There were many talking points to come out of Manchester United’s 4-0 victory over Club Brugge on Wednesday night.
The focus was of course on Wayne Rooney and his monsoon hat-trick, following a goal drought that threatened to turn into a crisis. He was the story and the headlines quite rightly belonged to him.
But football isn’t always about end-product, as ludicrous as that may sound. Essentially, things happen and stuff is lost and won. Whether it is a single game or a magnificent trinket, it is soon over and history.
What can’t be consigned to the record books or small print are feelings. They can’t be quantified, nor can they be laminated or time-capsuled for future reference. Every peak of joy is a visceral puff of smoke.
What can be left as a legacy for others is a record of the art, or moment of thunderous endeavour, that caused such ecstasy. With that in mind, Bastian Schweinsteiger did a thing in Belgium that would make angels weep.
The German was brought on in the second-half of the match, and instantly stamped his authority on the game. Immediately there was a sense that this regal prince of world football was in complete control.
But that wasn’t the thing: In the 63rd minute of the game, Schweinsteiger fused the schools of art and science with a pass of such weight, vision and casual audacity that it took the breath away.
It wasn’t a mere through-ball – it was a portal into another dimension where football has been perfected. If there was a grassy knoll nearby, conspiracy theorists would be openly debating whether he actually played the final ball.
Ander Herrera, freed of a deep-lying role that isn’t his niche, was liberated enough to make a blindside run. To say it was speculative is an understatement. But Herr Schweinsteiger was in telepathic mood.
Standing in his own half, the Bavarian swept a magical pass to his grateful teammate that literally turned one hapless Brugge defender inside out: there were guts and still functioning organs everywhere.
If Schweinsteiger does nothing more in his Manchester United career – if his ankles turn to dust tomorrow – he will have given the supporters a taste of heaven that will have been worth it all. It was a £6m pass, easy.
As the visiting fans sang of their new Deutscher Fußballmeister, a single moment of breathtaking beauty served as ultimate confirmation.
