For his move under the Cross, Josip Stanisic is leaving his birthplace and hometown Munich for the first time in his football career. "The team is packed with top players and I was really motivated by my talks with the club," said the defender. "There are clear ideas here and an exceptional environment. I'm really looking forward to the Werkself – for me they were one of the most exciting teams in the Bundesliga last season," the versatile defender explained in giving his reasons for the move to Leverkusen.
Stanisic took his first steps in football at the Munich club FC Perlach before joining the renowned academy at 1860 Munich at the age of nine. He stayed with the Lions for six years before joining SC Fürstenfeldbruck to the west of Munich. As a U17 player, Stanisic finally aroused interest of the biggest club in the Bavarian capital and he signed for Bayern Munich.
Despite injuries, Stanisic became an important player in the youth teams at the German record champions, trained with the now Bundesliga coach Sebastian Hoeneß in the U19s and he was a captain of the side in his second season.
He joined the FC Bayern second team for the 2019/20 season after they had been promoted to the third division. His coach Hoeneß went the same way and turned Stanisic from a central defensive player to a full-back.
In the late autumn of the following 2020/21 season, Stanisic had established himself as right-back with the FC Bayern second team and – with several players injured in the first team – he made his debut in the Bundesliga on 10 April 2021. Under the current Germany coach Hansi Flick, who was at the BayArena on Saturday for the Bundesliga match against RB Leipzig (3-2), Stanisic played the full 90 minutes against Union Berlin. However, that was his only appearance in the top-flight in 2021/22.
The following season he was part of the senior squad with good performances in training and games at the start of the season earning him a professional contract in November 2022 that ran to 2026. Stanisic played 13 games in the Bundesliga but he suffered muscular problems around the turn of the year. Last season he made 14 appearances in the top-flight as well as eight in the Champions League. He celebrated his third title win in succession with FC Bayern on the final matchday of the season.
At the international level, Stanisic, who has both German and Croatian nationality, opted for Germany in 2018 and he played two games for the Germany U19s. The Croatia Football Association became aware of Stanisic in the summer of 2021 after his regular appearances with FC Bayern – and they finally persuaded him to change his international team.
The first appearance for Croatia came in October 2021, almost a year later he played in the World Cup in Qatar. Croatia went out at the semi-final stage against the eventual winners Argentina including Bayer 04 player Exequiel Palacios. Now Stanisic and Palacios – at least at club level – will be on the pitch together.
Newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg will begin the 2026/27 season as Bundesliga club number 59. The Saarland club start their first Bundesliga campaign at home to the Werkself on Saturday, 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST) at the URSAPHARM Arena on Kaiserlinde, which is currently being rebuilt. For one Leverkusen player in the ‘Elv’ line-up, the clash will be a special reunion. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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The fixture details for the Bayer 04 Women’s first match in the 2026/27 DFB Pokal has been confirmed: As announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday morning, the Leverkusen Women will face second-tier side FC Viktoria Berlin in the first round on Sunday 27 September at 14:00 CEST.
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Once again, well over 100 Werkself fans were delighted to receive an invitation from the club’s record appearance-maker, Rüdiger Vollborn, to the sold-out Schwadbud at the BayArena. This time, the supporters listened as the club historian provided fascinating, exclusive insights into the period from Bayer 04 being founded in 1904 to the club’s promotion to the Bundesliga in 1979. A journey through time is also planned for the upcoming ‘Rudi lädt ein’ event in early November – this time focusing on the years of the Nazi regime.
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Getting in the mood for the new season together, exchanging ideas and looking ahead to the coming months: Bayer 04 welcomed partners to the BayArena for the annual sponsors season-launch event. In a relaxed atmosphere, the management, head coach and players came together with representatives from partner companies to celebrate the start of the 2026/27 season.
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