Niko Kovač: 10 things on the incoming Borussia Dortmund coach
Niko Kovač has gained a great track record of winning major honours at his previous clubs. We check out some details on the man with coaching experience across three Bundesliga sides along with a stint in France's Ligue 1.
1) The German Croatian
Kovač may be a Croatian international legend in his playing days - appearing in three major tournaments, winning 83 caps and captaining the side for a number of years - yet he was in fact born and raised in Berlin to Croatian immigrants from Bosnia-Herzegovina, which at the time was still part of Yugoslavia. Still with us? We'll allow you a moment to consult a map. It meant Kovac was eligible to represent Germany, Croatia and Bosnia at international level. However, Kovač is a German national and has kept the country as the base for the majority of his coaching career.
2) At home with Hertha
A Berlin boy, Niko and brother Robert were raised in the Berlin suburb of Wedding, where siblings Jerome and Kevin-Prince Boateng would also later learn their footballing trade. Hertha Zehlendorf were one of his first clubs, Kovač following in the footsteps of Pierre Littbarski at a side which also helped produce Antonio Rüdiger, John Brooks and Christian Ziege. He would, however, make his professional debut at city's biggest club, Hertha Berlin, where he made 242 appearances, kicking off career that would take him all over Germany and indeed the world.
3) Rummenigge disciple
A boyhood fan of Bayern and idol Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Kovač had a poster of his future boss on his wall as a child. After a five-year spell at Bayer Leverkusen and then Hamburg, Kovač eventually got his dream move as a 29-year-old in 2001 when the record champions came calling. The Intercontinental Cup in his first season, followed by the double of Bundesliga and DFB Cup in his second, show the gamble paid off for both club and player. While trophies at Bayern are not rare, Kovač notably became just the third former player to coach the record champions after Franz Beckenbauer and Jürgen Klinsmann. That said, he was not the first Croatian to lead the Bavarians. The club's first two coaches in the Bundesliga era were Zlatko Cajkovski and Branko Zebec.
Watch: Kovac's top 5 Bundesliga goals
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4) A fan of wingers
Kovač became known as Mr. 3-5-2 at Frankfurt in a clear indication he enjoys playing with wide men. Indeed, he said in an interview with the Frankfurter Rundschau in August 2017: "I'm a big fan of wide players," he said. "To take an example, when I see Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery play, my hearts goes a little bit faster." Kovac's dream came true in coaching the famous pair of flank operators upon taking charge of Bayern, and he now has the likes of Jamie Gittens and Karim Adeyemi to unleash on the Dortmund flanks.
5) Double double winner
Having lifted the Bundesliga and DFB Cup in his playing days for Bayern in 2002/03, Kovač promptly became the first player ever to achieve that feat both as a player and coach in guiding the Bavarians to both honours in his sole full season as coach in 2018/19. A 3-0 win over RB Leipzig in the 2019 cup final also saw Kovač become the first man since Felix Magath to win back-to-back DFB Cups as a coach - following Frankfurt's sensational 2018 DFB Cup final win over Bayern.
6) Niko, Ivan and Luka
If it sounds like a bad soap opera, it's not; it was actually the starting midfield trio for Croatia at three of four games at Euro 2008. Kovač featured in holding midfield, allowing Real Madrid's Luka Modric (then of Dinamo Zagreb) and Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic (then of Schalke) to play in front of him and weave their magic. It was quite a formula: the Vatreni won all their Group B games with some scintillating football, but were knocked out on penalties by Turkey in the quarter-finals. Kovač, then 36, retired from international football a few months later. He went on to coach both at the 2014 World Cup, telling Marca that Modric was a "fabulous person".
7) Coaching break
Joining the newly formed Red Bull Salzburg in 2006, Kovač scored the club's first-ever Austrian Bundesliga goal and won the title in 2007 and 2009. After hanging up his boots, he decided to make Salzburg his home. Kovač was handed the reins to the club's reserve team before stepping up to become assistant to Ricardo Moniz with the first team. Following Moniz's departure and the arrival of future Leverkusen boss Roger Schmidt, Kovač got a call from the Croatian FA to take charge of their U21s, an invitation he accepted gladly. Five wins out of five saw him promoted to the senior team for their World Cup play-off against Iceland. "It's a great task, but also an attractive one," he said before leading his country to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
8) Brotherly love
Niko has been joined on the Frankfurt, Bayern and Wolfsburg bench by his younger brother Robert, who has been by his side for the best part of his life, let alone career. Playing in tandem at Leverkusen, Bayern and with Croatia, they have remained together as a coaching duo since overseeing the Croatia U21s. "He always had my back, and he still does," Kovač told FIFATV. "We complement each other well and understand each other perfectly. I'm very confident about [working with] my brother. I think it couldn't be any better." The Dortmund role is no exception, with Robert becoming an assistant at the club he played for between 2007 and 2009.
9) Humility
Kovač knows what it means to win – he played for Bayern after all – but he also knows what it is to lose. That feeling of seeing your dream shattered is often lost on those who celebrate victories, but after a 2015/16 relegation/promotion play-off between his Eintracht side and Nuremburg, Kovač kept his wits about him on arguably one of the most successful nights of his career – at least as a coach. Consoling the defeated Nuremberg players who were fighting back the tears after a 2-1 aggregate loss, Kovač went to every single opposition player, knelt by their side and offered his support while his own players celebrated with their fans. He earned a national fair play award for the gesture.
Watch: How Kovac transformed Frankfurt
10) The United Nations of Frankfurt
The Berlin-born son of Croatian immigrants is a figure of successful integration, and he leads his side with the same values. "This isn't Brexit or Fraxit, we're not concerned about politics – we play football. It's about performing," he once said. "Those doing best will play, regardless of their age, looks or whether they're German or not." Kovač oversaw one of the most international dressing rooms in the Bundesliga at Frankfurt, with 17 different nationalities represented – and he got them all speaking the same language, on and off the field. Indeed, even the decision to drop club legend Alexander Meier back in 2016 caused little friction - that the Eagles went on to soar and even lift the 2018 DFB Cup proved Kovač right.
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