Ivan Jurić

Club career

Jurić was born in Split, Yugoslavia on 25 August 1975. There, he began his football career with Hajduk Split, making his debut in 1993. Jurić then moved to Spain to join Sevilla in July 1997. Following promotion from the Segunda División in 1998–99, he made his La Liga debut on 7 November 1999 as a 68th-minute substitute for Nicolás Olivera, in a goalless home draw with Athletic Bilbao, and was sent off. His first goal in the division came on 19 March 2000, in a 4–0 home win over Numancia played in Jerez de la Frontera due to previous crowd trouble at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. He totalled 12 games that season, but his team finished in last place and was relegated. Jurić scored his second goal on the final day of the season, in a 3–2 home loss to Rayo Vallecano.

In January 2001, Jurić joined fellow Segunda División club Albacete who beat Club Brugge in trying to secure his services. He played 20 games in his one season with the club, opening the score in a 2–1 home win over Real Murcia on 18 February. After a short time back in Croatia with Šibenik, he moved to Italy in 2001 to join Serie B team Crotone. Jurić then moved to Genoa in 2006, following his mentor Gian Piero Gasperini, his former head coach at Crotone. He announced his retirement, at the age of 34, in June 2010, and expressed interest in becoming a football coach.