Darko Kovacevic
Encyclopedia
Darko Kovačević (born 18 November 1973 in Kovin
, Serbia
, SFR Yugoslavia) is a former Serbian
football player. He is known for his spells at Real Sociedad
where his partnership with Nihat Kahveci
was one of the best in Spain. His key attributes are his strength and aerial ability. Kovačević also had positive spells with Juventus and Olympiakos.He is now the Chief Scout of Olympiacos.
, but was soon spoted by Zrenjanin
based Serbia
n top league club FK Proleter
and it became clear, at the young age of 19, that Kovačević would become one of the country's greatest ever goalscorers. Spending two seasons with the club, Darko managed over a goal every other game, and was quickly snatched up by Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade
. Kovačević flourished at the Belgrade
club, becoming one of Europe's hottest prospects and earning a call-up to the Yugoslavia national team. Netting in an astonishing 37 goals in just 47 games, Kovačević was eventually picked up by Premier League club Sheffield Wednesday
in December 1995 for £2m.
, Darko initially looked good, impressive in the air, and scoring 2 goals in one game against Bolton Wanderers
in a 4–2 victory that saw him likened to Les Ferdinand
, but the rest of his skills failed to leave any mark with the English
club. Kovačević's transfer turned out to be a disaster for Sheffield Wednesday as the striker
managed only 4 goals in his lone half-season at the club. His move to Wednesday from Red Star was in July 2007 named #10 on The 50 worst transfers in Premier League history list by British newspaper The Times
.
side Real Sociedad
in 1996. It was with the Spanish
club that Darko put on some of his best performances and became one of Europe's best once again. Larger clubs soon came calling, with Italian
giants Juventus
acquiring the big Serbian in 1999.
based club, Kovačević found goals in both the Serie A
and competitions such as the UEFA Champions League
and UEFA Cup
becoming their leading European goal scorer one season. Yet the Juventus management felt Darko was underachieving and soon both parties were looking for a move out of Italy, with clubs such as Rangers
willing to offer £12m for the Serbian's services. In 2001 Kovačević spent a brief time with Lazio
(as part-swap deal with Marcelo Salas
) before moving back to Spain in the middle of the season.
champions Olympiacos
. Kovačević once again reached top form for the Piraeus
based club, scoring 17 goals in the Greek Superleague
to lead Olympiacos to the league championship, and adding 3 goals in the Champions League as the team reached as far as the Round of 16.
Kovačević scored twice in the UEFA Cup 1st round 5–0 home leg win against FC Nordsjælland
.
In early 2009, he was diagnosed with a blocked artery
; he successfully underwent heart surgery to improve the flow of blood to his heart. His doctors have advised him that he should retire from football, and Kovacevic officially retired in May 2009, playing a final friendly match for Olympiakos to celebrate the winning of the Greek domestic double. After his retirement he stated that he may take another role for the team. Then Darko Kovacevic and his children Darko Kovacevic jr and Stella Kovacevic who were at St. Lawrence College all went back to Spain. However, Kovacevic returned to Greece as he loved the country and worked for several months as a columnist. In June, 2010 the new president of Olympiakos, Evangelos Marinakis hired Kovacevic as a Chief Scout for the club.
Kovin
Kovin is a town and municipality in South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 14,250, while the municipality has 36,802 inhabitants.- Name :...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, SFR Yugoslavia) is a former Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
football player. He is known for his spells at Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 September 1909...
where his partnership with Nihat Kahveci
Nihat Kahveci
Nihat Kahveci is a Turkish footballer. Nihat plays as a Forward.-Biography:Nihat's family name, Kahveci, means "coffee maker." Many people in Turkey adopted the name of their profession as their family name in the early 20th century, suggesting that Nihat's ancestors were in the coffee business...
was one of the best in Spain. His key attributes are his strength and aerial ability. Kovačević also had positive spells with Juventus and Olympiakos.He is now the Chief Scout of Olympiacos.
Serbia—Proleter and Red Star Belgrade
Beginning his career with his birth-town club FK Radnički KovinFK Radnicki Kovin
FK Radnički is a Serbian football club based in Kovin, Serbia.-History: Founded in 1904.In Radnicki occurred a few stars of the local, national and even European football....
, but was soon spoted by Zrenjanin
Zrenjanin
Zrenjanin is a city and municipality located in the eastern part of Serbian province of Vojvodina. It is the administrative centre of the Central Banat District of Serbia...
based Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n top league club FK Proleter
FK Proleter Zrenjanin
FK Proleter Zrenjanin was a football club from the city of Zrenjanin, Vojvodina, Serbia.-Early period:...
and it became clear, at the young age of 19, that Kovačević would become one of the country's greatest ever goalscorers. Spending two seasons with the club, Darko managed over a goal every other game, and was quickly snatched up by Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
. Kovačević flourished at the Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
club, becoming one of Europe's hottest prospects and earning a call-up to the Yugoslavia national team. Netting in an astonishing 37 goals in just 47 games, Kovačević was eventually picked up by Premier League club Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
in December 1995 for £2m.
