During his playing career he usually operated as midfielder and represented Croatia at senior international level. Since working as a coach, he has spent the majority of his managerial career in Italy before moving to Southampton in December 2024.
Playing career
Club career
A versatile and technically skilled midfielder or winger, Jurić started his career with Hajduk Split, where he played from 1993 to 1997. He then moved to Spain to join Sevilla, where he played from 1997 to 2001, except for a short loan to Albacete in 2000. After a short time back in Croatia with Šibenik, he moved to Italy in 2001 to join Serie B team Crotone, and then moved to Genoa in 2006, following his mentor Gian Piero Gasperini, his former head coach at Crotone. Since then, he established himself as a fan favourite, being the protagonist of the rossoblu's return to Serie A and then being appointed vice-captain for the team.
He announced his retirement in June 2010, at the age of 34, contemporaneously confirming his interest in becoming a football coach.[3]
International career
Jurić made his international debut for Croatia in a friendly match against Romania on 11 February 2009 and went on to play five times with his national team, though he did not score any goals. His final international was a September 2009 World Cup qualification match against Belarus.[4]
Coaching career
Early career
After retiring as a footballer, Jurić stayed at Genoa as a youth team coach for the 2010–11 season. He passed the UEFA A coaching exam in June 2011.[5]
On 5 July 2011, new Inter manager Gian Piero Gasperini unveiled Jurić as one of his first team coaches in the new club,[6] but was removed from his post the following September together with Gasperini and his entire staff. He reunited with Gasperini in September 2012, working alongside him at Palermo as assistant coach.[7]
On 17 June 2014, Jurić became head coach of Mantova on a two-year contract.[8]
On 28 June 2016, Jurić was appointed as head coach of Genoa.[10] Despite victories against AC Milan[11] and Juventus,[12] he was sacked on 19 February 2017 after a 0–5 defeat against bottom-placed Pescara.[13]
He was reinstated as Genoa manager on 10 April 2017 after the sacking of Andrea Mandorlini.[14] Jurić guided Genoa to safety with one game to spare following a 2–1 victory against Torino.[15] The following season, he was dismissed again on 5 November 2017 following a 2–0 defeat in the Derby della Lanterna.[16]
On 9 October 2018, he was appointed manager of Genoa for a third time.[17] On 6 December 2018, he was sacked again after losing to third tier Virtus Entella on penalties in the Coppa Italia.[18]
Hellas Verona
In July 2019, he was appointed at the helm of the newly promoted Serie A club Hellas Verona. Under his tenure with the Gialloblu, he competed in two top-flight seasons with impressive results despite having one of the smallest budgets in the league. On 28 May 2021, Hellas Verona announced to have released him from his contract.[19]
Torino
On the same day of his departure from Hellas Verona, Jurić was unveiled as the new head coach of Torino, effective 1 July 2021.[20] After three mid-table seasons with Torino, Jurić amicably parted ways with the Granata at the end of the club's 2023–24 campaign.[21]
Roma
On 18 September 2024, Jurić became the new head coach of Roma, following the sacking of Daniele De Rossi after earning just three points in the first four games of the season.[22] Jurić failed to turn the team's fortunes and was regularly criticized for his management style and poor results; he was eventually dismissed on 10 November 2024, after a 2–3 home loss to Bologna that left Roma 20th in the Europa League table and only four points above the relegation zone in Serie A.[23][24]
Southampton
On 21 December 2024, Jurić was named manager of Premier League side Southampton and signed an 18-month contract.[25][26] His first game in charge was a 1–0 home defeat against West Ham United on 26 December.[27]
^"LO STAFF DEL MISTER" [THE COACHING STAFF] (in Italian). US Città di Palermo. 18 September 2012. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
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