Niko Kovac quits international football

January 10, 2009

Niko Kovac made his debut for the Croatia national team back in 1996 and has spent the last 12 years representing his country. Our beloved captain has now made one of the hardest decisions in a footballer’s career. Niko met with Croatia coach Slaven Bilic in Munchen, Germany to come to a resolution regarding his career.

Later, Kovac shared with the media his thoughts about the situation. “It was a tough decision because playing for my country means everything to me. But I am not a child and I know I would be a liability to the national team if I carried on, given that I am not a regular for my club, Salzburg.” Niko continued, “Croatia face a tight battle to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals and the team needs younger players performing every week for their clubs. We have several replacements in my position and Coach Slaven Bilic has plenty of options.”

The 33 year old defensive midfielder scored 15 goals in his 83 international appearances. He scored Croatia’s first goal in their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign; unfortunately, it was his last goal for his country. When reporting on the matter, Coach Slaven Bilic said, “He (Niko) was never our best player but he was beyond any doubt the most important and his retirement is a huge blow to our ambitions for reaching South Africa. On the other hand, we know that he won’t be in top form when the World Cup qualifiers resume and we can’t take the chance of fielding a half-fit player.” Bilic added, “Niko deserves all the honors for what he has done for the national team and personalities like him are indispensable.” “We’ve talked about including him in our coaching team, and that option is open for him,” Bilic also revealed.

The Croatian captain started his club play at Hertha Berlin and then transferred to Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Hamburg SV, Bayern Munich, and he then joined FC Salzburg in 2006.

With Niko Kovac saying farewell, this means that a new captain will need to be chosen. Bilic says he already knows who the new captain will be when qualifiers resume. But before he makes his choice public, he says he “needs to tell the players” first, and rightfully so. Croatia will continue their World Cup qualifying campaign on the 1st of April, when they will again play Andorra. Croatia hold second place in their group table, just 5 points behind England, and they have a tough time ahead of them if they are to qualify for the World Cup. But a few encouraging words from the national team, despite their current state - - “We will come out on top in the end.”

Jill Guthrie

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