FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - April 6, 2025 Southampton manager Ivan Juric reacts REUTERS/David Klein/File Photo
(Reuters) -Ivan Juric has been appointed Atalanta manager to replace Gian Piero Gasperini, the Serie A club said on Friday, with the Croatian signing a two-year deal just two months after he left Southampton following their Premier League relegation.
Atalanta, given the difficult task of replacing Gasperini who left the Bergamo side on Saturday after nine years in which he oversaw the most successful period in the club's history, have chosen his former pupil and assistant Juric.
Juric, 49, played under Gasperini at Crotone and Genoa, was part of the Italian's coaching staff during his short-lived spell at Inter Milan in 2011, and became his assistant at Palermo the following year.
This is not the first time that Juric has replaced Gasperini. In 2016, after Gasperini left Genoa to coach Atalanta, Juric was the man chosen to take charge. He then spent five seasons managing Hellas Verona and Torino.
Last season, Juric became AS Roma manager after the sacking of Daniele De Rossi in September, but lasted less than two months in the job before he too was shown the door, and in December he took charge of Premier League club Southampton.
Southampton were bottom of the standings at the time and Juric was unable to spark a turnaround, winning two of his 16 games in charge in all competitions, and left in April when the club's relegation was confirmed with seven matches to spare.
Juric will aim to restore his reputation after a turbulent season, but faces a tough challenge to replicate Gasperini's achievements, who took Atalanta from relegation battlers to regular European football, winning the Europa League in 2024.
Atalanta finished third in Serie A last season, which will give Juric his first taste of Champions League football as a manager, and in the league he will come up against Gasperini who became manager of AS Roma on Friday.
(Reporting by Trevor StynesEditing by Christian Radnedge and Toby Davis)
