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Scout Report: Inter Milan’s creative midfield talent Mateo Kovacic

In the January transfer window last year, Serie A club Inter Milan took the decision of shipping off two important attacking options of the team, perhaps two of the strongest. Wesley Sneijder was sent to the Turkish Super Lig to join Galatasaray and Philippe Coutinho was snapped up by Premier League club Liverpool. Both these players were clearly out of favour under Stramaccioni and went out of the Italian League in the hopes of getting first-team opportunities, which of course, they deserved.

Inter Milan were thought to be getting Paulinho from Corinthians to fill the void made by these two departures, but instead went to Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb to sign then 18 year old Mateo Kova?i?. The player was training in Bosnia when his coach Zrinjski Mostar gave him the news of the club accepting Inter’s €15 million bid. The beaming Kovavic told reporters later, “I said ‘Seriously?’ It was like a dream for me, and I can’t really describe what I feel at the moment”. On deadline day, the young Croatian was Inter’s new no. 10.

Who is Mateo Kova?i??

Mateo Kova?i? was born on 6th May, 1994 in Linz, Austria and began playing football at a very early age for his local LASK Linz’s academy. At just 13 years-old, Kova?i? was already spotted by European scouts, including that of Juventus, Ajax and Bayern Munich. The move to Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb happened for the player when the club’s academy director Bozidar Sikic noticed him representing Linz in a match against his side. He then recommended his name to chief executive Zdravko Mamic who immediately gave the youngster a place in the club’s youth ranks.

He was handed his senior debut for his new club against Hrvatski Dragovoljac by the manager on 20th November, 2010 and it turned out to be a day to remember for the young boy. Kova?i? became the youngest goalscorer in the history of Croatia’s Prva Liga, at 16 years and 198 days. The youngster appeared 7 times in the League that season and helped Dinamo clinch the title. His club also went on to win the domestic cup that season, doing a double.

Kova?i? played a greater role for his side the in the 2010-11 season, playing 25 times for the club and getting four goals and seven assists in the process. His team also went on to do another double when they successfully won the Croatian Cup. But this season was more important for Kova?i? for another reason. It was this season that after a gap of 12 years, the Croatian club reached the group stages of the UEFA Champions League.  Dinamo didn’t fare too well in the qualification stages, losing all their matches after being paired in the group which included Real Madrid, Ajax and Lyon. However, Kova?i? got the much needed European exposure and he also went on to score Dynamo’s goal in the 7-1 loss against Lyon scoring his first European goal in the process. In December 2011, he won the Croatian Football Hope of the Year, an award previously given to the likes of Ivica Olica and Luka Modric.

In the beginning of 2012–13 season, he suffered a metatarsal bone injury that resulted in him missing several qualification matches for Dinamo’s second consecutive year in the Champions League. Such a serious injury at such an early age could have been a big blow for the player, but Kova?i? returned just in time to play the club’s first CL group match against FC Porto. The Croatian went on to play all six of Dinamo Zagreb’s group stage matches, against Porto, Paris Saint-Germain, and Dynamo Kyiv. Kova?i? continuously impressed as he displayed maturity and understanding beyond his years, and in October 2012, he was nominated for “Golden Boy”, an honour given by sports journalists to a young player from Europe who looks to be the most remarkable during a season. The prize eventually went to Isco, who was playing for Malaga at the time.

His impressive midfield performances for the Croatian club meant that sooner or later, a bigger European club would come and take Dinamo’s prized asset away from the club. The club’s board tried their level best as they kept shunning any rumours of transfer. The board went to great lengths to explain that they were looking to build a team around Kova?i?, and another Dinamo prodigy, Alen Halilovi?. But Dinamo eventually accepted Inter’s €15m bid, and the Austria born Croatian was instantly given the no. 10 jersey, vacated by Wesley Sneijder.

Just three days upon his arrival, the Inter manager used his new acquisition as a substitute against Siena. Thereafter, he went on to start 11 times for Inter. Kova?i? continued his European experiences in the Europa league and assisted once in the four matches he played. The assist came against CFR Cluj. It was a match where Kova?i? won the hearts of the Nerazzurri supporters. He put on an exemplary show, assisting Rodrigo Palicio and was taken off in the 89th minute to a standing ovation from the fans. On 30 March, Kova?i? played his first ‘Derby d’Italia’ against Juventus at home. The match ended with Inter losing 1-2, but Kova?i? had a memorable outing as he was the one who started the attack for Rodrigo Palacio’s 1–1 equalizer and no one who saw that match would forget his memorable run across the pitch that left 5 ‘La Vecchia Signora’ defenders hapless and completely flabbergasted. Kova?i? eventually represented Inter 18 times in all competitions in his half-season at the club and in May, he received the “Gentleman Revelation of the Year” award, an accolade given by Inter fans.

This season, Kova?i? has played 18 out of 19 league matches for the Serie A club and has clearly become an important and essential part of the Italian club.

Kova?i? has represented Croatia at every age group, and he played his first senior international match against arch rivals, Serbia in March 2013. He played the match as a holding midfielder. Mateo put on an excellent debut performance and teammate Nico Kranj?ar called him “a professor of football”. This resulted in the Nerazzurri fans calling the Croatian ‘Il Professore’.

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