Niko Kovi

Niko Kovi — Biography

Born on 6 January 1953 in Istanbul, Nikos Kovis — known in Turkey as Niko Kovi — is a Turkish footballer and manager of Greek descent who was educated at St. George's Austrian High School and played as a central defender throughout his career.

Among ethnic Greek players capped by the Turkish national team, he became the fourth to earn that distinction, following Fenerbahçe legend Lefter Küçükandonyadis, İstanbulspor's storied captain Koço Kasapoğlu and Beşiktaş's Aleko Yordan. By contrast, fellow Greek-origin player Alekos Sofianidis, a left-back who represented Beşiktaş, was born and played his club career in Turkey but was never called up to the national side.

After retiring as a player, Kovis moved into coaching and served as technical director of Panathinaikos's youth academy setup in Greece until 2010.