Jozo Jakopić (1 April 1904–6 November 1946) was a Yugoslav and a Croat 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, representing the Banovina,[1] from 1940 to 1941.
The first, unofficial match was played against Switzerland on 2 April 1940 in Zagreb, which ended in a 4–0 victory for Croatia.
[3] With the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia after Germany and Italy invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941, Jakopović was persecuted by the newly appointed Ustaše regime.
Jakopović eventually fled to Zürich in Switzerland, where he died and was buried there.