Robert Kovac
Encyclopedia
Robert Kovač (ˈrɔbɛrt ˈkɔʋaːtʃ; born 6 April 1974 in Berlin
, West Germany
) is a retired Croatia
n football
defender
.
before making his Bundesliga debut with 1. FC Nuremberg in 1995. Regularly featuring in the first–eleven, Kovač attracted much attention to himself and was signed at the end of the season by Leverkusen.
runners–up.
title holders, Bayern Munich. In four seasons with Bayern he won two Budesliga titles, two German Cup
titles and 2001 Intercontinental Cup
.
. He was one of the few first–team players that decided to stay in Juve following its demotion to Serie B
. He made a total of 35 appearances and scored one goal before he moved back to Germany, this time for Borussia Dortmund
.
, who signed for the club two months earlier. Kovač had an unsuccessful comeback to Fußball-Bundesliga and was sold to Dinamo Zagreb
at the winter transfer window of 2008–09 season.
. He started the 2009–10
season with a foot injury and missed all of Dinamo's matches in July and August, but returned to action at the start of the September. Kovač finished the season with a total of 22 appearances for Dinamo in all competitions, before it was officially announced on 1 June 2010 that he retired from active football.
in 2 World Cups, 2002 and 2006, and has also participated at two European Championships, 2004 and 2008. At World Cup 2006 he played well in defence, however after picking up a second yellow against Japan he missed the final group match against Australia through suspension. Without Kovač, Croatia struggled in defence with his replacement Tomas committing handball for Australia's first goal via penalty kick. Croatia eventually drew 2–2 with Australia but were eliminated from the tournament. With Croatia, Leverkusen, and Bayern, Kovač was teammates with his older brother Niko Kovač
. He retired from the national team in the fall of 2009, being a captain of the team after his brother's retirement in 2008.
, was born in Berlin
to a family of Bosnian Croats immigrants. He is married to a former Croatian model and Miss World 1995
first runner-up, Anica Kovač, who also originates from Croatian diaspora
in Berlin.
Juventus
Dinamo Zagreb
|1991–92||rowspan="4"|Hertha Zehlendorf
||rowspan="3"|NOFV-Oberliga Mitte
||27||1|||||||||||||||27||1
|-
|1992–93||29||2|||||||||||||||29||2
|-
|1993–94||32||5|||||||||||||||32||5
|-
|1994–95||Regionalliga Nordost
||24||4|||||||||||||||24||4
|-
|1995–96||Nuremberg||2. Fußball-Bundesliga
||33||1|||1||0||||||||||34||1
|-
|1996–97||rowspan="5"|Bayer Leverkusen
||rowspan="9"|Fußball-Bundesliga
||13||0||||||||||||||13||0
|-
|1997–98||25||0||||||||||||||25||0
|-
|1998–99||31||0||||||||||||||31||0
|-
|1999–00||27||1||||||1||0||2||0||30||1
|-
|2000–01||31||0||||||1||0||||||32||0
|-
|2001–02||rowspan="4"|Bayern Munich||29||0||||||||||8||0||31||0
|-
|2002–03||24||0||1||0||1||0||5||0||31||0
|-
|2003–04||19||0||1||0||||||7||0||27||0
|-
|2004–05||22||0||3||0||||||8||0||33||0
|-
|2005–06||rowspan="2"|Juventus||Serie A
||18||1||||||||||4||0||22||1
|-
|2006–07||Serie B
||17||0||||||||||0||0||17||0
|-
|2007–08||rowspan="2"|Borussia Dortmund
||rowspan="2"|Fußball-Bundesliga
||22||0||5||0||||||0||0||27||0
|-
|2008–09||4||0||2||0||||||1||0||7||0
|-
|2008–09||rowspan="2"|Dinamo Zagreb
||rowspan="2"|Prva HNL||12||0||2||0||||||0||0||14||0
|-
|2009–10
||8||0||0||0||||||6||0||14||0
392||14||13||0||3||0||31||0||439||14
35||1||||||||||4||0||39||1
13||0||2||0||||||0||0||15||0
440||3||15||0||3||0||35||0||493||3
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
) is a retired Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
defender
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
.
Early career
Kovač started his career in lower league clubs Rapide Wedding and Hertha ZehlendorfHertha Zehlendorf
The Hertha Zehlendorf is a German association football club from the suburb of Zehlendorf, Berlin.The club, one of the largest football clubs in the country, has a strong youth department which has developed a number of international players, not just for Germany and having won two national youth...
before making his Bundesliga debut with 1. FC Nuremberg in 1995. Regularly featuring in the first–eleven, Kovač attracted much attention to himself and was signed at the end of the season by Leverkusen.
