Croatian coach Ivan Jurić (49) took over Southampton. The contract was signed after he completely terminated his contract with Italian Roma.
Jurić succeeded previous coach Russell Martin, who was fired after a 5:0 home defeat by Tottenham. Southampton have returned to the Premier League this season, but are currently in last place with five points and are the main candidates for relegation.
“I’m very satisfied. This is a big challenge, but I’m optimistic because I see a team that can do better. It’s important to connect with the fans immediately. I want an aggressive team and I believe Southampton fans will like that. “I want us to be more aggressive, to work harder pressing. We will have to quickly change our mentality because that is my football idea,” Jurić said after signing the contract.
Welcome to Southampton, Ivan Jurić
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) December 21, 2024
Jurić has been unemployed since November 10, after he was fired from Roma. He took over Roma from Daniele De Rossi on September 18, and in all competitions he achieved a performance of four wins, three draws and five losses. His desperate form in the Italian championship in his last five games decided him. Roma lost four times in that period
In his career, Jurić managed Mantova, Crotone, Verona and Turin, and on three occasions he was the head coach of Genoa. Before Roma, he managed Torino for three seasons, and last summer he was one of the main candidates to take over Hajduk. That combination failed, so Hajduk brought in Gennaro Gattuso.
According to Transfermarkt, Southampton is worth 306 million euros. The most expensive players are stoppers Taylor Harwood-Bellis (22) and midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu (20), who cost 25 million euros. Southampton has not won since November 2nd and the home celebration over Everton in the Premier League, and Jurić will make his debut on December 22nd away against Fulham.
This is followed by a home game against West Ham four days later.
(Vijesti.ba)
