How Manchester United Can Get the Best out of Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger
There have been a few of hints in the past couple of games that Manchester United are starting to get the best out of Bastian Schweinsteiger.
The man whom the fans call Deutscher Fussballmeister—in a chant adapted from Bayern Munich fans—was imperious for much of the game against Liverpool.
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His numbers tell part of the story. It was only his second 90-minute outing—his first being the defeat to Swansea City.
During the game, he had 106 touches of the ball—the most of any United player. He made 86 passes and completed 86.1 per cent of them. There were no key passes among them, however. He was purposeful in possession much of the time, and his confidence and forward-thinking play were evident in the three dribbles he attempted.
He was also defensively vital, making four tackles—more than anyone else in the United side.
He has a good deal of flair, which was clear against Liverpool when he was happy to flick through passes with a backheel to catch opponents off guard.
There was also plenty of evidence of that which is near impossible to sum up with statistics: leadership. Michael Carrick wore the captain's armband against Liverpool—as Chris Smalling did against PSV Eindhoven—but on both occasions, it was clear Schweinsteiger has become the de facto leader—Louis van Gaal's true proxy on the pitch.
He is very vocal, organising those around him. He gives particular attention to the young players—indeed there is a telling photo of him talking to Anthony Martial against Liverpool, pointing to his eye as if to instruct the youngster to keep an eye out for something specific.
Against PSV, the team desperately needed that leadership. Rocked by the upsetting injury to Luke Shaw, several United players never really looked as though they recovered their composure. That could not be said of Schweinsteiger, who continued to encourage and cajole.
And it was a moment of brilliance from the German that created the best chance the Red Devils managed once they went behind. Juan Mata is presumably still kicking himself about his miscontrol in front of goal from a perfectly weighted through ball from Schweinsteiger.
He tailed off late in the game—as most of the United side did, drained by the physical and emotional toll of the night. It was a match that saw him play his fifth full game since August 30—a lot of games packed into a short space of time.
His ability to do that—and broadly speaking, to remain effective while doing so—would seem to offer very positive signs in terms of his fitness. However, it seems reasonable to suggest that in order to get the best out of him throughout the season, Van Gaal may need to use him a little more sparingly.
The problem with that option is United have struggled to turn their dominance of possession into meaningful chances that the downgrade that would come with replacing Schweinsteiger—almost the model of a midfielder with the blend of solidity and creativity—would be too much for the team to bear.
However, it might just be a necessary sacrifice. Getting the best out of him is not just about seeing him play well over the next few months—rather, it means enabling him to play throughout his United contract.
Perhaps at 31 he does not need that much protection in terms of fitness. He appeared to be struggling a little for that fitness in his first couple of United cameos, but barring the last period of the PSV game—something of an anomaly anyway given Shaw's injury—he has looked increasingly able to handle the rigours of his vital role.
Apart from managing his physical wellbeing, there is the question of how to best apply his talents in United's side. He has so far been exclusively played as one of the two in Van Gaal's 4-2-3-1 formation. For the most part, he has partnered either Michael Carrick or Morgan Schneiderlin as the more naturally attack-minded of the pair.
PSV saw an interesting departure from this formula, as Van Gaal partnered Schweinsteiger with Ander Herrera—handing the German the holding role. A comparison of his heatmaps from the Liverpool game and the PSV game shows just how much of an impact that had on the position of his touches of the ball.
Against Liverpool, many of his touches were in the opposition half over to the left of United's attack. Against PSV, there is much more activity in United's half, as he dropped deep to receive the ball from his centre-backs.
Although he managed the aforementioned pass to Mata—a key pass on his statistics that was absent from the Liverpool game—there were no attempted dribbles against PSV. That makes sense given he often had the ball in areas of the pitch wherein it would have been dangerous to attempt them.
The two-man combination of Schweinsteiger and Herrera—with Mata just ahead of them at No. 10—is an intriguing one. It is by a considerable margin the most naturally attack-focused of Van Gaal's potential pairings. It will be interesting to see whether he attempts it again.
The PSV game, after all, saw United lose, conceding two counter-attacking goals. Will Van Gaal consider that to have been the Shaw effect in action—both psychologically and in terms of the defensive reorganisation? Alternatively, will he revert to a more obviously solid platform built around Carrick and Schneiderlin?
In truth, the more important question is not about bringing the best out of Schweinsteiger per se. He is such a good midfielder, such an intelligent and multi-talented footballer, that he will be personally effective either as the more advanced option in a midfield two or the more defensive.
Rather, the task Van Gaal faces is to best use Schweinsteiger to get the best out of United as a collective. There are so many moving parts in the United machine at the moment that assembling them into a productive unit is a massive challenge.
Is Wayne Rooney best suited at No. 9 or No. 10?
How many good games does Anthony Martial have in him this season—enough to be the default choice at centre-forward? How many good games does Memphis Depay have in him this season—enough to regularly create chances and regularly score goals in United's ailing attack?
Is Mata best used centrally rather than out wide, and if he plays centrally, how do you accommodate Carrick and Herrera alongside Schweinsteiger?
Some of the answers to these questions will depend on the form of individual players. And some of Van Gaal's choices will reflect the specifics of the opposition. He clearly felt his side would be sufficiently defensively sound without an out-and-out defensive midfielder against PSV.
Barring Shaw's injury, he may have been right about that.
Now that Shaw is out, defensive stability may once again have to take precedence over attacking fluidity. This could mean a lot of—frankly—boring games and does seem a bit of a waste of talents such as Schweinsteiger and Herrera.
However, as he has been in a mixed season so far, Schweinsteiger will be a huge boon to United. His off-the-pitch presence will remain important to his colleagues. And on the pitch, barring injury, he will continue to look like the class act he has done throughout his career.
"Deutscher Fussballmeister: Bastian" will continue to ring out from the crowd. German flags will continue to be waved at Old Trafford. The Basti-United love story will continue to play out. And if the club do manage to achieve any success this season, he will doubtless be a vital part of it.
All advanced statistics per WhoScored.com.
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