Having been sent off against Croatia, Schweinsteiger found himself sat next to German chancellor Angela Merkel for the Group B decider against Austria. Germany won 1-0 to advance to a meeting with Portugal in which the midfielder – who had been told "not to do anything stupid again" by Merkel – scored one goal and set up others for Miroslav Klose and Ballack. Hitzfeld, who watched Schweinsteiger develop through the Bayern youth ranks, said of the 23-year-old: "He had a break after the red card and then came back imposingly against Portugal. He's improved through the tournament but has not shown his full potential yet. He's a perfect player technically, and I'm happy he scored a nice goal against Portugal – especially as he sprinted forward like a striker which is not his game. He has great potential and can be a match-winner for Germany."
Should Germany triumph at St. Jakob-Park tonight they would progress to Sunday's final where they would face either Spain or Russia, two teams to have caught Hitzfeld's eye: "Like every football fan, I've really enjoyed some great matches at EURO. Some teams like Russia and Spain have exceeded expectations during this tournament by playing some marvellous attacking football. [David] Villa from Spain has scored four times already and is a real talent. [Andrei] Arshavin is very strong as well, a world-class player, as we saw when [FC] Zenit St. Petersburg beat Bayern [in the UEFA Cup semi-finals]. There have been many great players, and Ballack has played a great tournament as Germany captain."
Tactical nous
One of only two men to have coached two clubs to success in the European Champion Clubs' Cup, the 59-year-old Hitzfeld is an ambassador for the Castrol Performance Index, which is helping euro2008.com present a new level of statistical analysis from these finals. He has been impressed by the tactical nous of his colleagues in Austria and Switzerland, reserving special praise for those preparing for last-four ties. "All the coaches in the semis have done a great job. 'Jogi' Löw has changed his 4-4-2 philosophy to the 4-2-3-1 that most other countries use. [Luis] Aragonés has performed really well to guide Spain to the semis for the first time in 24 years. [Guus] Hiddink's Russia's are the outsiders and then there is [Fatih] Terim, of course, who constantly gives passion to his Turkey side to drive them forward."
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