Hard work, ambition and patience: the unusual career path of Josip Stanišić

Josip Stanišić has had to endure one or two setbacks along the way, but he's kept going. Because this is also a story of the constant hard work that the Munich native puts in. Now he's reached a temporary high point: his contract extension with FC Bayern until 2029. Stanišić is part of the future, but before that, let's take a look back at the fascinating journey of the Croatian EURO participant.

It wasn't Josip Stanišić's day. On the evening of Monday 26 April 2021, FC Bayern II hosted 1. FC Saarbrücken in the 3. Liga in front of a small crowd at the Grünwalder Stadion. The German record champions' first team had been in action in the Bundesliga at Mainz two days before. Without Stanišić, who instead made three msitakes as centre-back for the reserves in a 4-0 defeat.

The turning point

His coach at the time, former world-class centre-back Martín Demichelis, subsequently expressed doubts about his protégé, who had made his professional debut in the Bundesliga two weeks earlier against Union Berlin. Can Stanišić establish himself at this level in the long term, can he fight his way out of his slump in form and deal with such setbacks? Yes, he can! "I don't know what he did on holiday, but he came back and was our fittest, most professional and best player in every training session," a proud Demichelis recalled the following pre-season. A turning point. From the summer of 2021, the versatile defender Stanišić hit the ground running.

Eventually at Bayern

The career of the polite and smart Stanišić was already a blueprint for a young footballer's rocky path to the professional game. However, the word "blue" only appeared in his CV occasionally, during a brief spell with local rivals 1860 Munich (until 2015); Stanišić started playing football as a seven-year-old at FC Perlach in the Bavarian capital.

"There were a few times when I thought about going to Bayern," recalled Stani, as he's known to his teammates, in an interview with fcbayern.com in July 2023. "But I initially stayed at TSV 1860 because I thought I had a better chance of making it there. I was a bit behind physically in the U15s and when it was clear that I wasn't going to stay at 1860, I went to Fürstenfeldbruck because my best mate played there." At first glance a step backwards, but one that was to pay off. 

When childhood dreams become reality

After a trial lasting several weeks, the move to FCB came in early 2017. "I've been a Bayern fan for as long as I can remember, my dad influenced that," he said. "To have made it here is a huge thing and certainly hasn't always been on the cards." Now things were looking up. Sebastian Hoeneß, his then coach for the Bayern U19s and now successful with Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, saw his potential and made him U19 captain.

After his first European experiences in the UEFA Youth League, the 1.87-metre-tall defender was part of the reserve team that won the 3. Liga title in sensational fashion in 2020. Following 42 games in Germany's third tier and the aforementioned ups and downs during his time at the FC Bayern Campus, the German with Croatian parents was a permanent member of the Bavarians' first-team squad from the 2021/22 season.

"It's always been a dream to play for the first team," said Stanišić in the documentary "FC Bayern Campus Stories" in May 2022. Now he, who not every football expert would have expected to develop in this way – perhaps not even himself – was the prototype of a Munich boy and an academy player who ambitiously pursues his goals, chases his dream and is ultimately rewarded for it.

From Perlach to the World Cup

For Stanišić, things progressed at great pace. In September 2021, he sat in the car with his parents and sister, when an unexpected message flashed up on the display: the Bayern youngster had been called up to the Croatian senior side, having played three games for Croatia's U21s and two for the German U19 team. "I was perplexed at first, then I looked to my right, my parents started crying, my sister was crying, it was a very emotional moment" he recalled. On 8 October 2021, Stanišić made his debut in a 3-0 win against Cyprus, and has gone on to make 20 appearances and take part in two major tournaments (2022 World Cup and EURO 2024 in Germany).

But Stanišić's rise also had a few bumps in the road: at the beginning of 2022, he struggled for months with a torn muscle bundle. But he fought his way back onto the pitch, played 41 competitive matches for Bayern until the summer of 2023 – including 10 in the Champions League – and has won three Bundesliga titles with his home club to date. "Holding the trophy in my hands for the first time was overwhelming," he recalled.

🎥 An in-depth video portrait of Josip Stanišić:

He was also able to secure this object of desire during his one-year loan at Leverkusen last season alongside the DFB Cup, as a key player who scored four goals and provided six assists in 38 competitive appearances for Bayer 04. Interestingly, the Croatian was not yet a regular for coach Xabi Alonso at the start of the season, but he worked his way into the starting XI over the course of the season and was ultimately a key figure in the double success.

Josip Stanišić's development is therefore a story about virtues such as patience, willpower, hard work and ambition. "You have to keep at it and never lose the hope that you can make it as a professional," he advises young players. As an experienced and versatile defender, World Cup and European Championship participant, Stanišić is now returning to Munich with a long-term contract and will take the next steps here. He is living his dream.

The full story on his contract extension: