Niko Kovač

croatian football player and coach

Niko Kovač ( croatian pronunciation : [ nǐːko kǒʋaːtʃ, – kô- ] ; born 15 October 1971 ) is a croatian professional football passenger car and erstwhile actor who is the coach of Ligue 1 club Monaco. Kovač was the long-standing captain of the Croatia national team until his retirement from international football in January 2009. A defensive midfielder who was known for his excellent excrete and tackling skills, Kovač was, at the fourth dimension of his retirement, the oldest player in the croatian squad and had captained them at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2008. He has besides enjoyed a high level of top club natural process, having spent most of his club career in the german Bundesliga, including spells with Hertha BSC, Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburger SV and Bayern Munich.

Reading: Niko Kovač

He ended his playing career with austrian club Red Bull Salzburg, where he then took the non-playing function of the reserve team coach and finally became adjunct coach under team director Ricardo Moniz. In January 2013, Kovač took over the Croatia national under-21 team and in October 2013 he took over the Croatia senior team following the dismissal of Igor Štimac. Kovač managed Croatia at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, then became read/write head coach of Eintracht Frankfurt in 2016, winning the 2018 DFB-Pokal Final with the club. At Bayern, Kovač won the domestic double in 2019 after a hard ending to the season, but lost his job late in that same fall. In the summer of 2020, Kovač was appointed director of Monaco .

Club career [edit ]

early career ( 1987–1996 ) [edit ]

Kovač started training football as an eight-year old with Rapide Wedding in Berlin. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] After that he joined Hertha Zehlendorf and soon became a member of the first team. He moved to Hertha BSC in 1991 and started his professional career with the baseball club that competed in the 2. Bundesliga at the time. [ 2 ] During his youth, Kovač in analogue with football practised judo, earning the blue knock. After finishing senior high school school ( gymnasium ) he continued his education at Free University of Berlin. He pursued a degree in occupation studies while playing for Hertha BSC. After eight semesters, he left university when he secured a condense with Bayer Leverkusen. [ 2 ] [ 3 ]

Bayer Leverkusen ( 1996–1999 ) [edit ]

In the summer of 1996, Kovač left Hertha, still a 2. Bundesliga side at the prison term, for Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen. He made his Bundesliga debut on 17 August 1996, appearing as a half-time substitute in the club ‘s open pit of the 1996–97 season, a 4–2 dwelling victory over Borussia Dortmund. He appeared in 32 Bundesliga matches in his beginning season with Leverkusen, besides scoring three goals. however, he largely played as a ersatz in the follow 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 league competition. At the cabaret, he was teammates with his younger brother Robert for the first fourth dimension in his master career .

Hamburger SV ( 1999–2001 ) [edit ]

Kovač joined Hamburger SV in the summer of 1999 and spent two seasons with the club, making 55 Bundesliga appearances and scoring 12 goals in the Bundesliga. [ 4 ]

Bayern Munich ( 2001–2003 ) [edit ]

In July 2001, Kovač signed for then Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League winners, Bayern Munich. Kovač joined the golf club along with his brother, Robert. however, Kovač did not manage to establish himself as a regular at the club and left Bayern for a second scrimp with 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 ( 2003–2006 ) [edit ]

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

red Bull Salzburg ( 2006–2009 ) [edit ]

After the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Kovač left Hertha after three seasons for austrian Bundesliga side Red Bull Salzburg. He was a regular in the Salzburg team and besides appeared in all of their four UEFA Champions League qualifiers in the summer of 2006. On 26 August 2006, he scored his first base goal for Red Bull Salzburg in the Bundesliga, netting the second goal in their 4–0 family victory over Wacker Tirol. He signed one more year until summer 2009 in May 2008. On 29 May 2009, Kovač left after three years with Red Bull and retired from professional football. He played his last peer for Red Bull in a friendly against former cabaret Bayern Munich ; he was substituted off after the first 15 minutes. [ 5 ]

International career [edit ]

Kovač made his elder international debut in Croatia ‘s friendly match against Morocco on 11 December 1996 in Casablanca. [ 6 ] He subsequently besides 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 partially of the national team for two years before making his rejoinder in a friendly meet against France in November 1999. At international degree, Kovač played for Croatia in five stipulate matches for the 2002 World Cup and scored one finish in Croatia ‘s 4–0 victory away against San Marino. At the final examination tournament, he appeared as a starting musician in all three group matches before Croatia was eliminated from the tournament with a third-place finish in their group. He was besides a even in UEFA Euro 2004 stipulate, making seven appearances and scoring two goals in aside matches, the 1–0 achiever against Estonia and the hatchway finish in the team ‘s 3–0 victory over Andorra. He besides played the stallion three group matches played by the croatian team at the final euro 2004 tournament in Portugal and scored the opening finish in the final group match against England. however, Croatia lost the match 4–2 and was once again eliminated from the tournament as the third-placed nation in its group. After Euro 2004, Kovač became the Croatia national team ‘s master and led the team through the qualify campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals in Germany. He appeared in nine of ten qualifying matches and scored two goals, both in Croatia ‘s 4–0 victory over Iceland at base in Zagreb. At the final examination tournament, he appeared in all three of Croatia ‘s group matches, despite sustaining an injury which forced him to leave the lurch 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. [ 7 ] however, the pit ended in a 2–2 draw and Croatia was eliminated by virtue of finishing third in the group. This was the one-third straight time this had happened in a major tournament. euro 2008 was a bittersweet campaign for captain Kovač. His greatest performances against Germany and Turkey ultimately unrewarded in what could prove to be his end major tournament. Against Germany, he was matchless, producing a man of the equal display aboard Luka Modrić whilst against Turkey, he reduced his opponents to pot shots from outdistance 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 last announced his external retirement on 7 January 2009, stating a desire that younger players should be given feel in the Croatia side. [ 8 ]

