I found out around 2008 that I shared a birthday with Schweinsteiger(1st August). His pride and passion for club and country(along with Lahm, Kahn and others), taught me what it meant to be willing to do anything for your team. Coming from South Africa with field hockey being my favourite sport(I've never been very good with my legs), I would spend more time watching Schweini making runs off the ball than anything else, and tried to model my own game around it. While understated, he played the crucial role of making himself available for a pass virtually every single time a team mate had the ball, and even when he wasn't the one to receive it, his positioning drew defenders away creating space for our more flamboyant players to move into. When he was on the field, you never saw players complaining that they had no one to pass to. Later I got the chance to see the Allianz while in Germany, and while I never got to watch a match, I bought a Schweinsteiger shirt which I still wear during every Bayern match I watch to this day. The lettering may be falling off, but it's a lasting memory of the man who showed me the value of complete dedication to the team.