Bayer Leverkusen
He spent the next five seasons in Leverkusen without any significant success, as the club did not win any trophy during that period, although they were three times Fußball-BundesligaFußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
runners–up.
Bayern Munich
After his contract expired he went to join reigning champions of 2000–01 season and UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA 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...
title holders, Bayern Munich. In four seasons with Bayern he won two Budesliga titles, two German Cup
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
titles and 2001 Intercontinental Cup
2001 Intercontinental Cup
The 2001 Intercontinental Cup was a football match played on 27 November 2001 between Bayern Munich, winners of the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League, and defending champions Boca Juniors, winners of the 2001 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the neutral venue of the National Stadium in Tokyo...
.
Juventus
On 15 July 2005, he signed for JuventusJuventus 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...
. He was one of the few first–team players that decided to stay in Juve following its demotion to Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
. He made a total of 35 appearances and scored one goal before he moved back to Germany, this time for Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
.
Borussia Dortmund
On 1 August 2007, he signed for Borussia Dortmund, alongside another Croatian national team star, Mladen PetrićMladen Petric
Mladen Petrić is a Croatian international footballer who plays for Hamburger SV in the Fußball-Bundesliga Bundesliga. He also holds the Swiss citizenship.-Early life:...
, who signed for the club two months earlier. Kovač had an unsuccessful comeback to Fußball-Bundesliga and was sold to Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo Zagreb
GNK Dinamo Zagreb, commonly referred to as Dinamo Zagreb , or by their nickname Modri are a Croatian football club based in Zagreb. They play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Croatian football, having won thirteen Croatian championship titles, ten...
at the winter transfer window of 2008–09 season.
Dinamo Zagreb
On 29 January 2009, close to the January transfer window deadline, he signed 1 and a half year contract with Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb. The club previously tried to sign him in the summer of 2007, but failed to meet his demands. Borussia Dortmund were compensated with €450,000. In his debut season Kovač made 12 appearances in the league and 2 more in Croatian CupCroatian Cup
The Croatian Cup is an annually held football tournament for Croatian football clubs and is the second most important competition in Croatian football after the Prva HNL league championship. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation and usually runs from late August to May...
. He started the 2009–10
NK Dinamo Zagreb season 2009–10
This article shows statistics of individual players for the football club Dinamo Zagreb It also lists all matches that Dinamo Zagreb played in the 2009–10 season.-Pre-season:...
season with a foot injury and missed all of Dinamo's matches in July and August, but returned to action at the start of the September. Kovač finished the season with a total of 22 appearances for Dinamo in all competitions, before it was officially announced on 1 June 2010 that he retired from active football.
National team
He represented CroatiaCroatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
in 2 World Cups, 2002 and 2006, and has also participated at two European Championships, 2004 and 2008. At World Cup 2006 he played well in defence, however after picking up a second yellow against Japan he missed the final group match against Australia through suspension. Without Kovač, Croatia struggled in defence with his replacement Tomas committing handball for Australia's first goal via penalty kick. Croatia eventually drew 2–2 with Australia but were eliminated from the tournament. With Croatia, Leverkusen, and Bayern, Kovač was teammates with his older brother Niko Kovač
Niko Kovac
Niko Kovač 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...
. He retired from the national team in the fall of 2009, being a captain of the team after his brother's retirement in 2008.
Personal life
Robert Kovač, along with his older brother NikoNiko Kovac
Niko Kovač 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...
, was born in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
to a family of Bosnian Croats immigrants. He is married to a former Croatian model and Miss World 1995
Miss World 1995
The 45th Miss World Pageant was held for the fourth straight year at the Sun City Entertainment Centre in Sun City, South Africa on 18 November 1995. The 1995 pageant attracted 84 delegates. The pageant was hosted by Richard Steinmetz, Jeff Trachta and Bobbie Eakes and was also particiapted by...
first runner-up, Anica Kovač, who also originates from Croatian diaspora
Croatian diaspora
Croatian diaspora refers to the Croatian communities that have formed outside Croatia.Estimates on its size are only approximate because of incomplete statistical records and naturalization, but estimates suggest that the Croatian diaspora numbers between a third and a half of the total number of...
in Berlin.
Honours
Bayern MunichFC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
-
- German Champions: 2002–03, 2004–05
- German CupDFB-PokalThe DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
: 2003DFB Cup 2002-03The DFB-Pokal is the second-most important national title in German football. The DFB-Pokal 2002–03 was the 60th season of the competition. 64 teams competed in the tournament of six rounds which began on 28 August 2002 and ended on 31 May 2003...
