"?According to German newspaper "?Bild"?, Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer has said that Bastian Schweinsteiger is set for a strong European Championship this summer, due to finally being away from the "problems" at Manchester United.
Bastian Schweinsteiger returned to action from the bench as Germany prepared for #Euro2016 with victory over Hungary pic.twitter.com/2hfmPjkcRi
"?"?Schweinsteiger made his long-awaited return from the knee ligament injury that cut short his debut campaign at Old Trafford from the substitutes bench in Germany's 2-0 victory over Hungary on Saturday, in Joachim Low's side's final match before opening their Euro 2016 account against Ukraine on Sunday.
Beckenbauer was surprised by the performance of the returning 31-year-old, especially in light of the doubts over his ability to cut it at the highest level, following a disappointing and injury-hit season with Manchester United, and made it clear what he credits for Schweinsteiger's improvement.
"He was stronger than expected in his 24 minutes against Hungary. He showed great joy of playing and also spiritual motivation.
Why? Because he is away from the problems at Manchester. I guess he is really comfortable in the Germany squad."
Der Kaiser, who won the 1972 European Championship and 1974 World Cup as a player, before managing his country to glory in the 1990 World Cup, went on to back Germany captain Schweinsteiger to return to his best at the forthcoming tournament, which kicks off on Friday, when hosts France take on Romania.
"We all know how strong his will can be. We all remember his bloody face in the last minutes of [the] World Cup final. This we will see again."
World Champions Germany are joined in Group C by Poland and Northern Ireland, as well as opening opponents Ukraine.
Despite the retirements of key players such as Phillip Lahm and Miroslav Klose since their triumph in Brazil, and patchy form in qualifying, Der Mannschaft are among the favourites to lift the trophy in Paris on July 10, and anything less than a run to the semi-finals will be seen as a failure for Low's charges.