Is FC Bayern selling its soul?

When Bastian Schweinsteiger's transfer to Manchester United became official on Saturday, no one was more saddened than Bayern's assistant coach Hermann Gerland. "It is a heavy loss for me personally," he told the German soccer weekly "Kicker." "He's not just a super player, he's a super person, a really nice kid." It was Gerland who called up then 17-year-old Schweinsteiger from Bayern's youth program to its amateur team, and was in large part responsible for giving "Schweini" his Bundesliga debut at age 18.

After a few years in the shadows of Munich's leading players, as well as some difficulty finding his own role in the team, Schweinsteiger eventually became a central figure in FC Bayern's game.

Schweinsteiger, whose contract was to run until 2016, found his strengths as a central midfielder. His departure allows him to escape the ever tougher competition evolving in Bayern's defensive midfield. With Thiago, Xabi Alonso, Philipp Lahm and David Alaba to choose from, the Bavarians truly have an overabundance of exceptional players.

Players with the "Bayern-gene" as a mainstay

FC Bayern has profited greatly from the fact that they have always had players on their squad who possessed the so-called "Bayern-gene," and thus truly understood what it meant to play for Germany's most successful club. Even when managers changed, and with them philosophies and playing styles - the core and character of FC Bayern remained constant, and the club remained successful as well. Before Schweinsteiger, there were players such as Oliver Kahn, Stefan Effenberg and Mehmet Scholl. In the eighties, there were the likes of Lothar Matthäus and Klaus Augenthaler, and earlier still, Franz Beckenbauer, Sepp Maier, Gerd Müller and Uli Hoeness, who in his time as manager played a major role in making sure that things remained familial at FC Bayern - despite increasing pressure to deliver performance and victories.

With Schweinsteiger's departure, the family is losing their Bavarian icon par excellence. Not even the extremely popular striker Thomas Müller or the proto-Bavarian team captain Philipp Lahm can come close. Most likely, after 17 years Schweinsteiger is indeed seeking a new challenge. And he has probably also been wanting to play abroad for a while. It is also very possible that Schweinsteiger realized that this may well be his last chance to transfer to a top club like Manchester United. Who knows who would have made offers next summer. Perhaps Schweinsteiger's new girlfriend, Serbian tennis player Ana Ivanovic, and the "internationalization" that comes with such relationships, also played a role. In any case, it must have had something to do with the fact that - at least from Schweinsteiger's point of view - something was not working in the family anymore.

The fact remains that head coach Pep Guardiola, chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and athletic director Matthias Sammer did not really fight to keep Schweinsteiger at Bayern. "I told him, 'do what you want. Do whatever is going to make you happy," Guardiola said after his long talk with the player. Though one should not put too much credence in Guardiola's public announcement that it had been an honor to work with Schweinsteiger. He also sang the praises of players such as Mario Mandzukic and Mario Gomez just before they were forced to leave the club.

Hometown boy

Bayern fans will now be sorely missing a role model on, but also off the field. Schweinsteiger's style of play, his unconditional commitment and not least his missed penalty against Chelsea at home during the Champions League final in 2012 - a low point in his career - and how he fought back from the disappointment it caused, all made him a truly great player in the eyes of the fans. A status that the Thiagos, Alonsos and Götzes of the world will never attain.

Schweinsteiger lived in the heart of Munich. He was an approachable star who could often be seen on the street, sitting in cafes in his downtown Munich neighborhood of Gärtnerplatz, walking his dog along the Isar River, or in the Olympic Hall cheering for the FC Bayern basketball team. Fans kept a respectful distance; they left the star alone and accepted him as a locals. He was one of them.

That is partly why so many Schweinsteiger fans were enraged about the way his departure had been dealt with. There were jeers and booing for Guardiola and team management at Saturday's season opener. "You don't sell a player like Schweinsteiger!" - was the unanimous opinion among fans. Nonetheless, FC Bayern did just that. It can afford to, athletically. FC Bayern won't play any worse without Schweinsteiger. The squad is utterly packed with world-class professionals hot to play a prominent role in Munich's game.

The departure of the icons

Strangely, Schweinsteiger's departure from Munich comes during a summer break in which saying goodbye to a number of longtime club icons seems to be a trend. Legendary goalkeeper Ikar Casillas cried at the press conference announcing that after 26 years and 725 games played at Real Madrid, he would be heading to FC Porto. At Anfield, Liverpool fans serenaded icon Steven Gerrard with the a rendition of "You'll never walk alone" one last time before his departure to Los Angeles, after 26 years with the Reds. And after 24 years with FC Barcelona, Xavi is heading to Al-Sadd Sport Club in Qatar.

In each case, the fact that these club icons had lost their inviolability and wanted to save themselves the indignity of a permanent place on the substitutes' bench certainly played a role in their transfers. It is worth noting that Schweinsteiger, however, will remain at his accustomed level - at least as long as he can get used to and keep up with the fast pace and at times somewhat rougher style of English soccer, remain free from injury and indeed be given the chance to play regularly. He has certainly earned it.