Mateo Kovacic (born 6 May 1994) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea and the Croatia national team. He is usually deployed in a central or box-to-box role, but can play in deeper positions. He also adapted to playing either wide on the left or as an attacking midfielder earlier in his career.
Kovacic began his professional career with Dinamo Zagreb at the age of 16, with whom he won two consecutive league titles, before joining Inter Milan in 2013. After the 2014–15 season, he moved to Real Madrid, where he won the 2015–16, 2016–17 and 2017–18 Champions Leagues. He joined Chelsea on one-year loan in 2018, signing permanently for the London club at the end of the season. With Chelsea, Kovacic won the 2018–19 Europa League and the 2020–21 Champions League, as well as the Chelsea Player of the Year after the 2019–20 season.
A full Croatian international since 2013, Kovacic represented the nation at the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups, as well as the UEFA Euro 2016 and 2020, reaching the final of the 2018 tournament. He was nicknamed Il Professore (The Professor) by the Italian sports journalists.
Kovacic has been described as a great technician with excellent dribbling abilities. He is considered to be a versatile midfielder, having played in different midfield positions. He started off as an attacking midfielder at Dinamo Zagreb, but he transformed his game at Inter where he was deployed out wide and also as a central midfielder, functioning as a deep-lying playmaker, while being coached by Andrea Stramaccioni. One of his trademarks is dropping deep to receive the ball and then driving forward, often performing his slalom runs. Under the coach, Walter Mazzarri, he was often used in a more advanced position. Former manager Giovanni Trapattoni once claimed that Kovacic knows how to really reach the ball from deep and drive up the pitch like a 'raging bull'. Proven by his pass completion percentages, Kovacic is known for distributing the ball up the pitch.<\/P>","3D0CAED1D8820318D15DE014CB00C4C7":"Croatia","C497EA9EA23AEEDCAF9AD5DB76B19323":"
CLUB<\/U>
Dinamo Zagreb
<\/STRONG>Prva HNL: 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13
Croatian Cup: 2010–11, 2011–12
Real Madrid
<\/STRONG>UEFA Champions League: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
La Liga: 2016–17
Supercopa de Espana: 2017
UEFA Super Cup: 2016, 2017
FIFA Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
Chelsea<\/STRONG>
UEFA Champions League: 2020–21
UEFA Europa League: 2018–19
UEFA Super Cup: 2021
FA Cup runner-up: 2019–20, 2021-22
EFL Cup runner-up: 2018–19, 2021-22
FIFA Club World Cup: 2021
INTERNATIONAL<\/U><\/STRONG>
Croatia<\/STRONG>
FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2018, third place: 2022
INDIVIDUAL<\/U><\/STRONG>
Croatian Football Hope of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2011
Chelsea Player of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2019–20
Chelsea Goal of the Season:
<\/STRONG>2021–22
Premier League Goal of the Month:
<\/STRONG>January 2022<\/P>","DC9241C78561BCD0":"Mateo Kovacic","C377723034B3384C":"240","e_index":6};