.jpg) Kovačević withOlympiacos in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1973-11-18)18 November 1973 (age 52) | ||
| Place of birth | Kovin,SR Serbia,Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Radnički Kovin | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1994 | Proleter Zrenjanin | 63 | (25) |
| 1994–1995 | Red Star Belgrade | 47 | (37) |
| 1995–1996 | Sheffield Wednesday | 16 | (4) |
| 1996–1999 | Real Sociedad | 98 | (41) |
| 1999–2001 | Juventus | 47 | (11) |
| 2001 | Lazio | 7 | (0) |
| 2001–2007 | Real Sociedad | 163 | (51) |
| 2007–2009 | Olympiacos | 41 | (21) |
| Total | 482 | (190) | |
| International career | |||
| 1994–2004 | Serbia and Montenegro[a] | 59 | (10) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Darko Kovačević (Serbian Cyrillic:Дарко Ковачевић; born 18 November 1973) is a Serbian former professionalfootballer who played as aforward.
Kovačević began his career in his native country withProleter Zrenjanin and subsequently played forRed Star Belgrade, with whom he won aYugoslav League title and twoYugoslav Cups. His prolific performances earned him a move toPremier League sideSheffield Wednesday, although his time in England was less successful. He is mainly known for his spells atReal Sociedad, where his offensive partnership withNihat Kahveci was one of the best in Spain. Kovačević also had positive spells with Italian clubJuventus and Greek sideOlympiacos.
Internationally, Kovačević representedYugoslavia at the1998 FIFA World Cup and at theUEFA Euro 2000.[2][3]
Beginning his career with his hometown clubRadnički Kovin, he was soon spotted byZrenjanin-based top league clubProleter Zrenjanin. Spending two seasons with the club, Kovačević managed over a goal every other game, was signed by Serbian giantsRed Star Belgrade. Kovačević won a Yugoslav League title and two Yugoslav Cups, earning a call-up to theYugoslavia national team.
Kovačević was then signed byPremier League clubSheffield Wednesday in December 1995, valued at £2.5m in a joint £4.5m transfer also involving Dejan Stefanovic. Kovačević's notable goals for The Owls were two against Bolton Wanderers at Hillsborough and an important finish versus Liverpool, also at home.
Kovačević played the remainder of the 1995/96 season, but his failure to adapt and settle into the UK way of life prompted a bid of £2.5m from Real Sociedad to be accepted. A sell-on clause in the transfer agreement ensured Sheffield Wednesday received a further £2.0m (taking the transfer to £4.5m) when Real Sociedad later sold him to Juventus.
Kovačević moved toLa Liga sideReal Sociedad in 1996. Larger clubs soon came calling, with Italian giantsJuventus acquiring the big Serbian in the summer of 1999 for 33 billion lire (£12 million).[4][5]
At Juventus, Kovačević found goals in both theSerie A and competitions such as theUEFA Champions League andUEFA Cup becoming their leading European goal scorer, and thetop-scorer of the UEFA Cup during the1999–2000 season, with 10 goals; despite facing competition from the club's starting attacking partnership ofFilippo Inzaghi andAlessandro Del Piero, Kovačević made a total of 44 appearances in all competitions in his first season with the club (27 inSerie A, 3 in theCoppa Italia, and 11 in European competitions), scoring 21 goals in all competitions (eight in Serie A, two in the Coppa Italia, and 11 in European competitions, one of which came in Juventus's victoriousUEFA Intertoto Cup campaign, which enabled them to qualify for the UEFA Cup).[2][3][4][5]
The following season, due to the arrival of French strikerDavid Trezeguet, Kovačević found less space in the squad under managerCarlo Ancelotti, making 27 appearances in all competitions (20 of which came in Serie A), mostly from the bench, and scoring only six goals (five in Serie A).[3] The Juventus management felt Kovačević was underachieving and soon both parties were looking for a move out of Italy, with clubs such asRangers willing to offer £12m for his transfer.[6] In 2001, Kovačević spent a brief time withLazio (as part-swap deal withMarcelo Salas), making only seven appearances, before moving back to Spain in the middle of the season.[3]
In 2001, Kovačević returned to Real Sociedad, where he spent six more seasons at the club, netting 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'srelegation. AlongsideJesús María Satrústegui, Kovačević is Real Sociedad's all-time top goalscorer in European club competitions, with 10 goals.[7]
Kovačević scored 107 goals in his stages withReal Sociedad in nine seasons, with a total average of between eleven and twelve goals per season. They are only surpassed byJesús María Satrústegui and López Ufarte in the txuri-urdin team. He is the most efficient foreigner that Real Sociedad has had in all its years of existence.[8]
In 2007, Kovačević signed withGreek championsOlympiacos. In early 2009, he was diagnosed with a blockedartery; he successfully underwent heart surgery to improve the flow of blood to his heart.[9] His doctors advised to retire from football, and Kovačević officially retired in May 2009, playing a final friendly match for Olympiacos to celebrate the winning of the Greek domestic double.[10] With Olympiacos, Kovačević won two Greek Super League titles, two Greek Cups and a Greek Super Cup.[2][3]
