Bayern Munich loanee Josip Stanišić won’t stop grinding...and now he’ll bring that attitude to Bayer Leverkusen

Versatile Bayern Munich defender Josip Stanišić was loaned to Bayer Leverkusen earlier on Sunday.

It was one of those times, where you might expect that a young player could potentially sit back and appreciate how far he has progressed in the past two seasons.

That success, however, will not change his work ethic.

“Two years ago, I would never have thought I would experience so much in this amount of time. Of course, there are always ups and downs, including some injuries I suffered. But all in all, the past few years have been extremely positive. I also played my first few games for the Croatian national team. A few months previously, I would never have dreamt that I would play for the national team, because at that time I was still playing for the reserves,” Stanišić said in an interview with FCBayern.com.

All of that success — including picking up a couple of key goals during Bayern Munich’s preseason tour in Asia — will not change Stanišić’s approach to the day-to-day grind as he prepares for a new chapter with Bayer Leverkusen.

“Hard-working and ambitious is a good description. Of course I’m happy when others see it that way too. You can’t make it in professional football without these two components, unless you’re a huge talent. That wasn’t necessarily the case with me and that’s why I had to utilize other attributes,” Stanišić said.

Stanišić will have some work to do to establish himself on Bayer Leverkusen’s roster. Still, a player who has been overcoming obstacles like the 23-year-old has during his career likely will not be deterred by the competition in front of him.