Josip Stanišić scored for Leverkusen against his parent club FC Bayern. This triggered different feelings for everyone involved.
With a dark face and a lowered voice, CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen spoke in the catacombs of the BayArena about the bitter 3-0 debacle that he had just experienced with FC Bayern as an eyewitness in the stands. When he was asked about Josip Stanišić, Dreesen forgot the depressed mood in the Bayern camp for a moment.
The 56-year-old inevitably even had to laugh out loud. “It’s just a typical football story that Josip, of all people, scored this goal against us, making it 1-0 for Leverkusen,” Dreesen then told t-online: “He scored a deserved goal and exactly the right thing at that moment did.”
Stanišić with an almost apologetic gesture
The problem: The 22-year-old, who was born in Munich and trained at FC Bayern, did not do it for, but against his home club. And the defensive specialist, who has been on loan from Bayern since the summer, hit him right in the heart with his goal.
Stanišić knew immediately what he had done. Even before the ball, which he sent past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer into the goal with a powerful right-footed shot, landed in the net, he raised both hands in an almost apologetic gesture.
“Wanted to prove to myself that I had what it takes”
“Out of respect” for his actual employer, he refrained from celebrating the goal, while his Leverkusen teammates surrounded him and celebrated wildly. Internally, his opening goal was also a huge satisfaction for him. “Of course I also wanted to prove to myself that I have what it takes to be a Bayern player,” said the full-back at Sky.
“For me, every goal is actually strange because I score so rarely.” He was “somehow sorry to score against the parent club”.
It’s quite possible that he even scored the decisive goal on the way to the championship. He at least paved the way for Leverkusen to a 3-0 win, with which the league leaders (55 points) extended their lead over the record champions to five points.
“Wish him the best”
Didn’t that hurt Bayern twice as much? “No, we only wish him the best,” said captain Neuer to t-online and gave a thumbs up: “He really played well.”
Under Bayern head coach Thomas Tuchel, Stanišić had no prospect of regular playing time in the summer. Because the planned signing of a new right-back, who could also be used as a central defender, fell through, Tuchel missed exactly this type of player in his squad in the first half of the season, Stanišić. The loan deal to Leverkusen and thus the voluntary abandonment of him as an alternative has long been seen as an “unfortunate mistake” even within the club. As t-online knows, even among important decision-makers among those responsible for the club.
In any case, Bavaria has already paid dearly for him. Specifically, the 30 million euros that were spent in the winter to re-sign right-back Sacha Boey, who came from Galatasaray Istanbul.
Tuchel brings up rules from England
The 23-year-old made his first starting eleven appearance against Leverkusen on the left side, which was unfamiliar to him. His direct opponent? Of course, Stanišić, against whom he didn’t have the slightest chance and who he didn’t just lose sight of when he conceded a goal. While Boey seemed overwhelmed and received a t-online grade of 6, Stanišić became the man-of-the-match.
“There is a rule in England,” said former Chelsea coach Tuchel after the game: “If you loan players out, they are not allowed to play against you. I think that makes sense because I have experienced that too many times. That of all things the player then scores against me.”
Stanišić had only come to the fore at Leverkusen in the last few weeks, while some of his team’s internal competitors were at the Africa Cup. Against Bayern, he was surprisingly in the starting line-up for top performer Jeremie Frimpong – which turned out to be a perfect move by his coach Xabi Alonso.
“The team is really a team too”
“The team spirit is enormous. No matter who is on the pitch, they give their best,” said Stanišić. “The team is really a team too.” That couldn’t be said about Bayern recently, especially on Saturday evening. A team player like Stanišić, who takes on his task with unconditional commitment and passion, would also do the Munich team more than good at the moment.
“I’m here now this season and I’m trying my best,” said Stanišić about his current loan from Leverkusen. It is not unlikely that he will return to Munich after this season as the only German champion and possibly also a cup winner.