“FC Südtirol is taking me to EURO 2024”

Jasmin Kurtic, who only needs 12 international matches to become Slovenia's record international player, should use his enormous experience to help them stay in the league. The FCS is counting on the great motivation of its new midfield star. Because Kurtic knows: If he does well at the FCS, he will definitely be there at the EURO.

“When the move to FC Südtirol was imminent, national coach Matjaž Kek called me and advised me to accept the offer,” said Kurtic. “I feel the team boss’s appreciation. Now I want to perform at FC Südtirol, then participation in the European Championships will be a consequence.” “35 is the new 25.” Jasmin Kurtic about his age Slovenia has not played a major tournament since the 2010 World Cup. Kurtic has been a national player since 2012 and has been there ever since. He has played 89 international matches, ex-Inter captain Samir Handanovic (81) has long since been overtaken, the only ones ahead of the new FCS midfield boss are Valter Birsa (90), Bojan Jokic (100) and Bostjan Cesar (101), but they all have already ended their careers. “I don’t really look at these numbers,” said the FCS newcomer, who is celebrating his 35th birthday today. “35 are the new 25,” smiled the long-time Serie A professional, who will be inviting the entire team to dinner this evening, as he revealed. “But first there are two training sessions on the program, the coach has scheduled training in the morning and in the afternoon,” laughed the Slovenian.

<a data-caption="Jasmin Kurtic (links) im Zweikampf mit Dänemarks Morten Hjulmand beim EM-Qualifikationsspiel am 17. November 2023 in Kopenhagen. Als Gruppenzweiter schaffte Slowenien den Sprung zur EURO 2024. © Ritzau Scanpix / LISELOTTE SABROE" data-fancybox="inline-190411" target="_image" href="https://s3-images.sportnews.bz/_images/scale/1280x1280/img/2024/01/jasmin-kurtic-links-im-zweikampf-mit-daenemarks-morten-hjulmand-beim-em-qualifikationsspiel-am-17-november-2023-in-kopenhagen-als-gruppenzweiter-sc.jpg"><img alt="Jasmin Kurtic (left) in a duel with Denmark's Morten Hjulmand at the European Championship qualifier on November 17, 2023 in Copenhagen. As second in the group, Slovenia made it to EURO 2024. © Ritzau Scanpix / LISELOTTE SABROE" class="uk-img-preserve" src="https://s3-images.sportnews.bz/_images/scale/1280x850/img/2024/01/jasmin-kurtic-links-im-zweikampf-mit-daenemarks-morten-hjulmand-beim-em-qualifikationsspiel-am-17-november-2023-in-kopenhagen-als-gruppenzweiter-sc.jpg"> Jasmin Kurtic (left) in a duel with Denmark's Morten Hjulmand at the European Championship qualifier on November 17, 2023 in Copenhagen. As second in the group, Slovenia made it to EURO 2024. © Ritzau Scanpix / LISELOTTE SABROE

His family – Kurtic has two children – did not follow him to South Tyrol, but stayed in Slovenia. “The older one is 2, the smaller one is 5 – they go to kindergarten in Laibach. I didn’t want to take them out of their usual environment, but they come to visit me during the holidays.”

Not happy in Romania Kurtic spent the first half of the season in Romania at Universitatea Craiova, but was not happy there. “I wanted to leave. I didn't like it in Romania. The expectations were far too high, there was a negative atmosphere, even if things went well. Whenever we played the ball back when we were 4-1 up, the crowd started to whistle. I wanted to go back to Italian football,” said Kurtic. So Andrea Masiello steered him to FCS. “I have known Andrea since our time together at Atalanta, we are friends, we write to each other almost every day. He immediately told me to come to South Tyrol. I called my agent, then spoke to the sports director and finally reached an agreement. It all happened very quickly. Now I’m happy to be here.”

Jasmin Kurtic in the Slovenia jersey. © AFP / JURE MAKOVEC

In the summer of 2021 - after Parma's Serie A relegation - Kurtic left Italian football, where he had been active for 10 years. “I still had a contract with Parma and was loaned out to PAOK Saloniki for two years,” said Kurtic. His first season in Greece would be the best of his career. He scored 2 goals this season in the league alone, and in the Conference League his team made it to the quarter-finals, where they only finished against Olympique Marseille. It wasn't enough for the Greek championship title, in the end they came second behind Olympiacos Piraeus, but Kurtic was able to look back on an outstanding season. His coach at PAOK was Razvan Lucescu, the son of legendary coaching guru Mircea Lucescu. “He and Gian Piero Gasperini were the best football teachers I had,” emphasized Kurtic. “Gasperini and Lucescu were the best coaches I had.” Jasmine Kurtic The second year in Greece was far less successful. Because the two-year loan contract between Parma and PAOK expired, Kurtic was no longer considered from winter onwards. “The league paused due to the World Cup in Qatar, we completed a training camp in Cyprus with PAOK, then Lucescu informed me that the club management had decided to remove me from the squad,” Kurtic said wistfully.

Spectacular header: Kurtic in the Slovenia jersey. © AFP / DIMITAR DILKOFF

After the Greece adventure, he moved to Romania before he ended up back in Serie B - almost 12 years after his last appearance. In the 2011/12 season he made his breakthrough in Italian football at Varese. Palermo brought the young Slovenian to Italy in January 2011 and - after 4 Serie A appearances and one goal - loaned him to Serie B in Varese. There he became a top performer, made it into the national team and even narrowly missed promotion to Serie A. It was only in the play-off final against Sampdoria that the dream burst. Kurtic went to Serie A anyway. Palermo brought him back, Sassuolo, Torino, Fiorentina, Atalanta, Spal and Parma were other stops in the Italian football upper house.

From Kanižarica to Palermo Kurtic grew up in Kanižarica, a small town in the municipality of Crnomelj. The football club there was called NK Bela krajina. At the age of 21, he moved to the first division in Nova Gorica/Neu-Görz before the call came from Palermo, where the Slovenians Armin Bacinovic and Josip Ilicic had already been under contract for a few months and another compatriot, Siniša Andelkovic, was on the way . “Moving to Palermo was a big change, but the fact that there were four Slovenians in the team made everything much easier,” recalled Kurtic.

At FC Südtirol, Kurtic not only knew Andrea Masiello and assistant coach Nicoló Cherubin from their time together in Bergamo, but also goalkeeper Giacomo Poluzzi. The FCS keeper made his only Serie A game for Spal on May 4, 2019 in a 4-0 win in Verona against Chievo. “I scored back then,” said Kurtic promptly when asked about it. That's right: He fixed the final score of 4-0.

The game that Kurtic remembers most fondly also took place that season. “We won the derby against Bologna 1-0, I scored the winning goal, a very nice goal. My wife was pregnant with our first child and I wanted to dedicate the goal to her.”

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“FC Südtirol is taking me to EURO 2024”

The fact that FC Südtirol is signing a national player is new. The fact that he will also be taking part in the European Championships in Germany in the summer makes Jasmin Kurtic's transfer coup even more special and extraordinary.

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