Niko Kovač

Niko Kovač
Niko Kovač
Niko Kovač.JPG
Personal information
Date of birth 15 October 1971 (1971-10-15) (age 40)
Place of birth West Berlin, West Germany
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 12 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Youth career
1987–1989 Rapide Wedding
1989–1990 Hertha Zehlendorf
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1991 Hertha Zehlendorf 25 (7)
1991 Hertha BSC II 12 (1)
1992–1996 Hertha BSC 148 (15)
1996–1999 Bayer Leverkusen 77 (8)
1999–2001 Hamburger SV 55 (12)
2001–2003 Bayern Munich 34 (3)
2003–2006 Hertha BSC 75 (8)
2006–2009 Red Bull Salzburg 65 (9)
Total 491 (63)
National team
1996–2008 Croatia 83 (14)
Teams managed
2009–2011 Red Bull Salzburg (academy)
2011– Red Bull Salzburg (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Niko Kovač (Croatian pronunciation: [ˈniːkɔ ˈkɔʋaːtʃ]) (born 15 October 1971 in West Berlin) is a former Croatian footballer who last played as a midfielder for Red Bull Salzburg. He was the long-standing captain of Croatia before retiring from international football in January 2009. A defensive midfielder who is known for his excellent passing and tackling skills, Niko was, at the time of his retirement, the oldest player in the Croatian squad and had been an important motivation raiser for them, having captained them at UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro 2008. He has also enjoyed a high level of top club action, having spent most of his career in the German Bundesliga. He is the older brother of Robert Kovač.

Contents

Club career

Early career

Born in West Berlin to a family of Croatian gastarbeiters hailing from the Livno area in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kovač started to play football at local club Hertha Zehlendorf and became a member of their first team in the summer of 1989 at the age of 17. He moved to Hertha BSC in the summer of 1991 and started his professional career with the club that competed in the Second Bundesliga at the time.

Bayer Leverkusen

In the summer of 1996, Kovač left Hertha, still a Second Bundesliga side at the time, for Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen. He made his Bundesliga debut on 17 August 1996, appearing as a halftime substitute in the club's opening match of the 1996-97 season, a 4-2 home victory over Borussia Dortmund. He appeared in 32 Bundesliga matches in his first season with Bayer Leverkusen, also scoring three goals. However, he mostly played as a substitute in the following two seasons and missed several matches in the 1997-98 season after sustaining an injury in the club's home match against VfB Stuttgart in December 1997. In three seasons with Bayer Leverkusen, Kovač made 77 Bundesliga appearances and scored eight goals in the league competition. At the club, he was teammates with his younger brother Robert for the first time in his professional career.

Hamburg

Kovač joined Hamburger SV in the summer of 1999 and spent two seasons with the club, making 55 Bundesliga appearances and scoring 12 goals for Hamburg in the Bundesliga. In the summer of 2001, he left Hamburg for Bayern Munich where he was once again teammates with his younger brother Robert.

Bayern Munich

However, Kovač did not manage to establish himself as a regular at the club and left Bayern Munich for Hertha BSC after two seasons in the summer of 2003. He appeared in 34 Bundesliga matches and scored three goals for Bayern in the league.

Hertha BSC

Kovač then signed for Hertha BSC again. He made 75 Bundesliga appearances for Hertha BSC and scored eight goals for the club in the league.

Red Bull Salzburg

After the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Kovač left Hertha BSC after three seasons for Austrian Bundesliga side Red Bull Salzburg. He is now a regular in the Salzburg team and also appeared in all of their four UEFA Champions League qualifiers in the summer of 2006. On 26 August 2006, he scored his first goal for Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga, netting the second goal in their 4-0 home victory over Wacker Tirol. He signed one more year until summer 2009 in May 2008. On 29 May 2009 left after three years FC Red Bull Salzburg and retired from professional football.[1] He played his last game for Red Bull Salzburg in a friendly match against FC Bayern Munich, where he was substituted after the first 15 minutes.[2]

Coaching career

during his first match as assistance coach

After his retirement from professional football he became coach of the second squad of Red Bull Salzburg, Red Bull Juniors. In 2011 he was promoted to being assistance coach of the first squad together with Ricardo Moniz as headcoach.

International career

Kovač made his international debut in Croatia's friendly match against Morocco on 11 December 1996 in Casablanca. He subsequently also appeared in three qualifying matches for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, but missed the finals in France because he did not fully recover from injury until the beginning of the preparations for the tournament. He was subsequently not part of the national team for two years before making his comeback in a friendly match against France in November 1999.