Managerial career [edit ]

crimson Bull Salzburg ( 2009–2011 ) [edit ]

After his retirement from professional football, Kovač became coach of the moment squad of FC Red Bull Salzburg, Red Bull Juniors, from 16 June 2009 [ 9 ] to 7 April 2011. [ 10 ] In the 2009–10 season, he finished in sixth place [ 11 ] and were knocked out in the austrian Cup in the second round in a gunfight. [ 12 ] He was with the second team until 7 April 2011. [ 10 ] His final meet was a 1–1 draw against SV Seekirchen. [ 13 ] In 2011, he was promoted to being adjunct coach of the first team [ 14 ] together with Ricardo Moniz as head coach. After Moniz resigned as a first-team coach in June 2012, Kovač was one of the favourites for taking his position. however, the placement went to Roger Schmidt and Kovač subsequently left Salzburg .

Croatia ( 2013–2015 ) [edit ]

On 21 January 2013, Igor Štimac, lead coach of the Croatia home team, announced that Kovač, alongside his brother Robert as assistant coach, would take over as the under-21 team head bus. [ 15 ] His task was to qualify for the 2015 UEFA european Under-21 Championship. Croatia were drawn in Group 5 of the qualifying competition, in concert with Switzerland, Ukraine, Latvia and Liechtenstein. In the first four games Croatia got the maximum of 12 points with a goal difference of 13–0. He debuted with a 5–0 away win against Liechtenstein, before he brought two aside wins against the group favourites Ukraine and Switzerland .

elder [edit ]

On 16 October 2013, Davor Šuker, president of the united states of the Croatian Football Federation ( HNS ), announced that Niko Kovač would take over as caretaker coach of the Croatia aged team. [ 16 ] He replaced Štimac, who was sacked after Croatia scraped into the World Cup play-offs having taken only one point from their last four qualifiers. however, one day belated, in an inaugural press conference, Šuker stated HNS signed a biennial contract with Kovač and his staff including his brother Robert Kovač, Vatroslav Mihačić and Goran Lacković, until the end of Croatia ‘s UEFA Euro 2016 campaign. [ 17 ] His first two matches for Croatia were in the World Cup play-offs against Iceland. [ 18 ] Croatia managed to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil after winning the play-off tie against Iceland 2–0 on aggregate. [ 18 ] [ 19 ] At the World Cup, Croatia won 4–0 against Cameroon and lost 3–1 against Brazil and Mexico. [ 20 ] Croatia did not qualify from their group. On 9 September 2015, HNS terminated Kovač ‘s sign after Croatia lost 2–0 to Norway in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying. [ 21 ] [ 22 ]

Eintracht Frankfurt ( 2016–2018 ) [edit ]

Kovač was appointed as head coach of Eintracht Frankfurt on 8 March 2016. [ 23 ] He made his managerial introduction for Frankfurt in a 3–0 loss to Borussia Mönchengladbach. [ 24 ] The cabaret was entirely able to finish the season in 16th place, requiring them to play in the delegating play-offs against 1. FC Nürnberg. [ 25 ] After drawing the first leg 1–1 at home, [ 26 ] Kovač ensured Eintracht ‘s survival in the Bundesliga after Haris Seferovic ‘s goal won the moment leg 1–0. [ 27 ] Kovač received a Fair Play Prize from the DOSB for his gesture of comforting Nürnberg ‘s players after their defeat. [ 28 ] In the 2016–17 season, Frankfurt managed to finish mid-table in 11th position, vitamin a well as notably reaching the 2017 DFB-Pokal Final, club ‘s first base concluding since 2006, where Frankfurt lost 1–2 against Borussia Dortmund. [ 29 ] In the 2017–18 temper, Frankfurt competed for a rate in european competition for the postdate season. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] Kovač has typically used a 3–4–2–1 formation with stress on defensive stability and wing gambling. [ 32 ] [ 33 ] He took Frankfurt to the 2018 DFB-Pokal Final, the irregular in sequence for the club, where he beat his future employer, Bayern Munich. With that gain, Kovač led Frankfurt to its first trophy since 1988. [ 34 ] [ 35 ] He finished with a read of 38 wins, 20 draw, and 33 losses in 91 matches. [ 36 ] Adi Hütter became his successor .