, 2005DFB Cup 2004-05The DFB-Pokal is the second-most important national title in German football. The DFB-Pokal 2004–05 was the 62nd season of the competition. 64 teams competed in the tournament of six rounds which began on 20 August 2004 and ended on 28 May 2005... - League Cup: 2004
- Intercontinental CupIntercontinental Cup (football)The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
: 20012001 Intercontinental CupThe 2001 Intercontinental Cup was a football match played on 27 November 2001 between Bayern Munich, winners of the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League, and defending champions Boca Juniors, winners of the 2001 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the neutral venue of the National Stadium in Tokyo...
Juventus
-
- Serie A championsSerie ASerie 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...
: 2005–06 - Serie B championsSerie BSerie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
: 2006–07
- Serie A champions
Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo Zagreb
GNK Dinamo Zagreb, commonly referred to as Dinamo Zagreb , or by their nickname Modri are a Croatian football club based in Zagreb. They play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Croatian football, having won thirteen Croatian championship titles, ten...
-
- Croatian champions: 2008–09
- Croatian CupCroatian CupThe Croatian Cup is an annually held football tournament for Croatian football clubs and is the second most important competition in Croatian football after the Prva HNL league championship. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation and usually runs from late August to May...
: 2009
Career statistics
|-|1991–92||rowspan="4"|Hertha Zehlendorf
Hertha Zehlendorf
The Hertha Zehlendorf is a German association football club from the suburb of Zehlendorf, Berlin.The club, one of the largest football clubs in the country, has a strong youth department which has developed a number of international players, not just for Germany and having won two national youth...
||rowspan="3"|NOFV-Oberliga Mitte
NOFV-Oberliga Mitte
The NOFV-Oberliga Mitte was the third tier of the German football league system in the central states of former East Germany and West-Berlin. The league existed from 1991 to 1994...
||27||1|||||||||||||||27||1
|-
|1992–93||29||2|||||||||||||||29||2
|-
|1993–94||32||5|||||||||||||||32||5
|-
|1994–95||Regionalliga Nordost
Regionalliga Nordost
The Regionalliga Nordost was the third tier of the German football league system in the states of former East Germany and West-Berlin from 1994 to 2000. As such, it was almost identical in territorial cover to the old DDR-Oberliga....
||24||4|||||||||||||||24||4
|-
|1995–96||Nuremberg||2. Fußball-Bundesliga
2. Fußball-Bundesliga
- Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...
||33||1|||1||0||||||||||34||1
|-
|1996–97||rowspan="5"|Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen is a German football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the most well-known department of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a sports club whose members also participate in athletics, gymnastics, basketball and other sports.-Origins and early years:On 27 November...
||rowspan="9"|Fußball-Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
||13||0||||||||||||||13||0
|-
|1997–98||25||0||||||||||||||25||0
|-
|1998–99||31||0||||||||||||||31||0
|-
|1999–00||27||1||||||1||0||2||0||30||1
|-
|2000–01||31||0||||||1||0||||||32||0
|-
|2001–02||rowspan="4"|Bayern Munich||29||0||||||||||8||0||31||0
|-
|2002–03||24||0||1||0||1||0||5||0||31||0
|-
|2003–04||19||0||1||0||||||7||0||27||0
|-
|2004–05||22||0||3||0||||||8||0||33||0
|-
|2005–06||rowspan="2"|Juventus||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...
||18||1||||||||||4||0||22||1
|-
|2006–07||Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
||17||0||||||||||0||0||17||0
|-
|2007–08||rowspan="2"|Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
||rowspan="2"|Fußball-Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
||22||0||5||0||||||0||0||27||0
|-
|2008–09||4||0||2||0||||||1||0||7||0
|-
|2008–09||rowspan="2"|Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo Zagreb
GNK Dinamo Zagreb, commonly referred to as Dinamo Zagreb , or by their nickname Modri are a Croatian football club based in Zagreb. They play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Croatian football, having won thirteen Croatian championship titles, ten...
||rowspan="2"|Prva HNL||12||0||2||0||||||0||0||14||0
|-
|2009–10
2009–10 Prva HNL
The 2009–10 Prva HNL season was the nineteenth season of the Prva HNL since its establishment in 1992. It began on 24 July 2009 and ended on 13 May 2010...
||8||0||0||0||||||6||0||14||0
392||14||13||0||3||0||31||0||439||14
35||1||||||||||4||0||39||1
13||0||2||0||||||0||0||15||0
440||3||15||0||3||0||35||0||493||3
External links
- List of national appearances at official website of Croatian Football FederationCroatian Football FederationThe Croatian Football Federation is the governing body of association football in Croatia. It was originally formed in 1912 and is based in the capital city of Zagreb. The organisation is a member of both FIFA and UEFA, and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game of football in Croatia...
- Profile at transfermarkt.de