Bastian Schweinsteiger has thanked departing Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal and is looking forward to an ‘interesting’ Manchester derby next season as Jose Mourinho takes on Pep Guardiola.
The midfielder has reported for duty at Germany’s pre-Euro 2016 training camp in Ascona, Switzerland ahead of warm-up matches against Slovakia on Sunday and Hungary next Saturday.
Meanwhile in Manchester, Mourinho is moving closer to taking over at Old Trafford following the Dutchman’s sacking on Monday after two years in charge.


GERMANY FIXTURES
May 29 Slovakia (Friendly, Augsburg)
June 4 Hungary (Friendly, Gelsenkirchen)
June 12 Ukraine (Euro 2016, Lille)
June 16 Poland (Euro 2016, Saint-Denis)
June 21 Northern Ireland (Euro 2016, Paris)
Van Gaal signed off by delivering the FA Cup on Saturday but a fifth-place finish in the Premier League – and thus a failure to qualify for the Champions League – proved his downfall.
Schweinsteiger, 31, said: ‘I think Louis van Gaal and I have a very special relationship – he moved me into the centre of the midfield at Bayern and I’ve got a lot to thank him for.
‘Also, my move to United was because of him. I will never say any bad words about somebody for whom I have so much to thank.
‘Quite the opposite – even if we were not always of the same opinion, we had a good relationship.
‘I admire him as a coach and despite a difficult season with really much injury misfortune, he still ended it with a good title.

The midfielder battles Argentina star Lionel Messi during the 2014 World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro
‘It’s been two years since United last won a title and I think that was a good ending also for him.’
On the possibility of Mourinho taking over, the German added: ‘We don’t know who will be our new manager yet, but it looks like it’s going to be an interesting derby in Manchester next season.
‘The enthusiasm for football in Manchester is great and if Mourinho does take over at United, I think all of the players want to train under him so it’s going to be quite a special season.’
Germany have been drawn in Group C at the European Championship in France and face Ukraine on June 12, Poland on June 16 and Northern Ireland on June 21

Source : http://lailamedia.com/bastian-schweinsteiger-looking-forward-to-an-interesting-manchester-derby-next-season-as-new-united-boss-jose-mourinho-takes-on-pep-guardiola/