Footballers often take a while to settle at new clubs. Some of them thrive at the clubs while others have a difficult time due to their new teammates or managers’ treatment. Bastian Schweinsteiger, a decorated German player was unlucky when he left Bayern Munich and joined Manchester United in 2015.
He failed to develop a cordial relationship with Louis van Gaal, Man United’s then-head coach. Things worsened for Schweinsteiger in the summer of 2016 when the club replaced Van Gaal with Jose Mourinho. What did the new coach do to Schweinsteiger?
Schweinsteiger’s Transition to the Premier League
Bastian Schweinsteiger narrated to Gary Neville in the Stick to Football podcast how his two-year spell at Manchester United was. He revealed how Mourinho’s first season in the Premier League unfolded.
The midfielder stated, “It was 2016 and I was with the German national team, we went far in the competition (the European Championship) reaching the semi-finals, so I stepped in a little later (at Manchester United) and the team was in the US for a pre-season tour.
When I arrived on the first day, I trained with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and thought it was great, a player who has vision and is amazing to play with. The next day, on my birthday, when I walked into Carrington, John Murtough was there and said that I wasn’t allowed to walk into the dressing room, the coach had said so. No warning, nothing.
I don’t know (why he told me). Someone could have told me there (on my first day of training) or explained it to me in a normal way, but okay, I went to the youth dressing room and trained with the under-16s.”
Manchester United Was Hell for the German
Jose Mourinho secluded Schweinsteiger from the club’s activities, prompting Mourtough to carry his training gear and cleats. The German player said, “I asked him who I was training with, and he said there was the under-16 team, so I went and trained with the under-16s.
I asked him whether I could talk to the manager in the afternoon, so when I came back from training with the under 16s, where I trained so badly because I didn’t know what was going on or it was a joke, I then had a meeting with (Mourinho) in the afternoon.”
His ‘Illegal Treatment’ at Mourinho’s Club
Schweinsteiger’s revelation shocked Neville who termed it an ‘illegal and constructive dismissal.’ The player added, “He explained to me that he didn’t see me happy here at Manchester United because when I had my injury, I did my rehab with German doctors, spending time in Germany.
Of course, I came back to Manchester United and was in contact with doctors and watched the games – I had a conversation with Louis van Gaal when he was coach, and he said to come to on the weekends to United and remain in contact with the doctors, they needed me fit and there was an FA Cup final which I almost played.
That was our agreement and I kept to it. For me, I just wanted to get healthy and wanted to be able to play – I stuck to the agreement with Louis van Gaal but obviously, the board thought a little differently about that. I was training alone for at least three months with a fitness coach. I trained before and after the (first) team. (Mourinho) never let me train with the first team. I guess they wanted to get rid of me.
At that moment, I was still super happy at Manchester United, I loved to wear the jersey, I loved it. I was thinking that maybe it was just a period, I will train now and keep myself fit and maybe one day they’ll change their mind. My dream was to always step back out into Old Trafford.”
The Manchester United Coach Eventually Apologized
Neville comforted Schweinsteiger telling him that he was a PFA Union Representative at that time. His ordeal at Manchester United embarrassed Neville as it is normal for people to fall out when a player leaves a club.
Schweinsteiger disclosed that Mourinho apologized after a while. He stated, “After the three months of training on my own at Manchester United, one day Mourinho or his assistant came to me and said that I could train with them (the first team), and I trained with them. I think I trained well, and I liked to play with Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Later, I got my minutes but when you see other players playing in your position, you think, ‘I’m better than this guy.’ We had Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera, Michael Carrick, Morgan Schneiderlin, and Marouane Fellaini – I thought that I wasn’t the last one in that group, for that position.”
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