Stanisic: 'Everybody here is really into their football'

Josip Stanisic on…

…his first days in Leverkusen: After the signing on Sunday, I trained on my own on Monday because the squad had the day off. Today I was finally on the pitch with the lads for the first time. It was a great feeling – even though I completed some parts of the session on my own. But that's normal in a first training session particularly as I hadn't done anything for three days due to the talks around my move. But what I saw in such a short space of time: Here everybody is really into their football and is highly motivated.

…the reasons for his decision to sign for Bayer 04: The club showed great interest in me and they definitely wanted to have me. That really impressed me. On top of that, the playing style of the team and the game idea of the coach both suit me. The development here over the last few months has been really impressive and it struck me as extremely positive even from a few hundred kilometres away.

…his favoured position: I prefer playing at the back on the right rather than on the left but that's not a secret. But I can play on the right side of central defence in a back three or a back five. But for me in general: I play where the coach puts me in and where I can best help the team.

…competition at Bayer Leverkusen: The lads played really well against Leipzig and, of course, they justifiably have a certain advantage through that. But I will give my all from the first day to fight my way into the team as quickly as possible. I hope to get a lot of playing time not least because of all the games in three competitions over the course of the season. But the most important thing first is to build on the good start and carry on winning. To do that we have to remain calm, work hard and take it game by game. We can achieve a lot if we can do that..

…his recollection of the 2-1 defeat with FC Bayern at the BayArena in the middle of March: The match definitely impressed me most from my games in Leverkusen – and it wasn't a good one from a Bayern perspective. The atmosphere at the stadium was incredibly good, I was very surprised. That's why I can't wait to play in front of this crowd.