Sergej Jakirović

Sergej Jakirović (pronounced [sěrɡej jakǐːroʋitɕ]; born 23 December 1976) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Süper Lig club Kayserispor.

Club career

Jakirović played in the Croatian First League for Neretva, Istra, Kamen Ingrad, NK Zagreb and Rijeka.

International career

Jakirović made his debut for Bosnia and Herzegovina in an August 2005 friendly match away against Estonia and has earned a total of five caps. His final international was a February 2006 friendly against Japan.

Managerial career

Early career

Between 2017 and 2018, Jakirović managed Sesvete in the Croatian second division.

On 20 June 2018, Jakirović was appointed manager of Croatian First League club Gorica, which he led to fifth place in the 2018–19 season. On 24 February 2020, following a 6–0 loss to Hajduk Split, he was sacked by the club.

On 23 April 2020, Jakirović was named new manager of Slovenian PrvaLiga club Maribor, replacing Darko Milanič. He was sacked on 29 August 2020 after getting eliminated by the semi-professional Northern Irish team Coleraine in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round.

Zrinjski Mostar

On 28 December 2020, Jakirović became the new manager of Bosnian Premier League club Zrinjski Mostar, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract with the club.

In his first game in charge, Zrinjski beat Krupa in a league match on 27 February 2021. He oversaw his first loss as Zrinjski manager in a Bosnian Cup game against Sarajevo, played on 10 March 2021.

On 20 January 2022, Jakirović signed a two-and-a-half-year contract extension until 2024. After beating Radnik Bijeljina on 19 March 2022, Zrinjski broke the all-time Bosnian Premier League record with 13 consecutive victories, overpassing the previous record of 12 victories set by Željezničar in the 2011–12 season. On 16 April 2022, he managed Zrinjski to a 4–0 win against Sarajevo, clinching the club's record seventh league title seven rounds before the end of the season. Subsequently, he was named the Bosnian Premier League Manager of the Season.

After getting eliminated from the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round by Moldovan club Sheriff Tiraspol, Jakirović led Zrinjski to the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round, where they got eliminated by Slovak club Slovan Bratislava following a penalty shoot-out, missing out on a chance to play in the group stage.

On 29 November 2022, the board of Zrinjski confirmed that Jakirović had left the club, as he was set to sign a contract with Croatian top division side Rijeka.

Rijeka

One day after his Zrinjski departure was confirmed, Jakirović signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Rijeka with an option for another year. He made his debut on 21 January 2023, when Rijeka drew 1–1 away against Osijek.

On 28 January, Jakirović won his first match as Rijeka manager after a 2–1 win over Šibenik. After a four-game winning streak, he suffered his first defeat as the club's manager on 25 February 2023 in a 1–0 loss to Slaven Belupo. With Rijeka, Jakirović finished the season in fourth place, qualifying for the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League second qualifying round. The club eliminated Kosovan side Dukagjini and Faroese side B36 Tórshavn, before being drawn against Lille in the play-off round.

Dinamo Zagreb

2023–24 season

On 21 August 2023, three days before their match against Lille, Jakirović left Rijeka and was appointed manager of Dinamo Zagreb, replacing Igor Bišćan.

Jakirović managed his first Dinamo Zagreb match against Sparta Prague in the UEFA Europa League play-off round, winning 3–1 at home on 24 August. However, following a 4–1 defeat to Sparta in the second leg on 31 August, Dinamo was eliminated from the Europa League and continued playing in the Conference League group stage. Following a second place finish in group C, Dinamo eliminated Real Betis 2–1 on aggregate in the knockout round play-offs, qualifying to the round of 16. After winning 2–0 at home against PAOK in the first leg, the side suffered a 5–1 defeat in the second leg, getting eliminated from the Conference League.

On the domestic level, Jakirović led Dinamo to a league and cup double, defeating his former club Rijeka 3–1 on aggregate in the Croatian Cup final.

2024–25 season

Jakirović's side started the 2024–25 season by beating Istra 1961 in the first round of the league season on 2 August 2024. Dinamo managed to qualify for the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League league phase after eliminating Qarabağ 5–0 on aggregate. In the first league phase match, however, the team suffered a 9–2 defeat against Bayern Munich; it was the club's heaviest ever defeat, and the first time that one side had conceded nine goals in the history of the competition. Two days after the match, on 19 September, he was sacked by the club.

Personal life

Born in Mostar, Jakirović has both Bosnian and Croatian citizenship. His father, Enver, was a goalkeeper for Neretva. His son Leon Jakirović is also a footballer.