In the realm of international football, representing one’s home country is a matter of immense pride and honour. For several Croatian players, they have chosen to proudly wear the red and white checkers of Croatia despite being born and raised abroad.
From Josip Šimunić to Ivan Rakitić, and the talented Kovač brothers, a number of players over the years have embodied the unwavering connection to their Croatian heritage. Part of the new young crop of players who fit into this category is 23-year-old Munich-born defender Josip Stanišić.
After playing a role in the UEFA Nations League final against Spain last week, Josip headed to off to his mother’s village of Oriovac in the eastern Brod-Posavina County where he got a surprise.
(Photo: NK Oriolik)
Josip, who takes immense pride in his Oriovac roots, received some good news this week from Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel, who informed him that he counts on his services for the upcoming season and highly values his reliability, flexibility, and continuous development.
(Photo: NK Oriolik)
Whilst in Oriovac, Josip visited the local NK Oriolik stadium where is was welcomed by a large number of fans.
(Photo: NK Oriolik)
After welcoming words from Dominik Milinković, the president of NK Oriolik, who congratulated Josip on his national and club successes and for promoting Oriovac, the attention turned to the ‘Vatreni’ defender himself.
“I took my first football steps at this Oriovac stadium, and I will always be a part of Oriovac and my Slavonia. I know how important it is to convey the message to these young Oriovčani that with effort, hard work, dedication, and holding onto family and Christian values, anything is possible. I am delighted to see such a tremendous response from my fellow Oriovčani,” he said.
(Photo: NK Oriolik)
To the delight of the numerous guests, Josip happily and patiently interacted with everyone during the gathering.
After the gathering, Josip paid tribute to the ‘Nebeskoj bojni’ mural, which honours the prematurely deceased football players of NK Oriolik.
(Photo: NK Oriolik)
Josip made his debut for Croatia on 8 October in 2021 against Cyprus and has since played in 11 matches for the ‘Vatreni’.
