Forge’s Dejan Jakovic Resurfaces With TFC Coaching Staff

All things considered, former Canadian international Dejan Jakovic had a rather unceremonious end to his playing career: after signing with Forge FC back in 2021, he featured in five straight matches and then disappeared from the team’s lineup entirely.

The then-36-year-old quietly left the club at the end of the season and briefly resurfaced in the unsanctioned Canada Soccer League a year later. Now, Jakovic’s name can be found in a higher echelon: the Toronto FC coaching staff.

The Major League Soccer side severed ties with Bob Bradley yesterday, with interim head coach Terry Dunfield coming in from the club’s U-17 setup. Today it was confirmed that Jakovic – along with former TFC midfielder Chris Pozniak – have been named as part of Dunfield’s staff.

Jakovic’s playing career saw him suit up for Canada some 41 times, with the six-foot-three centre-back having also played for the likes of Red Star Belgrade, DC United, LAFC, Forge FC, Japan’s Shimizu S-Pulse, and the NASL’s New York Cosmos, winning a US Open Cup in 2013 and an MLS Supporters Shield in 2019.

Having donned the captain’s armband for Canada, he’s no stranger to a leadership role – though this will mark his first stint in a coaching one.

Bradley’s coaching staff had featured another former CPL face in Paul Stalteri, another former national team member who previously assisted with York United.

How long Jakovic remains on the sidelines at BMO Field remains to be seen: Toronto FC will give Dunfield a run of four or so games, with Bill Manning hopeful to see a permenant replacement for Bod Bradley arrive on an ‘urgent’ basis.