FORMER Manchester United star Bastian Schweinsteiger has played in the final of the Champions League, World Cup and Euros.
But he was more nervous when meeting his now wife for the first time than he was prior to some of the biggest matches in world football.
Schweinsteiger won 18 trophies during a glittering spell with Bayern Munich as well as the World Cup with Germany in 2014 and FA Cup with United two years after.
And his wife Ana Ivanovic has an equally impressive collection of accolades.
The former tennis world No1 has 15 career titles to her name, including one Grand Slam at the French Open in 2008.
Sports worlds collided when Schweinsteiger and Ivanovic were set up by his basketball pal Steffen Hamann in New York.
The retired German footballer explained to Bild that he was extremely anxious before meeting Ana.
But he had a code word either – “come on, let’s go for a walk together” or “okay, see you later, Steffen” – depending on how first impressions went the Serbian tennis ace.
Schweinsteiger said: “I wasn’t that good at English when we met, so I listened to Ana a lot at the beginning.
“I was a bit on the defensive and saw what was coming.”
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“It was love at first sight. You feel special moments and you can recognise them when you look deeply into someone’s eyes – that’s exactly how it was with me.”
The couple tied the knot in Venice in 2016 and the combative midfielder showed his softer side with a romantic proposal.
He revealed: “In London there are small parks that are only accessible to local residents and then I secretly rented the park from the film called Notting Hill.
“Of course I knew that Ana was extremely curious and when we walked past the gate ajar, I said to her: ‘Come on. We’ll see.’
“And then we went in there and then I asked her. This came as a complete surprise to her.
“I was able to score a few points with her family by asking Ana’s father for her hand in marriage in Serbian.
“I flew to Belgrade and asked.”
The power couple have two sons together and are expecting a third kid soon.
Schweinsteiger is currently being coached tennis by his wife and he jokes that he is getting blown off the court by Ana, who is putting in 30 per cent effort.
