Marcel Sabitzer driven to success at Bayern Munich

While the deal that brought the Bundesliga veteran to Bayern Munich was lauded at the time, there is little doubt that Marcel Sabitzer has failed to live up to expectations. In limited minutes at Bayern (with two starts at left-back) he made very little impact on the pitch and has not yet carved out a clear role at the club.

With rumours recently swirling that Sabitzer might be leaving the club this summer his agent stepped forward and announced his client’s desire to stay, and succeed, at Bayern.

In a recent interview in kicker (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), Sabitzer confirmed his dedication to the club and his confidence that he can play a bigger role saying, “I’ll believe in my chance from day one and try to do my thing. I believe in my strengths, I haven’t forgotten anything. I’ve shown at the highest level in recent years that I’m a top player and I don’t think I forgot that.”

Sabitzer does not, however, gloss over his struggles from the last season or pretend like they did not occur. The Austrian fully conceded that he did not perform up to his own standards after he arrived, “I haven’t had a year like that in my career before, so of course there was an analysis as to why. There were many players who had the same problems during their first year at Bayern. That’s the way it is.”

However, Sabitzer does not think the year was a waste and doesn’t plan to let the setback keep him down. He commented, “I won something and became German champion. Nobody can take that away from me. The past few months shaped me. It’s been tough, but in hindsight it doesn’t hurt because I’m mentally strong enough to pull something positive out of it.”

Hopefully his positive mindset will allow him to earn more playing time and help Bayern get results in the coming season. With Austria not qualifying for the World Cup, his fresh legs and significant experience may come in handy in the dog days of the season when key German players like Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka need some rest after what they hope will be a deep run in Qatar.