On the national level, Kovačević made his debut forSerbia and Montenegro in a December 1994friendly match away againstArgentina, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute forPredrag Mijatović, and earned a total of 59 caps, scoring 10 goals.[11] He would go on to compete in bothUEFA Euro 2000 and the1998 FIFA World Cup.[12] His final international was a March 2004 friendly againstNorway.[13]
A quick and powerfulstriker, with good movement, technique, and an eye for goal, Kovačević's key attributes were his strength and aerial ability.[2][3]
After his retirement, Kovačević stated that he may take another role at his former team Olympiacos. Kovačević and his family subsequently returned to Spain. However, Kovačević returned to Greece, as he loved the country and worked for several months as a columnist. In June 2010, the new president of Olympiacos, Evangelos Marinakis, hired Kovačević as a chief scout; he eventually become the sports director for the club.[14] He remained in that position until 2018. He is the current sports director of the Serbian Football Association.[15]
Kovačević has three children, Mia, Darko (Jr.) and Stella.[16]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Proleter Zrenjanin | 1992–93 | First League of FR Yugoslavia | 32 | 6 | — | — | 32 | 6 | ||||
| 1993–94 | 31 | 19 | — | — | 31 | 19 | ||||||
| Total | 63 | 25 | — | — | 63 | 25 | ||||||
| Red Star Belgrade | 1994–95 | First League of FR Yugoslavia | 31 | 24 | — | — | 31 | 24 | ||||
| 1995–96 | 16 | 13 | 2 | 0 | — | 18 | 13 | |||||
| Total | 47 | 37 | 2 | 0 | — | 49 | 37 | |||||
| Sheffield Wednesday | 1995–96 | Premier League | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 17 | 4 | |
| Real Sociedad | 1996–97 | La Liga | 35 | 8 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 36 | 9 | ||
| 1997–98 | 33 | 17 | 4 | 3 | — | — | 37 | 20 | ||||
| 1998–99 | 30 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 8 | — | 37 | 24 | |||
| Total | 98 | 41 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 8 | — | 110 | 53 | |||
| Juventus | 1999–2000 | Serie A | 26 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 11 | — | 44 | 20 | |
| 2000–01 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 27 | 6 | |||
| Total | 47 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 18 | 12 | — | 71 | 26 | |||
| Lazio | 2001–02 | Serie A | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |
| Real Sociedad | 2001–02 | La Liga | 19 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 8 | ||
| 2002–03 | 36 | 20 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 20 | ||||
| 2003–04 | 36 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | — | 43 | 10 | |||
| 2004–05 | 30 | 8 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 32 | 9 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 4 | ||||
| 2006–07 | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 163 | 51 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 2 | — | 174 | 54 | |||
| Olympiacos | 2007–08 | Super League Greece | 27 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 3 | — | 39 | 24 | |
| 2008–09 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | — | 21 | 7 | |||
| Total | 41 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 5 | — | 60 | 31 | |||
| Career total | 482 | 190 | 23 | 13 | 50 | 27 | — | 555 | 230 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| FR Yugoslavia | 1994 | 1 | 0 |
| 1995 | 6 | 3 | |
| 1996 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 11 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 7 | 3 | |
| Serbia and Montenegro | |||
| 2003 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 59 | 10 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 February 1995 | Hong Kong Stadium,So Kon Po, Hong Kong |  South Korea | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1995 Lunar New Year Cup |
| 2 | 8 April 1995 | Estadio Tecnológico,Monterrey, Mexico |  Mexico | 1–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 2–0 | |||||
| 4 | 29 May 1998 | Red Star Stadium,Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia |  Nigeria | 3–0 | 3–0 | |
| 5 | 8 June 1999 | Toumba Stadium,Thessaloniki, Greece |  Malta | 3–1 | 4–1 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 6 | 25 May 2000 | Workers' Stadium,Beijing, China |  China | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 7 | 19 May 2002 | Central Dynamo Stadium,Moscow, Russia |  Russia | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2002 LG Cup |
| 8 | 21 August 2002 | Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 9 | 16 October 2002 | Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia |  Finland | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
| 10 | 27 March 2003 | Mladost Stadium,Kruševac, Serbia and Montenegro |  Bulgaria | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
Juventus
Individual
FR Yugoslavia squads | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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