Niko Kovac

Niko Kovač (Croatian pronunciation: [nǐːko kǒʋaːtʃ, – kô-]; born 15 October 1971) is a professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund.

Born and raised in West Germany, Kovač was the long-standing captain of the Croatia national team until his retirement from international football in January 2009. A defensive midfielder who was known for his passing and tackling skills, Kovač was, at the time of his retirement, the oldest player in the Croatian squad and had captained them at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2008. He has also enjoyed a high level of top club action, having spent most of his club career in the German Bundesliga, including spells with Hertha BSC, Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburger SV and Bayern Munich.

He ended his playing career with Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg, where he then took the non-playing role of the reserve team coach and eventually became assistant manager under team manager Ricardo Moniz. In January 2013, Kovač took over the Croatia national under-21 team and in October 2013 he took over the Croatia senior team following the dismissal of Igor Štimac. Kovač managed Croatia at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, then became head coach of Eintracht Frankfurt in 2016, winning the 2018 DFB-Pokal Final with the club. At Bayern, Kovač won the domestic double in 2019 after a strong ending to the season, but lost his job later in autumn. He then managed Monaco from 2020 to 2022 before returning to the German football league. Initially managing Wolfsburg from 2022 to 2024, Kovač took over Borussia Dortmund in January 2025.