Bernd Schneider

Bernd Schneider (born November 17, 1973 in Jena, Thuringia region) is a Germany football (soccer) player. He plays for Bayer 04 Leverkusen, whom he helped clinch second place in the Fußball-Bundesliga in 2000 and 2002. In addition, he plays for the German national team and was selected in the squads that reached second place in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and third place in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

On the field, Schneider goes by the nickname "Schnix", and is known for his versatility - although he prefers the center-right midfield, he can also play as a central or defensive midfielder. He is also known for his strong technical skills and accurate free kicks and corner kick. Even though he is seldom a finisher, he has in the past proven to be useful in front of goal. At Bayer Leverkusen he scored ten goals in the 2003/04 season, making him one of the highest-scoring midfielders in the Fußball-Bundesliga.

International career

World Cup 2002

The opening game of the 2002 World Cup was a normal victory for the Germany national football team. They easily beat Saudi Arabia national football team 8–0, a game that Schneider earned a first international goal in the closing moments of the match and provided several vital assists. Their next match was against Republic of Ireland national football team where Schneider failed to score as the match ended in a 1–1 draw. A 2–0 win over Cameroon national football team followed, then Paraguay national football team (1–0), United States national football team (1–0), and South Korea national football team (1–0) to move them into the finals against Brazil national football team. The Germans eventually lost 2–0 in the final.

Euro 2004

Germany national football team had a tough 3 matches as they were put into the group of death alongside Czech Republic national football team, Netherlands national football team, and Latvia national football team. Their first match was against Netherlands, where Bernd Schneider was substituted in the 68' minute for Bastian Schweinsteiger leading 1–0. But as Schneider watched, Ruud Van Nistelrooy tied the game up with a goal in the 81' minute. The next game was against Latvia national football team in a 0–0 draw. The last and final game in the group stage was against Czech Republic national football team, which Germany national football team needed to win to advance. The Germans lost 2–1 and were knocked out of the UEFA Euro 2004 in the group stages.

World Cup 2006

Germany national football team started off the 2006 World Cup with a win over Costa Rica national football team 4–2. The next game was a close finish, but Oliver Neuville scored in injury time to give Germany national football team a 1–0 win over Poland national football team. Germany national football team won their next match easily over Ecuador national football team 3–0 to move them into the Round of 16 where they beat Sweden national football team 2–0 to enter the quarter-finals. In the quarters against Argentina national football team, Miroslav Klose tied the game up in the 80th minute, sending the game into extra time. The game was still level and the Germans eventually won in a penalty-shootout to send them into the semi-finals to face Italy national football team. Once again it was tied up in regulation time, so they went to extra time. This time Germany national football team lost because of two late goals by Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero in the 119th and 120th minute. The Germans beat Portugal national football team 3–1 in the third place play-off.

Euro 2008

Schneider was ruled out of Germany national football team's UEFA Euro 2008 squad due to surgery to fix a Spinal disc herniation.

International goals

Trivia

- He and his wife Carina have a 7-year-old daughter, Emely.
- He is also known as 'The White Brazilian' in Leverkusen.
- He is a smoker.

Honours

- Confederations Cup Bronze medallist: 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
- 2002 FIFA World Cup Runner Up
- 2006 FIFA World Cup 3rd Place