in two World Cups, 2002 and 2006, and has also participated at two European Championships, 2004 and 2008. At World Cup 2006 he played well in defence, however after picking up a second yellow against Japan he missed the final group match against Australia through suspension. Without Kovač, Croatia struggled in defence with his replacement Tomas committing handball for Australia's first goal via penalty kick. Croatia eventually drew 2–2 with Australia but were eliminated from the tournament. With Croatia, Leverkusen, and Bayern, Kovač was teammates with his older brother Niko Kovač. He retired from the national team in the fall of 2009, having captained the team after his brother's retirement in 2008. His final international was an October 2009 World Cup qualification match away against Kazakhstan. Coaching career On 21 January 2013, Igor Štimac, the head coach of the Croatia national football team, announced that Kovač, alongside his older brother Niko, would take over as the Croatia national under-21 football team head coach. From October 2013 until September 2015, he was also an assistant manager to his brother, then the head coach of the Croatia senior team. On 1 July 2018, he became the assistant manager of Bayern Munich. Robert's older brother, Niko, brought Robert with him to Bayern when he took over as the manager of the club. On 3 November 2019, he and his older brother parted ways with the club. In July 2020, Kovač joined AS Monaco as assistant coach, with Niko serving as manager. Personal life Kovač, along with his older brother Niko, was born in Berlin to a family of Bosnian Croat immigrants from Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is married to a former Croatian model and Miss World 1995 first runner-up, Anica Kovač. Career statistics Honours Bayern Munich Bundesliga: 2002–03, 2004–05 DFB-Pokal: 2002–03, 2004–05 Intercontinental Cup: 2001 Juventus Serie B: 2006–07 Dinamo Zagreb Prva HNL: 2008–09 Croatian Cup: 2008–09 References External links 1974 births Living people Footballers from Berlin German people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent German people of Croatian descent Association football defenders Croatian footballers Croatia international footballers 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2004 players UEFA Euro 2008 players Hertha Zehlendorf players 1. FC Nürnberg players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players FC Bayern Munich footballers Juventus F.C. players Borussia Dortmund players GNK Dinamo Zagreb players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Serie A players Serie B players Croatian