Nicknamed Schnix by fans and teammates, Schneider started out at his hometown club Carl Zeiss Jena and made a name for himself during his decade-long stint at Bayer Leverkusen.

[3] Schneider started his professional career at local Carl Zeiss Jena, going on to help the Thuringian outfit to stay five seasons in the second division;[4] his debut came on 13 August 1991, playing close to ten minutes in a 1–3 loss at Darmstadt 98.

[5] After two more seasons in which he scored ten goals and achieved 18 assists in 60 matches, Schneider began suffering consecutive injuries: first the calf,[6] then the back, being sidelined almost the entire 2008–09 due to the latter.

[8][9] On 29 May 2009, Carl Zeiss Jena named him as mentor to club president Peter Schreiber,[10] and he began to work as scout for Bayer Leverkusen in June, immediately after retiring from play.

At the World Cup on home soil, along with Ballack, Torsten Frings and Bastian Schweinsteiger, they formed a formidable midfield and all played their part in the national team's unexpected success.