England—Sheffield Wednesday
Given the opportunity to showcase his skills in one of the top leagues in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Darko initially looked good, impressive in the air, and scoring 2 goals in one game against Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
in a 4–2 victory that saw him likened to Les Ferdinand
Les Ferdinand
Leslie "Les" Ferdinand MBE is a former English footballer. His playing career included spells at Queens Park Rangers, Besiktas J.K., Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers F.C., during which period he earned a number of appearances for England...
, but the rest of his skills failed to leave any mark with the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
club. Kovačević's transfer turned out to be a disaster for Sheffield Wednesday as the striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
managed only 4 goals in his lone half-season at the club. His move to Wednesday from Red Star was in July 2007 named #10 on The 50 worst transfers in Premier League history list by British newspaper The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
.
Spain—Real Sociedad (first time)
Hoping to reach top form once again, Kovačević moved to La LigaLa Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
side Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 September 1909...
in 1996. It was with the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
club that Darko put on some of his best performances and became one of Europe's best once again. Larger clubs soon came calling, with Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
giants Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
acquiring the big Serbian in 1999.
Italy—Juventus and Lazio
At the TurinTurin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
based club, Kovačević found goals in both the Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
and competitions such as the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
and UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
becoming their leading European goal scorer one season. Yet the Juventus management felt Darko was underachieving and soon both parties were looking for a move out of Italy, with clubs such as Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
willing to offer £12m for the Serbian's services. In 2001 Kovačević spent a brief time with Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...
(as part-swap deal with Marcelo Salas
Marcelo Salas
José Marcelo Salas Melinao , better known as El Matador, Shileno or simply Marcelo Salas, is a former football player from Chile. He, along with world cup veterans, 3 time Best Player of America Elías Figueroa and former Real Madrid and Inter Milan forward Iván Zamorano, has been one of Chile's...
) before moving back to Spain in the middle of the season.
Spain—Real Sociedad (second time)
In 2001 Kovačević eventually returned to the club where he found his most success at, Real Sociedad. Kovačević would go on to spend 6 more seasons at the club, netting in 51 goals in his second spell with Sociedad. The 2006–07 season would be Kovačević's last season with the Spanish side, ending in the club's relegation.Greece—Olympiacos
In 2007 Kovačević signed with GreekGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
champions Olympiacos
Olympiacos CFP
----Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus, , , transliterated Olympiakos Sindesmos Filathlon Pireos, is the most popular multisport club and the most successful in Greece, based in Piraeus....
. Kovačević once again reached top form for the Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
based club, scoring 17 goals in the Greek Superleague
Super League Greece
The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...
to lead Olympiacos to the league championship, and adding 3 goals in the Champions League as the team reached as far as the Round of 16.
Kovačević scored twice in the UEFA Cup 1st round 5–0 home leg win against FC Nordsjælland
FC Nordsjælland
Football Club Nordsjælland is a professional Danish football team from the North Zealand town of Farum, Denmark. Founded as Farum Boldklub from the merger of the town's two football clubs Farum IK and Stavnsholt BK in 1991, the club changed its name to F.C...
.
In early 2009, he was diagnosed with a blocked artery
Artery
Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. This blood is normally oxygenated, exceptions made for the pulmonary and umbilical arteries....
; he successfully underwent heart surgery to improve the flow of blood to his heart. His doctors have advised him that he should retire from football, and Kovacevic officially retired in May 2009, playing a final friendly match for Olympiakos to celebrate the winning of the Greek domestic double. After his retirement he stated that he may take another role for the team. Then Darko Kovacevic and his children Darko Kovacevic jr and Stella Kovacevic who were at St. Lawrence College all went back to Spain. However, Kovacevic returned to Greece as he loved the country and worked for several months as a columnist. In June, 2010 the new president of Olympiakos, Evangelos Marinakis hired Kovacevic as a Chief Scout for the club.
International football
Kovačević made 59 appearances for the then Yugoslavia national team. Beginning his international career in 1994, Kovačević would go on to score 10 goals and compete in both EURO 2000 and FIFA World Cup 1998.Honours
- FR Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro CupYugoslav CupThe Yugoslav Cup, officially the Marshal Tito Cup, was one of two major football competitions in the former Yugoslavia, the other one being the Yugoslav League Championship. The Yugoslav Cup took place after the league championships when every competitive league in Yugoslavia had finished, in order...
: 1995, 1996 - Greek Super League: 2007–2008
- Greek Super CupGreek Super Cup-Official edition:-External links:*...
: 2007 - Greek Cup: 2008