New Southampton Manager Juric Promises High-Intensity ‘Death Metal’ Style

Football - Premier League - Fulham v Southampton - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - December 22, 2024 New Southampton manager Ivan Juric before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Fulham v Southampton - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - December 22, 2024 New Southampton manager Ivan Juric before the match. (Reuters)
TT

New Southampton Manager Juric Promises High-Intensity ‘Death Metal’ Style

Football - Premier League - Fulham v Southampton - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - December 22, 2024 New Southampton manager Ivan Juric before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Fulham v Southampton - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - December 22, 2024 New Southampton manager Ivan Juric before the match. (Reuters)

Ivan Juric said he will try to implement a high-intensity brand of football at Southampton as he bids to guide the Premier League strugglers out of the relegation zone.

The former Croatia midfielder, who was appointed on an 18-month contract on Saturday, was previously in charge of AS Roma but was dismissed in November after only 12 matches in charge.

"When I was young, I liked death metal music a lot, and that's something I think my style of football is like," Juric told reporters on Monday.

"Work hard, press hard, play good, be intense, all this stuff. I think (the players) can do it. They are young, they are positive, they want to work hard. It's not easy to change the style immediately, but we have to be clever."

Bottom of the league with six points from 17 matches, Southampton are winless in their last seven league games and sit eight points adrift of safety.

"I know it will be a very tough job and I know that in the history nobody has stayed in the Premier League from this situation," the 49-year-old said, adding that he thought the side can do "something exceptional".

Juric's first game in charge is on Thursday when Southampton host West Ham United.



Tennis in Good Hands Despite High-Profile Retirements, Says United Cup Chief

Spain's Rafael Nadal waves to the crowd during a tribute after playing his last match as a professional in the Davis Cup quarterfinals at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, early Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)
Spain's Rafael Nadal waves to the crowd during a tribute after playing his last match as a professional in the Davis Cup quarterfinals at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, early Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)
TT

Tennis in Good Hands Despite High-Profile Retirements, Says United Cup Chief

Spain's Rafael Nadal waves to the crowd during a tribute after playing his last match as a professional in the Davis Cup quarterfinals at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, early Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)
Spain's Rafael Nadal waves to the crowd during a tribute after playing his last match as a professional in the Davis Cup quarterfinals at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, early Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)

The retirements of tennis greats Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Serena Williams has made promoting events more difficult but organizers must grab the opportunity to push new talent into the spotlight, the United Cup's tournament director said.

The popular $10 million mixed team event aims to do just that when it kicks off the new season on Friday, with tournament chief Stephen Farrow confident the sport is in good hands.

"It's true to say that from a promotional standpoint, it's very easy if you've got Roger Federer or Rafa Nadal turning up," Farrow told Reuters after the draw for the 18-team tournament was held in Sydney recently.

"You're talking about people who are absolute superstars of the sports arena ... with those guys moving on, it does make it a bit more difficult to promote and tell the story of the athletes playing the event.

"I always see that as a positive, because it's on all of us in tennis to tell the story of this new talent.

"We've got a lot of them playing the United Cup. They're incredibly exciting and captivating to watch. I'm not worried about the future."

Grand Slam contenders Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Iga Swiatek and Coco Guff will all be in action for their countries at the Dec. 27-Jan. 5 tournament staged in Perth and Sydney as they prepare for the Australian Open starting on Jan. 12.

Farrow also said the United Cup was still building its brand and boosting awareness with fans and players.

"Last year we saw a really big step forward when we moved to a new format with one women's singles, one men's singles and one mixed doubles. It was incredibly competitive.

"Now we've established ourselves on the tennis calendar two weeks from the Australian Open. We've seen with the field this year that players want to play this event."

Spain take on Kazakhstan while China meet Brazil on the opening day in Perth.