Dinamo Zagreb sacked head coach Sergej Jakirovic two days after the club lost 9-2 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
The defeat in Germany was the heaviest ever loss of the club, and the first time that one side conceded nine goals in the history of the competition.
Jakirovic was appointed at Dinamo in the summer of 2023 and led the club to a 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 Champions League group stage, ahead of their opening day defeat to 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-Herzegovina international.
“We call on the media and the public to be understanding towards Sergej Jakirovic and his family and not to make the already tense situation worse,” the statement added.
Dinamo won their first four league games of the 2024-25 season but slipped to third in the standings after a draw at Rijeka and defeat at home to rivals Hajduk Split on 19 September.
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)