At international level, Kovač played for Croatia in five qualifying matches for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and scored one goal in their 4-0 victory away against San Marino. At the final tournament, he appeared as a starting player in all three group matches before Croatia was eliminated from the tournament with a third-place finish in their group. He was also a regular in the UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying, making seven appearances and scoring two goals in away matches, the 1-0 winner against Estonia and the opening goal in the team's 3-0 victory over Andorra. He also played the entire three group matches played by the Croatian team at the final Euro 2004 tournament in Portugal and scored the opening goal in the final group match against England, but Croatia ended up losing the match 4-2 and was once again eliminated from the tournament as the group third-placed.

After the Euro 2004 finals, Kovač became the Croatian national team's captain and led the team through the qualifying campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals in Germany. He appeared in nine out of the ten qualifying matches and scored two goals, both in Croatia's 4-0 victory over Iceland at home in Zagreb. At the final tournament, he appeared in all three of Croatia's group matches, despite sustaining an injury which forced him to leave the pitch after 40 minutes of the team's opening match against Brazil. Kovač scored the goal that put Croatia 2-1 up in the final group match against Australia.[3] However, the match ended in a 2-2 draw and Croatia was eliminated by virtue of finishing third in the group. This was the third consecutive time this had happened in a major tournament.

UEFA Euro 2008 was a bittersweet campaign for captain Kovač. His sterling performances against Germany and Turkey ultimately unrewarded in what could prove to be his last major tournament. Against Germany, he was peerless, producing a man of the match display alongside Luka Modrić whilst against Turkey, he reduced his opponents to pot shots from distance as they rarely broke through his screening protection of the back four. Before and after that game, Kovač reiterated his intention to retire from international football at the end of Euro 2008, however, after conversation with Slaven Bilić, it would seem he feels there is 'unfinished business' to take care of.

Kovač finally announced his international retirement on 7 January 2009, stating a desire that younger players should be given experience in the Croatia side.

International goals

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 29 March 2000 Maksimir, Zagreb  Germany
1 – 1
1 – 1
Friendly
2 5 September 2001 Olimpico, Serravalle  San Marino
1 – 0
4 – 0
World Cup 2002 Qualifying
3 8 May 2002 PMFC, Pécs  Hungary
2 – 0
2 – 0
Friendly
4 11 June 2003 A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn  Estonia
1 – 0
1 – 0
Euro 2004 Qualifying
5 6 September 2003 Comunal, Aixovall  Andorra
1 – 0
3 – 0
Euro 2004 Qualifying
6 21 June 2004 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon  England
1 – 0
2 – 4
Euro 2004
7–8 26 March 2005 Maksimir, Zagreb  Iceland
1 – 0
4 – 0
World Cup 2006 Qualifying
3 – 0
9 22 June 2006 Gottlieb-Daimler, Stuttgart  Australia
2 – 1
2 – 2
World Cup 2006
10–11 22 August 2007 Koševo, Sarajevo  Bosnia and Herzegovina
3 – 2
5 – 3
Friendly
5 – 3
12 24 May 2008 Kantrida, Rijeka  Moldova
1 – 0
1 – 0
Friendly
13 31 May 2008 Szusza Ferenc, Budapest  Hungary
1 – 0
1 – 1
Friendly
14 6 September 2008 Maksimir, Zagreb  Kazakhstan
1 – 0
3 – 0
World Cup 2010 Qualifying

Career statistics

[4]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Germany League DFB-Pokal Premiere Ligapokal Europe Total
1991–92 Hertha BSC 2. Bundesliga 12 1
1992–93 42 1
1993–94 32 1
1994–95 31 2
1995–96 31 11
1996–97 Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga 32 3
1997–98 18 1
1998–99 27 4
1999–00 Hamburg Bundesliga 30 8
2000–01 25 4
2001–02 Bayern Munich Bundesliga 16 2
2002–03 18 1
2003–04 Hertha BSC Bundesliga 17 1
2004–05 30 4
2005-06 28 3
Austria League Austrian Cup League Cup Europe Total
2006–07 Red Bull Salzburg Bundesliga 28 6
2007–08 25 3
2008–09 12 0
Total Germany 389 47
Austria 65 9
Career total 454 56

Honours

References

External links


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