Position: Defender
Born: 06.04.74
Club: Juventus

The talisman in Zlatko Kranjcar's defensive line, Robert Kovac was born in Berlin but like brother Niko qualifies to play for Croatia through his parents.

He started his career at Bayer Leverkusen before landing a high-profile move to Bayern Munich, leaving the BayArena after Klaus Toppmoller led an unfashionable side to the 2002 Champions League final.

Two Bundesliga titles and a German Cup success later, he joined Juventus last summer on a free transfer and his reputation as one of the best man-markers in European football remains in tact.

Consistency has been the key word during Kovac's career and is one of the reasons why he will start in Croatia's defence once the tournament starts.

Forming an impressive partnership with Juventus' Igor Tudor, this fierce competitor will relish the challenge to add to his 50-plus caps.

Indeed, having enjoyed so much success at club level Kovac will be hoping to emulate the 1998 success of Croatia's so-called 'golden generation' by pushing on to the competition's latter stages.