Looking to shore up his back line's organization and guard against the likes of 100-goal scorer Bradley Wright-Phillips, Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic turned to Bastian Schweinsteiger Saturday night against the New York Red Bulls.
Asked following the match about the impact of Schweinsteiger's return to that role, Paunovic interjected with "Fantastic" prior to the completion of the question and went on to praise Schweinsteiger's ability to thrive in just about any assignment.
"Today definitely he was a great leader in our defense," he said. "He also helped in the times when we had to push lines forward, he helped in our organization, but even pushing the guys a little bit higher with his long balls or passes through the lines when he attempted a couple of times.