Niko Kovač

Niko Kovač

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 1⁄2 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.

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

• Intercontinental Cup winner: 2001
• Bundesliga champion: 2003.
• Bundesliga runner-up: 1997, 1999.
• DFB-Pokal winner: 2003.
• Austrian Bundesliga champion: 2007.
• Austrian Bundesliga runner-up: 2008.

References

1. ^ Ex-Bundesligaspieler Niko Kovac beendet Karriere
2. ^ Torloses Remis zwischen Salzburg und Bayern
3. ^ "Croatia v Australia statistics". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 22 June 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/5058732.stm. Retrieved 13 February 2011. 
4. ^ "Nico KOVAC". level-k.com. http://www.level-k.com/player/N_Kovac.htm. Retrieved 28 June 2008. 

External links

• Niko Kovač – FIFA competition record
• Niko Kovač at National-Football-Teams.com
• Niko Kovač international stats at the Croatian Football Federation website
• Niko Kovač at Transfermarkt.de
• Niko Kovač at Leverkusen Who's Who

Persondata
Name	Kovac, Niko
Alternative names
Short description	footballer
Date of birth	15 October 1971
Place of birth	West Berlin, West Germany
Date of death
Place of death