Bastian Schweinsteiger, another player in the German squad with over 100 caps, has been vital in the run-in to the World Cup final, despite missing the opening 4-0 win over Portugal. Schweinsteiger was born in Bavaria, where he has played his football ever since, starting out at TSV 1860 Rosenheim before signing for Bayern Munich in 1998.

Having represented Germany at every level, Schweinsteiger, 29, quickly rose to fame in Munich when he won the German youth championship in 2002, where he then went on to represent the reserves, in which he produced solid displays.

Schweinsteiger signed his first professional contract in 2002, just a month after making his first debut in the same game as compatriot Philipp Lahm, against RC Lens where he assisted a goal for Markus Fuelner.

'Schweini' as he became known as, was a vital player to Bayern Munich as he helped the Bavarians to win three Bundesliga titles in four years. His performances for the first team hadn't gone unnoticed by Germany manager Rudi Völler who handed Schweinsteiger his debut, and then assisting Michael Ballack's opening goal of Euro 2004, of which Germany were then knocked out at the group stage.

Bastian scored his first two international goals against Russia in June 2005. He was then called up to the squad for World Cup 2006, which would be hosted by Germany. At the age of 22, Schweinsteiger helped Die Mannschaft to a third-place at the World Cup, following two long range strikes against Portugal, in which he earned the man of the match. At 22, Schweinsteiger was the most capped German, playing 41 matches. Although this was soon surpassed by Lukas Podolski who played 44 times at the age of 22. Lahm, Schweinsteiger and Podolski would soon become the golden generation of this German squad.

Schweinsteiger originally played on the flanks for Bayern Munich and Germany, and it was not until 2009 when the midfielder started playing more centrally. With the absence of Ballack in the World Cup 2010 squad, this meant that Schweini was now the main man in the centre-midfield. Germany breezed through the group stage with ease, and they went on to face Argentina in the quarter-final, in which Schweinsteiger performed admirably. Not only did he manage to contain Lionel Messi, but he provided two assists in the process earning him another man of the match performance in a major competition. Unfortunately, Die Mannschaft were knocked in the semi-finals to the would be world champions, Spain.

"In today's football you need to play intelligently and combine effectively in tight spaces. Schweinsteiger can do all of that. That's what makes him priceless," ex-Bayen Munich manager Jupp Heynckes.

Ahead of the opening game of World Cup 2014, Schweinsteiger was airlifted to hospital to have a scan on his knee. Although he was passed fit to play the opening game, Schweinsteiger did not make an appearance. The Bayern man made a substitute appearance in Germany's 2-2 draw over Ghana, and Joachim Löw elected to start Schweinsteiger against USA where they 1-0.

Schweinsteiger has improved as Germany have progressed through the knockout stages. Playing 109 minutes against Algeria, and the full 90 minutes in wins against France and Brazil. Schweinsteiger completed 94 percent of his passes in their 7-1 win over the hosts, the most in the German squad.

If Germany are to beat Argentina at the Estádio Maracanã, then Schweinsteiger will have to be at his best. However, if Germany's 2010 performance against Argentina is anything to go by, then they could have the 2014 World Cup already in their hands, 24-years after West Germany won Italia '90.