Jakirović made his debut for Bosnia and Herzegovina in an August 2005 friendly match away against Estonia and has earned a total of 5 caps, scoring no goals. His final international was a February 2006 friendly against Japan.[5]
In his first game in charge, Zrinjski beat Krupa in a league match on 27 February 2021.[12] He oversaw his first loss as Zrinjski manager in a Bosnian Cup game against Sarajevo, played on 10 March 2021.[13]
On 20 January 2022, Jakirović signed a two-and-a-half-year contract extension until 2024.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16] Subsequently, he was named the Bosnian Premier League Manager of the Season.[17]
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.[19]
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.[20] He made his debut on 21 January 2023, when Rijeka drew 1–1 away against Osijek.[21]
On 21 August 2023, three days before their match against Lille, Jakirović left Rijeka and was appointed manager of Dinamo Zagreb, replacing Igor Bišćan.[27]
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.[28] 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.[29] 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.[30] 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.[31]
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.[32]
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.[33] Dinamo managed to qualify for the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League league phase after eliminating Qarabağ 5–0 on aggregate.[34] 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.[35] Two days after the match, on 19 September, he was sacked by the club.[36]
Personal life
Born in Mostar, Jakirović has both Bosnian and Croatian citizenship.[37] His father, Enver, was a goalkeeper for Neretva.[38]