July 6, 2020 - Dinamo announced on Monday that it terminated the contract with coach Igor Jovicevic after the Zagreb club's 0:2 defeat against Rijeka.

"I had the best intentions, but football is like that. The ball didn't come back to me this time, but I'm leaving my club with my head up because I don't want to be a burden in these times. I thank the club for the trust, for the wonderful years in the football school. I will always be a Dinamo player and I believe that this is just a goodbye, not a farewell to my favorite club," said Igor Jovicevic on Index.hr.

"We are sorry for such a quick departure, but we must show responsibility in these difficult times. On behalf of the club, I thank Igor for the great results he achieved with our junior team. The doors of Dinamo will always be open to him," said club sports director Zoran Mamic.

Dinamo will inform the fans about the new coach in a timely manner.

Jovicevic took over Dinamo on April 22 after the club parted ways with Nenad Bjelica due to a dispute over reducing his contract due to the coronavirus crisis.

The new Dinamo coach was at the helm of a team that played a great Champions League campaign, though he only won three of seven games. Namely, against Varazdin, Slaven Belupo and Inter Zapresic. 

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April 23, 2020 - Igor Jovicevic has been named the new coach of the Croatian champion - Dinamo Zagreb.

Igor Jovicevic will succeed Nenad Bjelica, whose contract was terminated last week, reports HRT.

His greatest career success came just ten days after a great loss, the death of his father, Ceda Jovicevic, who passed away at the age of 68.

"Emotions are mixed. My parents mean a lot to me, losing my dad has left a big mark on me, but I have to deal with it, and my memory will never fade. I am proud of him, of everything he has done in his career and of everything he has given to Dinamo in those 10 years. He is my hero, my idol, and has always been a parameter for me on how to behave and what are the paths of success," said Jovicevic, who has successfully led the young Dinamo team so far.

"This is my childhood dream come true, it is truly an immense joy that I feel, but it also comes with the great responsibility that the first coach has to carry with him. In my younger days, I was one of the fans from the North Stand. First of all, I'm a Dinamo fan. So, before I’m a coach, I’m a fan. I have loved Dinamo since I was a kid, I've been here all my life, my dad brought me to these rooms when I was four years old. And I wanted to be a Dinamo coach; it didn't matter when. Just to be one," he added after signing the contract.

Born in Zagreb, Jovicevic was once the best cadet in Europe. At the age of 17, in the summer of 1991, he signed a contract with Real Madrid, but a severe injury to the cruciate ligaments halted his career.

After that, he played in Japan, Brazil, France, China, Ukraine and ended his playing career again in China with a new knee injury at the age of 32.

After retiring, he began coaching. In June 2014, he became interim head coach and one year later head coach at the Ukrainian Karpaty Lviv. In October 2016, he moved to the Celje bench, and in 2017, he returned to Maksimir.

From the summer of 2017, he led the second Maksimir team as well as the juniors in the UEFA Youth Champions League, where he brought Dinamo to the quarterfinal twice in a row. This year's quarterfinal match against Benfica was postponed due to the pandemic, and in the meantime, Jovicevic moved to the top squad.

Jovicevic will be assisted by Damir Krznar and Alen Peternac, goalkeeping coaches Sandro Zufic, conditioning coaches Ivan Stefanic and Stipe Marina, analyst Vedran Attias, and team manager Marko Kuze.

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