Bastian Schweinsteiger

Why this one matters.

“Wherever Schweinsteiger goes, winning seems to follow — the line printed on this card's back is barely an exaggeration. A product of Bayern Munich's academy, "Schweini" 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 face bloodied and wrapped in bandages, he ran the World Cup final from midfield and converted the decisive last penalty in the shoot-out as Die Mannschaft beat Argentina 1-0. He succeeded Philipp Lahm as national captain, earned 121 caps, and then crossed the Atlantic to join Chicago Fire in MLS — a club that had finished last in both 2015 and 2016 — and, as the card's back records, helped lift them to third in the standings. This 3/5 Gold edition carries yet another distinct cut: a curved slice of the DFB circular crest, the silver "FUSSBALL-BUND" ring lettering sweeping across the black window with a flash of jersey red at the edge. Paired with the sweeping on-card gold signature graded a perfect Auto 10 by PSA/DNA (Cert 87273504), it is the third different match-worn material in the same Optimum set — a crest-ring counterpart to the federal eagle and the tri-color jersey patch, worn by the midfield warrior who carried German football to the summit in Rio.”