Dinamo Zagreb have sacked head coach Sergej Jakirovic two days after the club lost 9-2 against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
The defeat in Germany was the club’s heaviest ever loss, and the first time that one side had conceded nine goals in the history of the competition.
Jakirovic was appointed at Dinamo in the summer of 2023 and guided the club to the Croatian league and cup double in his first season.
The 47-year-old also oversaw the club’s 5-0 aggregate victory over Azerbaijan champions Qarabag to book their place in the league phase of the Champions League, before their opening day defeat against Bayern.
Dinamo trailed 3-0 at the break but goals from Bruno Petkovic and Takuya Ogiwara in the first five minutes of the second half reduced the deficit to 3-2, before Bayern responded with six more unanswered goals.
Dinamo thanked Jakirovic in a statement on Thursday as they confirmed they had decided to part ways with the former Bosnia and Herzegovina international.
“We hereby appeal to the media and the public to be understanding towards Sergej Jakirovic and his family and not to worsen the already stressful situation,” the statement added.
Dinamo won their first four league matches of the 2024-25 season but have slipped to third in the standings following a draw at Rijeka and a defeat at home to rivals Hajduk Split on September 19.
They return to league action on Saturday with a trip to Slaven Koprivnica and resume their Champions League campaign against Monaco on October 2.
(Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
