Southampton confirm appointment of their new manager after sacking Russell Martin

Southampton confirm appointment of their new manager Ivan Jurić after sacking Russell Martin, with the club bottom of the Premier League.

The 49-year-old has agreed to an 18-month deal, which includes a break clause at the end of the 2024/25 season.

They get set to take on Fulham on Sunday, and it remains to be seen whether he will be in the dugout for the match, although should his work permit not come through in time, then it will be the Under-21 boss Simon Rusk at the helm for this one.

Juric was not only a candidate to take over from Ralph Hasenhuttl two years ago, but also second choice to Nathan Jones.

Welcome to Southampton, Ivan Jurić 😇

— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) December 21, 2024

🇭🇷 Ivan Juric’s first interview as the new #SaintsFC manager: pic.twitter.com/djlB1soqsw

— Just Saints (@JustSaints_) December 21, 2024

STATEMENT:

Southampton Football Club is delighted to confirm Ivan Jurić as its new Men’s First Team Manager, subject to final work permit approval.

Despite the club’s current position in the Premier League, we remain focused on fighting for survival this season and believe this appointment will provide us with the grit and determination needed to improve results on the pitch.

Jurić, a former Croatia international as a player, arrives at Saints on an 18-month contract with a reputation for helping his teams punch above their weight.

The 49-year-old’s coaching career to date has been spent in Italy, most recently with European giants Roma, but with notable success across spells in charge of Mantova, Crotone, Genoa, Hellas Verona and Torino.

Speaking after signing his contract, Ivan Jurić said: “I’m very pleased. I think it’s a really big challenge but I’m very optimistic because I saw a team that can do better.

“It’s important to immediately be connected with the fans. I want an aggressive team and I think that fans of Southampton will like that.”

Ivan Jurić’s arrival as Southampton’s new First Team Manager marks the Croatian’s first coaching role outside of Italy, the country that has shaped so much of his distinguished career in football.

An international player, Jurić was an elegant left-footed midfielder whose five senior caps all came in 2009 under former Premier League boss Slaven Bilić.

Born in Split, he represented home city club Hajduk before moving to Spain, where he played for Sevilla, and Italy, where he settled after joining Serie B side Crotone in 2001.

It was there that Jurić first came into contact with his biggest coaching influence, Gian Piero Gasperini. After winning promotion together at Crotone, back to Serie B, the pair joined forces once more when Gasperini signed Jurić for Genoa in 2006; again promotion followed in the coach’s first season, allowing Jurić to fulfil his dream of playing in Serie A.

A key player in the team, vice-captain Jurić helped Genoa achieve three successive top-half finishes for the first time since the War, contributing 10 assists in 2008/09, many of them for star striker Diego Milito, as Gasperini’s men finished fifth to qualify for Europe.

A year later, whilst Milito was scoring both goals for José Mourinho’s Inter in the Champions League final, Jurić announced his retirement, aged 34, stating his ambition to go into coaching.

Initially staying at Genoa to work as a youth team coach, Jurić later assisted Gasperini at Inter, albeit briefly, and Palermo.

Taking his first steps in management at Mantova in 2014, Jurić returned to Crotone, the first Italian club he played for, achieving legendary status as he led the unfashionable underdogs to promotion to Serie A for the first time in the club’s history.

That summer, he returned for the first of three short stints in charge of Genoa, but it is his work at Hellas Verona (two seasons) and Torino (three seasons) that stands out, adding up to more than 200 games between the two jobs.

At both clubs he developed a reputation as a manager able to maximise modest resources, implementing a high-intensity pressing approach built on a strong defensive foundation.

With Hellas Verona, newly promoted at the time of his arrival in 2019, he led the team to back-to-back top-half finishes. In both seasons the club defied the odds to be in contention for European places, only to run out of steam in the closing weeks of the campaign.

Torino were relegation strugglers before the appointment of Jurić, who again proved himself to be a steady hand in offering stability, this time maintaining positive results through the spring. In his five seasons in charge of Hellas Verona and Torino, he finished ninth or 10th every year.

That ability to outperform his resources attracted the advances of Roma, but Jurić, like club legend Daniele De Rossi before him, was not afforded enough time to make his mark, something referenced by his mentor.

“It’s a very explosive situation, born after De Rossi’s dismissal,” Gasperini, a well-respected figure in Italian football, observed. “He took on a very hot potato. Ivan is a good coach, he knows how to work. If he is supported, he can produce results.”

Gasperini is a two-time Serie A Coach of the Year these days, most recently shortlisted for the Johan Cruyff Award at the Ballon d’Or. His Atalanta side were the only team to defeat all-conquering Bayer Leverkusen last season, doing so in the Europa League final to secure a first major trophy since 1963.

As far as coaching influences go, Jurić has a good one, as well as proving himself to be a specialist in turning underdogs into competitive top-flight teams in the face of fierce competition.

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Here’s how fans reacted as Southampton confirm appointment of their new manager after sacking Russell Martin…

@simonrichards: We’re not expecting miracles, just just a fight to the end.

@Josh_b222: This guy’s gonna be great, I’ve got a feeling. Get behind him. #SaintsFC

@SFCvlogZ: It’s now time to get behind this man and the players. There’s 22 games left and let’s go into every single one of them with the right mentality. I truly believe with Ivan in charge we’ve got the ability to stay up. Welcome Ivan. 🇭🇷 #saintsfc

@callum03taylor: We’ve got juric, ivan juric 🔴⚪️

@Mahmoud_SFC: Horrible job at Roma but tbh who on earth can succeed at this Roma side. Did a good job at Torino and Hella Verona with top-half finish on a couple of occasions. Aggressive style of football and a bit of guts into this group of gutless players. It is a hell of job for him.

@DomMooney1: Good luck. By the sound of it, I like the style and looking forward to it. UTS

@JonAtTheGraps: Quietly optimistic about this appointment! #SaintsFC

@richard79page: Juric will need to solve a problem #saintsfc have had since Koeman left – creating chances and scoring goals. I’m hopeful, as I genuinely believe we have capable players in Archer, Fernandes, Sulemana, Dibling, Lallana

@timosullivan81: The players are in for a right kick up the arse. He won’t be their best mate by the sounds of it, he’ll knock a few heads together #saintsfc

@AlishaW1709: Well then, let’s go! Looking forward to what this will bring, our Italian maestro ready to save us? #SaintsFC

@Lewis_Larkam: Ivan Jurić’s tricky reds. Seven points is all I’m asking for at this stage #SaintsFC