likelihood play in his final tournament for Germany in 2016, Neuer's age, class and less physically demanding position means he could still be starting for Germany at Euro 2020 or beyond.

Neuer is widely regarded as the world's best goalkeeper, and unlike Schweinsteiger, he as yet to exceed the peak of his game. He's perpetually reliable both in terms of his performance and fitness. Per Transfermarkt, the goalkeeper has only missed 15 games through injury in his professional career.

Neuer has always performed on the big stage, whether for Germany, Schalke or Bayern. His heroics in the Champions League for Schalke in 2008 were a sign of greatness to come. Since then, he's redefined the goalkeeping position and even scored a penalty in the Champions League final when teammates like the supremely gifted Toni Kroos and tremendously experienced Anatoliy Tymoshchuk didn't have the nerve to step up to the spot.

Schweinsteiger was perhaps the natural option to succeed Lahm, but in effect, Neuer may indeed be Germany's real captain.

It's not quite the same as when Low in 2010 said (per Der Spiegel) that Michael Ballack will remain captain whenever he plays for Germany (he never played for his country again), but there are some parallels in Schweinsteiger's case. Whereas the official captain has seniority and has waited his entire career for such an honor, it's his deputy who is always reliable as a leader, who is at his peak and can foreseeably start for Germany for many more years.

Neuer is not just the future captain—he is in effect the present one.

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