Euro 2024, Kurtic? The Tour of Italy and the rebirth in Bolzano: an incredible story

For low-ranking Italian teams, Jasmin Kurtic it’s always been a big market hit. Pre-Gasperini Atalanta bought him from Sassuolo in the summer of 2015 for 3.8 million euros, then they sold him to a Spal team that was thinking of opening a cycle in Serie A in 2018 for 5.3 million, an absurd figure for a club that arrived from Serie C. Then Parma arrived with the same reasoning: do we need a midfielder who can guarantee performance in the top category? Well, Kurtic! So here’s 4.9 million to secure him in 2020. It’s a shame, however, that Parma failed in their mission that year and finished last and relegated, before being fixed by the new owner Krause: Kurtic, due to salary issues, is too much of a B pearl in that moment and then he was loaned for two years to Paok, in Greece, where he put together a fair amount of appearances in the first year, including 9 in the Conference League, but then dropped in the second. And so it is forgotten, or simply ignored, by the Italians who cannot afford this safe luxury used, so Parma gives it to CS Universitatea Craiova, a Romanian club from the city of the same name. Kurtic goes, because at 33 he is not old at all play football, especially if in Romania. But the marriage lasts only a few months, until Christmas, then some disagreements and broken promises especially from a contractual point of view: the unpaid salaries lead the Slovenian to say enough, thank you and goodbye.

There is also the desire to return to noble football, fortified by good form: 17 games and 2 goals make Kurtic believe he can still be useful to some Italian cause. Meanwhile, Slovenia holds its ground and seems to be able to have its say in a match European qualifying round rather simple, with Denmark as the top seed and the only Finland to duel with, given that the others are Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland and San Marino. Thus comes the agreement to free himself and be free to decide his own destiny. For six months he trains alone, there’s no question of stopping because he’s there Euro 2024 on the horizon and coach Kek wants Kurtic’s experience in the squad.

South Tyrol arrives. A short proposal, contract lasting only six months, but serious because the team has just finished the Serie B playoffs and intends to maintain the category. And then it’s not a bad change of life at all, considering how it is in Bolzano with the mountains close at hand. Kurtic signs and accompanies Sudtirol to a comfortable 12th place with 14 appearances featuring a goal and an assist. He enters the 30, then the 26, and against Denmark he comes on in place of Sesko in injury time. He plays a handful of seconds. It might seem like an outrage for a man with 91 appearances for the national team, but instead it is a tribute: Kurtic, at 35 years old, made his debut in a European Championship. Today at 3pm (live Sky Sports) against Serbia is running for ownerand could give a turning point to the history of Slovenia, as well as earning a new team for next year.