I second that. A true warrior, and he will be missed! roud:

 

HVALA NIKO..had a excellent career and always gave everything he had when he played for hrvatska..:heart:roud:

 

Hvala Niko, you weren't the best player in terms of ability but you played with just about the most heart, which is what our national team is about. One of my favourite players. Thanks again roud: :thumbsup:

 

Thanks Niko for everything you gave to the Cro NT.roud:

 

True captain.. hvala Niko.

 

Hvala kapetan Niko:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: you deserved to end your career with the NT on a better note. roud:

 

Hvala kapitane!

 

Hvala Niko! Legenda si!!!

 

A legend and and a true patriot. He'll be missed on and off the field for his leadership.
Hvala Niko!

 

Niko Kovac, slika kapetana, slika Hrvata.

Hvala ti Niko na svim golovima, svim znojem, trudom, svakoj lopti presjecenoj i zato sto si uvijek bio tu za domovinu, i u dobru i zlu, svaka kap snage na terenu.

Legenda Hrvatskog nogometa.

 

My bro and me just shot some balls on a field with a little Croat kid that showed up asking us to play with a 06 Kovac Croatia jersey. Good kid and a funny little guy, almost brings the tears out of me knowing he will grow up to hate me one day. With that manner I congratulate Niko Kovac on a great career and run for his country and thank him for chosing to play where he felt his roots are.

 

You must've felt honored to play football with a Croat, Peka.


It was an honor having Niko Kovac as our Captain.:thumbsup:

 

Didn't have the best technical skills but was all heart and is a true representation of how players in our NT should play.

 

Every good thing comes to an end i guess and so does our captain's career for our team

We will remember you fondly Niko :thumbsup:

On a side note what about his brother is he still gonna continue playing?

 

he usually was one of my favourite players in the croatian team ..
he is a fantastic player who usually do his best for croatian shirt .
thanks for your efforts kovac . :star:

 

btw , who do u think will be the new captain for NT ?

 

I think Srna or Simunic..

Accoring to Jutarnji Marković will be trying to persuade the Kovač brothers to stay on for a little while longer. Perhaps it's a bit too early for goodbyes.

that's would be non sence.. we must think about future, there are couple of quality players which are waiting for this moment.. especially vukojevic and pokrivac..

 

Accoring to Jutarnji Marković will be trying to persuade the Kovač brothers to stay on for a little while longer. Perhaps it's a bit too early for goodbyes.

 

Will we ever start doing things the RIGHT way? :yuck:

 

Hvala ti Niko na sve!

I can say in this tournament he behaved like a true leader and captain, he had the respect of all his mates even though he was technically inferior but was someone that lead by example and supported them on the field. Through Bilic they created a family and not the slightest incident was recorded.
Also it seemed as though he developed a strong bond with Luka Modric and acted as a kind of mentor towards him, he probably sees Luka has all the credentials to one day take over the captancy.

The papers also said that Bilic is still interested in Niko staying on, Bilic said it's to early to make any decissions yet.
A farewll game in Maksimir beit a NT friendly is the least he deserves for his services. roud:

 

Srna and Šimunić are great, they leave there heart on the pitch, and more. But, it has to be Luka Modrić. He is the heartbeat of this team and everyone respects him a great deal. It's time for a change, and it's Modrić for me.

 

Srna and Šimunić are great, they leave there heart on the pitch, and more. But, it has to be Luka Modrić. He is the heartbeat of this team and everyone respects him a great deal. It's time for a change, and it's Modrić for me.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup::thumbsup:

He is the most obvious choice since Boban. I have no doubt he will become the biggest icon in the history of Croatian football and as someone already said (I think it was Orkan) he should be leading this NT generation into a new era. He has all the attributes.

 

I disagree about Srna and Simunic, you need more than heart to be a leader. Simunic is a hot head, we all know that. Srna would be the worst choice IMO. He's a diver and the type of player you only like because he plays for your team. Would C. Ronaldo be a good captain for Portugal? To be a captain you have to act like a man and that's definitely not something Srna does.

 

I agree. Naming Luka captain requires to much balls and sense from our part so it wont happen. :moan:

 

how about Pletikosa?

 

See Simunic and Srna. Why doesnt Modric make perfect sense?

 

Ako Niko Kovač ode, novi kapetan bit će Darijo Srna

U jednoj od najtužnijih noći svih vremena, barem što se tiče reprezentativnog nogometa, kapetan je sačuvao hladnokrvnost. Srce se paralo, ali Niko Kovač je čvrsta glasa i smirena pogleda govorio da dolaze bolji dani, da se ponosi svojim suigračima.

– Ovo je moj definitivni oproštaj !– govorio je u tužnoj bečkoj noći Niko Kovač.
Kasnije se ta priča preformulirala u “pustit ćemo da vrijeme prođe”, na taj je način o Kovačevum odlasku iz reprezentacije govorio i izbornik Bilić.

– Dajte mi barem tjedan dana, sad mi je glava prazna. Isključit ću se ovaj tjedan, a onda ćemo o svemu pričati. Kako vrijeme od te utakmice prolazi, sve mi je teže, a ne lakše – rekao nam je danas Niko Kovač.

Kovač još razmišlja
Sačetak ćemo njegovu odluku, teško mu je, kao i svim Hrvatima.
Ali, nesporno je da će Hrvatsku u novi ciklus, u pohod na Svjetsko prvenstvo, predvoditi novi čovjek s vrpcom. Hoće li to biti odmah ili tijekom kvalifikacija odlučit će sam Niko Kovač.
Prijateljska utakmica sa Slovenijom u kolovozu rezervirana je za Darija Šimića, bilo bi nepravedno da Šime ne odgira tu stotu utakmicu za reprezentaciju.

Dok nam je Niko tamo u Beču pričao o tim boljim danima, iza leđa je tupa pogleda, pod injekcijama za smirenje, prolazio Darijo Srna. On je taj, vođa ove generacije, generator odličnog raspoloženja, momak kojeg suigrači obožavaju, igrač koji uvijek ostavlja srce na terenu. Emotivac do boli, zbog toga je tako i ridao, jecao na travnjaku.

Srna je, otkako je u reprezentaciji, učinio samo jednu pogrešku, onu “Fontana grešku”, ali priuštio nam je puno lijepih trenutaka,
– Dogodilo se, to je još jedno iskustvo i nikad se više neće ponoviti – kazivao je Srna o “slučaju Fontana”.

Nakon toga vratio se još jači, bolji kvalitetniji.
– Osjećam da sam sazreo, i ljudski i igrački – nedavno nam je kazao Srna.
Spona je između dviju generacija, one Pletikosine i Šimunićeve, koja bi trebala ostati u reprezentaciji, i Modrićeve i Ćorlukine generacije, koja bi svoje najbolje trenutke tek trebala dati.

Kapetan u Šahtaru
Bit će onih koji će nam spočitnuti zašto kapetani ne bi bili Pletikosa ili Šimunić. Zašto ne Modrić, koji je naš najbolji igrač.
Odgovor, vrlo jasan, prije nešto više od mjesec dana dao nam je iskusni trener Šahtara Mircea Lucescu.

– Darijo je rođeni vođa, htijenjem i raspoloženjem momčadi daje dodatnu dimenziju – rekao je Lucescu.

 

^ Like I said, wont happen. :moan:

God Bless our natural talent and heart as a people and athletic nation, but we are always going to be the unlucky loser at the end because we just dont run our operation the way it needs be. See Gus Hiddink.

 

:moan: