Given his rather rough Manchester United exile of late, it seems mildly absurd that one of the greatest German footballers of our generation is busy twiddling his thumbs at the age of 32.
Saying that, and perhaps with his disintegrating legs the reason behind his decision, Bastian Schweinsteiger has decided to call it quits from the international stage, ending his 12 year playing career with Germany, a period culminating in 120 appearances.
The veteran World Cup-winning midfielder announced last month that he intended to wave goodbye, and he indeed did so last night with a friendly against Finland.
Whilst the German legend gave a pretty good fist at not letting the emotions get the better of him, Schweini couldn’t help but shed a few tears before, during and indeed after the game.
After a pretty routine midfield performance against opponents Finland, in which his side claimed a 2-0 victory, on 66 minutes came the emotional moment that the former Bayern man waves goodbye.
Prior to the match, Schweinsteiger expressed his gratitude during a brief goodbye ceremony.
“It means so much that you’re here today. It has been an honour to play for you,” he told the crowd.
“I think you all saw how it affected me. I had just wanted to enjoy every moment, but I hadn’t expected it to be so lovely.”
Truly lovely
Here’s some more pictures of the evening….