"It really looks like Portugal is my favourite opposition," were Bastian Schweinsteinger's first words to euro2008.com immediately after Germany's 3-2 UEFA EURO 2008™ quarter-final victory.
'Sensational'
Schweinsteinger scored twice against Portugal in the 2006 FIFA World Cup third-place play-off; tonight at Basel's St. Jakob-Park he returned from suspension to shoot Germany into the lead and sent over two superb crossed free-kicks for Miroslav Klose and Michael Ballack to turn in. That earned him the Carlsberg Man of the Match award, chosen by the UEFA Technical Team. "We are now among the top four teams and that's sensational," Schweinsteiger said. "We have ousted the team that, in my book, was the best so far in the tournament."
Suspension
The 23-year-old FC Bayern München midfielder was sent off in last week's 2-1 defeat by potential semi-final opponents Croatia, so he sat out the subsequent 1-0 win against Austria. It was a frustration he took out on Portugal. "I knew that I made a mistake by getting that red card and I did not help the team with that," he said. "I wanted to do better today, and I think that worked out." He added: "The team also supported me and so did the coaches."
Flick delight
Hans-Dieter Flick was the coach in charge in Basel because of Joachim Löw's one-match ban, and was delighted with how Schweinsteiger responded to his own enforced absence. "He had some time to rest and to get ready for this match," Flick said. "And of course we talked to him as well and said, 'You can't let the team down'. He paid us back today. He promised to come up with a big performance. He was Man of the Match and it was deserved – it was a great performance."
