Midfielder is a linchpin in the German machine that dismantled Argentina's hopes of taking the titleDuring an enjoyably acrimonious build-up to the Cape Town quarter-final Diego Maradona asked,in a mock German accent: "What's the matter, Schweinsteiger? Are you nervoushh?" The fresh Michael Ballack fired off his answer with the most commanding midfield performance of this World Cup.
Ballack, or the leader of the German pack since 2002,must contain felt his own value plunge at the Green Point Stadium as Bastian Schweinsteiger combined the roles of deep midfield destroyer, smooth passer and jinking winger: the post he filled for the Nationalmannschaft and Bayern Munich before his club called him in from the flank last season to assume more central duties.
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Source: theguardian.com