Hull City reach Premier League after Tigers pounce on their promotion chance
Jakirovic said before Saturday’s game that his team had suffered “collateral damage” as Southampton were dumped out of the play-offs, forcing Hull to switch from preparing for a game against Saints to plotting for Middlesbrough four days before the final.
Despite pre-match difficulties and being the underdogs, Hull took care of business on a hot day at Wembley as they played third-placed Millwall in the semi-final.
The promotion caps a superb first season in English football for the Hull boss, a former Bosnian international.
Jakirovic won titles in Bosnia and Croatia before a brief spell in Türkiye at the end of last season, but he is perhaps only truly known in the UK as Dinamo Zagreb boss in 2024-25 when they lost 9-2 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. He was dismissed days later.
If he came to England to prove a point, that’s pretty much a mission accomplished.
“When Oli scored, I thought, ‘I’m dreaming and this is a movie,'” Jakirovic said. he said.
“I’m very emotional. Many players were crying with happiness.
“It’s an incredible journey. I think we don’t realize everything we’ve achieved today. We’ve had so many problems.
“I’m proud of everyone, especially the actors; they’re the main actors.”
