While Xabi Alonso behaved at the press conference as if Bayer Leverkusen had just won a normal Bundesliga game, Thomas Tuchel’s dissatisfaction was written all over his face.
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For over 90 minutes, FC Bayern’s attack attempts bounced off a calm, concentrated Werkself and never managed to put on a real top game (0:3). The fact that one of our own players also became the opponent’s match winner fit the picture – as was easy to see from Tuchel’s reaction.
“There’s a nice rule in England: If you loan players out, they can’t play against you. I think that makes the most sense. I’ve seen it too often that the player, of all people, is involved. Unfortunately, this rule does not exist in Germany. That’s why we’re the ones who suffer from it today,” replied the contrite and annoyed Tuchel when asked about Josip Stanisic. He’s actually a Munich player, even a youth player for Bayern, but is on loan to Leverkusen for this season.
What Tuchel was of course alluding to was the opening goal of the dominant league leaders. Stanisic shot that, which is why the word “of all people” could hardly have been used more accurately. It was “such a typical football story,” admitted Jan-Christian Dreesen.
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But typical, as Bavaria’s CEO put it, was only correct at first glance and was almost an understatement. Ultimately, there was something even more special about this goal and almost seemed like the ironic climax of a seemingly bizarre story.
Stanisic takes his own successor by surprise
And a story that probably doesn’t make Bayern ask themselves for the first time: Did we really do the right thing in some moments last summer?
After all, the record champions created a construction site for themselves back then and let the flexible defender move – and to a direct competitor. The Munich team also gave up Benjamin Pavard and suddenly only had one right-back in the squad, Noussair Mazraoui. Konrad Laimer even had to step in there for a long time.
It was only in the winter that the club brought in the reinforcement that Tuchel had long wanted, Sacha Boey. Bayern transferred a whopping 30 million euros for the Frenchman to Galatasaray Istanbul, which is now supposed to close the Stanisic gap after a six-month delay.
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But in his starting eleven debut for his new employer – and here too the word “of all things” fits perfectly – Boey met his predecessor and mostly seemed disoriented defensively. What was particularly blatant was that when the score was 1-0, Boey forgot Stanisic, who had moved up, behind him.
One thing that can be said about Boey’s honor is that the 23-year-old surprisingly had to play as a left-back and, as was not usual, on the right side.
The fact that Boey looked bad next to Stanisic, who was convincing across the board and delivered his best performance of the season against the parent club, is likely to further fuel the question in Munich about the sense and nonsense of the Stanisic transfer.
“Someone who always kept working”
Bayern seem to have simply lost their way with Stanisic. “In order to continue to develop at the highest level, he needs continuous commitment,” emphasized Dreesen in the summer after the move was announced. Now Stanisic, who is tied to the record champions until 2026, is moving with his new team at a higher level than the Munich team themselves and could steal the championship title from them.
And what makes the story even more special: Stanisic is by no means set under Xabi Alonso. In fact, the two-footed defender’s path to the starting line-up was blocked for a long time because his teammates were too strong – week after week.
It was only with the Africa Cup and the absence of Edmond Tapsoba and Odilon Kossounou that the situation changed and Stanisic was able to take advantage of his last chance.
“I’m happy for Josip. He is someone who always kept working – even if there were sometimes disappointments. “He always put his foot down and pushed the team,” said Jonathan Tah, praising him after the emotional win on Saturday.
In terms of football, Stanisic has always had a reputation as a reliable force, but neither more nor less than that. Former Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann once described his skills as “decent”, with no outliers “towards world class” or the other extreme.
Leroy Sané even asked Stanisic half-seriously on Saturday after the end of the game: “Since when can you score a goal?”
The Croatian international could have shown these skills more often at Bayern. Because Kossounou, who won the African Cup with Ivory Coast, is returning soon, Stanisic will soon find himself on the bench more often – and will find himself in a similar situation to the first half of the season.
2024-02-13 02:34:38
#score #goal #Irony #history #Bayern #loanee #Stanisic #Leverkusen