Bayern Munich ( 2018–2019 ) [edit ]

On 13 April 2018, Bayern Munich announced that Kovač would succeed Jupp Heynckes as director of the baseball club for the 2018–19 temper, with a three-year contract lasting until 30 June 2021. [ 30 ] Kovač ‘s brother, Robert, would follow him to Munich to be his assistant coach. [ 37 ] Kovač had a shrink with Frankfurt until 30 June 2018 and Bayern had to pay a turn article in his abridge reported to be around €2.2 million. [ 30 ] Kovač is just the fourth early player to manage Bayern Munich after Søren Lerby, Franz Beckenbauer and Jürgen Klinsmann. [ 38 ] Kovač was the third Croat to manage Bayern after Zlatko Čajkovski and Branko Zebec. [ 38 ] Kovač officially took over on 1 July 2018 [ 30 ] [ 39 ] and was presented as the new director of Bayern Munich on 2 July 2018. [ 40 ] On 12 August, Kovač won his first match as director of Bayern 5–0 in the german Super Cup against his former clubhouse, Eintracht Frankfurt. [ 41 ] He won his first base Bundesliga game in charge as Bayern defeated 1899 Hoffenheim 3–1 at home plate on 25 August. [ 42 ] On 19 May 2019, he led Bayern to their one-seventh straight Bundesliga title after a 5–1 home plate win against his early club, Eintracht Frankfurt, beating nearest rivals Borussia Dortmund by two points. This was Kovač ‘s first Bundesliga title as a coach. On 25 May 2019, Kovač led Bayern to a league and cup double when Bayern defeated RB Leipzig 3–0 in the 2019 DFB-Pokal Final. It was Kovač ‘s second base straight cup winnings as he became the first base coach since Felix Magath in 2005 and 2006 to win back-to-back cup titles. Kovač besides became the beginning person to win a league and cup double both as a musician and bus in german football. [ 43 ] On 1 October, Bayern defeated Tottenham Hotspur 7–2 in the Champions League, with Serge Gnabry scoring four goals. It was Bayern ‘s second highest victory in european competitions, only behind their 7–1 victory over Roma in October 2014. [ 44 ] On 3 November, Kovač left by common agreement after a 5–1 loss to his erstwhile club, Eintracht Frankfurt. [ 45 ] [ 46 ]

Monaco ( 2020–present ) [edit ]

On 19 July 2020, Kovač was appointed as head coach at Ligue 1 clubhouse Monaco. [ 47 ] In his beginning game as Monaco coach on 23 August, Kovač secured a 2–2 pull back after being two goals down against Reims. [ 48 ] On 20 November, he managed to beat french champions and Champions League finalists Paris Saint-Germain 3–2 after falling behind 0–2. [ 49 ] On 21 February 2021, he defeated Paris Saint-Germain once again, this time 2–0. It was the first time since March 2016 that Monaco managed to win at Parc des Princes. [ 50 ] [ 51 ] Kovač was subsequently wide praised by french sports media. [ 52 ] [ 53 ] On 19 May, Monaco lost 2–0 to Paris Saint-Germain in the Coupe de France Final. [ 54 ]

personal life [edit ]

Kovač was born on 15 October 1971 in Berlin-Wedding, West Berlin, to a croatian kin hailing from Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina. His parents Mato and Ivka emigrated from SFR Yugoslavia in 1970. He has two younger siblings, brother Robert and sister Nikolina. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Kovač is besides a german national and therefore he was eligible to represent Germany, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina at international flush. He opted for Croatia. [ 38 ] Kovač married his primary school sweetheart in 1999. They have a daughter named Laura. [ 1 ] Kovač is a Roman Catholic. He broadly lives a quiet family life, and considers a family of great value and tries to convey that to his players. [ 3 ] [ 55 ]

I am Niko Kovač, captain of the Croatia national football team. I was born and I am living in diaspora. I look forward to every appearance under our iris and national hymn. My buddy Robert, ampere well ! now, some people say we should not have a right to vote. And that ‘s why – HDZ and Dr Ivo Sanader !

— Niko Kovač in the Croatian Democratic Union ( HDZ ) ‘s election campaign video, 2007
In 2007, Kovač appeared in Croatian Democratic Union ( HDZ ) ‘s campaign television for that year ‘s parliamentary election. The video recording focuses on Croatian diaspora ‘s justly to vote despite not living in the country, and depicts Kovač talking about his connection with his fatherland. One of the lines from the video recording, “ Moj brat Robert, također! “ ( My brother Robert, as well ), entered croatian popular acculturation and is frequently quoted by the people and the media in the area when referring to the brothers. [ 56 ] [ 57 ] [ 58 ] [ 59 ] [ 60 ] [ 61 ] [ 62 ] [ 63 ] [ 64 ]

career statistics [edit ]

club [edit ]

International goals [edit ]

managerial [edit ]

As of 1 December 2021

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team

From

Record

Ref.

Croatia U21

21 January 2013

16 October 2013

7
5
0
2
18
5

+13

0 71.43
[66]
Croatia