Jozo Jakopić (1 April 1904–6 November 1946) was a Yugoslav and a

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

sports official and a long-time secretary of the most successful Croatian football club at the time HŠK Građanski. He also served as the first manager of the

Croatia national football team The Croatia national football team () represents Croatia in men's international Association football, football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a member of UEF ...

, representing the

Banovina Banovina may refer to: * Banovinas of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929 to 1941 * Banovina (region) in central Croatia, also known as Banija * ''Radio Banovina'', radio station in the city of Glina, Croatia * Banovina Palace, governmental buildin ...

, from 1940 to 1941.6. studenoga 1946. Jozo Jakopić – tvorac slavnih ‘purgera’ Građanskog i prvi izbornik reprezentacije Hrvatske!
- Narod

Biography

Jakopić was born in

Ljubinje Ljubinje ( sr-cyrl, Љубиње) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in southeastern part of Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 2,744 inhabitants, while the municipality has 3 ...

, at the time part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. Josip Torbar, the president of the HŠK Građanski football club, appointed Jakopić as the club's secretary. Jakopić became a manager of the

in 1940 and led Croatia in four friendly matches. The first, unofficial match was played against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

on 2 April 1940 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, which ended in a 4–0 victory for Croatia. Ten of the eleven players were from Građanski, while one was Concordia's player. Croatia also won in the away match played in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

(0–1). This time, all eleven players were from Građanski. The first official match was played against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

on 2 May 1940. The match ended in a 0–1 loss. Ten players were from Građanski and one was from Concordia. The second match against Hungary was played in Zagreb on 8 December 1940, ending in a 1–1 draw. Nine players were from Građanski, two from

Hajduk A hajduk (, plural of ) is a type of Irregular military, irregular infantry found in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries, especially from Hajdú–Bihar Count ...

and one from Concordia. With the establishment of the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

after

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

invaded

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

in April 1941, Jakopović was persecuted by the newly appointed

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...

regime.

Bogdan Cuvaj Bogdan Cuvaj (21 October 1905 – 23 July 1983) was a Croatian football (soccer), football manager in both club and international competition. Career He became the manager of Concordia Zagreb's youth side in 1926. After receiving managerial ...

was appointed as Croatia's new manager in 1941. Jakopović eventually fled to

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, where he died and was buried there.

Footnotes

References

Journals

News articles

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jakopic, Jozo 1904 births 1946 deaths People from Ljubinje Croatian sportspeople from Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian football managers Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland