Inspirational leader Schweinsteiger closing in on his greatest goal

Perhaps the publication's looming closure had something to do with his tone but in 1957 a reviewer for Britain's Picture Post wrote that when Tommy Steele stepped on stage in a theatre it was like "killing day at some fantastic piggery".

It seems to have been meant as a compliment although for a musical act like Steele it’s hard to imagine he took it that way.

For Bastian Schweinsteiger, though, it seems rather more appropriate – and not just because of his name.

Schweinsteiger’s strength, skill and singular sense of purpose have again made him a key figure as the Germans have moved through the rounds at this tournament and to within a game of a fourth world title.

Against Argentina his role will be absolutely crucial; chief coordinator of the "contain Lionel Messi campaign". He's done it before but to pull it off now would be the pinnacle of a career already boasting its fair share of highs.

Two operations

The 29 year-old's quality has never seriously been in question but he came to this World Cup uncertain of how big a role he would get to play in Joachim Löw's team. A long-standing ankle problem that finally required two operations had made it a difficult season at Bayern, the club where he has won, leaving aside the many lesser cups, seven league titles and the Champions League. He had played just 23 Bundesliga games this season.

He had, to be fair, made an immediate impact upon returning to the side in March and finished the campaign well but the fitness problems continued and with Philipp Lahm intended to occupy one of the two defensive midfield berths, it seemed a real toss up whether he or Sami Khedira, also just back from injury, would be handed the second. All things being equal, the sense was, the Real Madrid midfielder might get the nod.

Having sat out the 4-0 defeat of Portugal, though, Schweinsteiger has gently muscled his way back onto centre-stage.

His late appearance against Ghana marked his return and he has been more prominent with each passing game since although the real turning point was the quarter-final tie with France when Löw bowed to public and press pressure back home by returning Lahm to right back and so clearing the way was clear for “Schweini” and Khedira to feature together.

Still a few weeks short of his 30th birthday, the former somehow seems old beyond his years in the context of a team packed with so much young talent and it sometimes feels like he has been around forever. It is, to be fair, 12 years now since he made his Champions League debut for the club he joined as a 14 year-old and more than a decade since he first lined out for the national team.

Back then, it was generally on the wing where his attacking prowess was considerable as evidenced by the fact that in one 18-month period, mid 2005 and the end of the following year, he scored 13 goals for Germany.

Rudi Völler, who had surprised many by calling him up for Euro 2004 called him “carefree and fresh” not accusations that could be easily levelled at him now but crucially, the then coach added, “he sticks to the tactics”.

Career question

It was as well he did for his attitude off the pitch sometimes made those with the ability to shape his career question whether he was serious enough to achieve his true potential with Uli Hoeness, for one, remarking at one point that “Bastian always has things too easy”.

Somewhere along the line, though, whether it was after the criticism for the needless sending off against Croatia at Euro 2008, the booing he was subjected to at one stage from supporters of his club or the growing sense that midfield powerhouse and national cult hero Michael Ballack would soon need replacing, he seems to have decided to apply himself more rigorously to the task of becoming genuinely great.

Louis van Gaal (is there anything good in football, we find ourselves asking just now, that he was not responsible for?) rewarded him by handing him the central midfield reins at Munich and his importance to the team soared in the seasons that followed, culminating in him being named German footballer of the Year in 2012/13; a season in which there were some decent other contenders.

Still, he has somehow never completely won over the press back at home with his contribution for both club and country consistently questioned in some quarters – even after defying the sceptics to play his way back into Pep Guardiola’s plans by changing and again upping his game .

At international level, there has really only been disappointment so far although it is hard to see how he can be blamed. In South Africa he made the team tick on their better days and after the 4-0 demolition of tomorrow’s opponents at the quarter-final stage Löw lavished praise on him.

“He was the linchpin in every attack we had,” said the coach. “You couldn’t do that better. (It was) a magnificent performance.”

Critically, though, it wasn’t enough with the team well beaten by Spain in the next round and Schweinsteiger has made no secret of his fear that, like Ballack before him, he might be left in a few years without an international tournament winners’ medal to show for his possibly record number of caps.

Major prize

"I'd rather finish with 90," he said some time back, "and win the World Cup or the European Championship than end up as the most-capped player without winning any major prize."

Here, he has pursued the goal single-mindedly on and off the pitch with the 29-year-old repeatedly, for instance, dutifully playing his part in the team’s mind games when interviewed by the Germany media.

There was something about the way his expression of delight that Bayern team-mate Dante would start for Brazil read that made it seem just a little cruel but his suggestion in advance of that astonishing semi-final that: “I am all for a healthy hardness but some of Brazil’s fouls were over the limit,” required chutzpah on a par with Luis Suarez’s “leaving Liverpool with a heavy heart” guff yesterday.

He actually apologised after that game for the way in which he and his side had humiliated the hosts but such niceties are fine in the mixed zone afterwards; the ruthless streak was evident during the game when just about every German player angrily appealed to the referee for what would have been a terribly soft penalty for handball. They were 5-0 up at the time.

Outstanding performers

Against France he was one of the team’s outstanding performers, quietly bossing midfield and, in the process, providing young French midfielder Paul Pogba with the makings of useful DVD lesson in just how it should be done.

He will surely have to be good again tomorrow if the Germans are to prevail but nobody in the squad is less likely to settle for second best. Four years ago the team finished third and afterwards, with memories still fresh of the celebrations that followed the tournament in 2006 when he had really established himself at this level, Schweinsteiger observed: “I’ve come third in the World Cup before, so I wasn’t all that ecstatic. There eventually comes a time when I need to start winning international titles as well.”

For most of the rest, there may be other chances but for Löw, Lahm and Schwinsteiger tomorrow is that day.