In Bayern’s six-goal hammering of RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga season opener, the media has shown a lot of love to the attacking department of Harry Kane, Michael Olise, Luis Diaz, and Serge Gnabry. They overshadowed another scintillating performance from someone in a backline that helped keep a clean sheet.
Josip Stanisic was arguably the best defender for Bayern Munich in those 90 minutes, yet he was not talked about enough. His composed defending, tactical awareness, and reliability on the ball made him a vital asset, giving Vincent Kompany a dependable left-back to balance Bayern’s attacking flair.
In the absence of Alphonso Davies, Stanisic was forced into the left flank, far away from his natural position of a right-back/center-back. As a right-footed player, the Croatian may struggle with running overlaps, holding the touchline, and delivering accurate crosses on the left-hand side. Fortunately, the way Kompany utilizes his left-back not only covers this apparent flaw but also enhances his attributes.
The left-back in Kompany's system often takes an inverted positioning towards the middle of the pitch, attempting to recycle possession and casually making underlapping runs in between the opponent’s fullback and center-back. This also helps the team defensively, as the left-back would not be too out of position had the ball been lost, and can easily track back to stop the counter. This tactical setup makes it easy for a right-footer and suits the biggest qualities of Josip Stanisic: a cautious and defensive-minded player.
Stanisic playing crucial role higher up the pitch
In Michael Olise’s opening goal, Stanisic was seen in the middle of the park winning the ball back before making an inward run towards the box. Although he couldn’t control the pass cleanly as it found him inside the penalty area, the disruption and chaos he created confused the opposition, leading to a poor clearance that found the French winger, who struck it beautifully with his weak foot.
However, most praise for Josip Stanisic this gameweek should be dedicated to his defensive efforts. The Bayern academy alumni locked up RB Leipzig’s highly anticipated summer signing, Johan Bakayoko. The former PSV winger was unproductive in his 70 minutes of presence, only making a few cut-inside moves that were eventually diffused by Stanisic. With Leipzig’s right flank being shut down the whole match, Bayern easily manhandled the one-dimensional attacking scheme.
With Davies and Ito out for the foreseeable future and Guerreiro unable to find form, Stanisic is now a nailed-on starter in the upcoming games. This is the perfect opportunity for the 25-year-old to display his progression and cement himself as a steadfast key player for the first team.