Bastian Schweinsteiger

Why this one matters.

“Wherever Schweinsteiger goes, winning seems to follow — the line on this card's back is barely an exaggeration. A product of Bayern Munich's academy, the man fans called "Schweini" and opponents called "The Midfield Master" spent 13 trophy-laden seasons with the Bavarians, collecting eight Bundesliga titles and the 2013 treble crowned by the Champions League final at Wembley. A year later he gave Germany its finest hour since 1990: at the Maracana, his bloodied face wrapped in bandages, he ran the World Cup final from midfield, scored in the shoot-out and converted the decisive last penalty as Die Mannschaft beat Argentina 1-0. He succeeded Philipp Lahm as national captain and, after a record 121 caps, departed for a new adventure in the United States. As the card's back recalls, he crossed the pond to join Chicago Fire in MLS — a club that had finished last in both 2015 and 2016 — and promptly helped lift them to third in the standings. That winning aura is preserved here in the most premium form Panini makes: the Eminence Optimum Patch Autograph pairs a massive tri-color match-worn patch with a sweeping on-card gold signature, and this 5/5 last-off-the-line Gold edition carries a perfect Auto 10 from PSA/DNA (Cert 87273502). A last-copy, perfect-signature monument to one of German football's most beloved modern warriors.”