Nemanja Čović

Nemanja Čović (Serbian Cyrillic: Немања Човић; born 18 June 1991) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Chinese Super League club Henan FC.

Nemanja Čović

Personal information
Full name	Nemanja Čović
Date of birth	(1991-06-18) 18 June 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth	Novi Sad, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Henan FC
Number	20
Youth career
	Cement Beočin
	Vojvodina
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2008	Cement Beočin	19	(5)
2008–2010	Proleter Novi Sad	35	(11)
2010–2011	Parma	0	(0)
2011	Vojvodina	1	(0)
2011–2013	Spartak Subotica	32	(3)
2013	Donji Srem	6	(0)
2014	Spartak Semey	9	(3)
2014	Proleter Novi Sad	11	(4)
2015	Shakhtyor Soligorsk	15	(3)
2016	Proleter Novi Sad	4	(0)
2016	Minsk	24	(8)
2017	Lamia	3	(1)
2017	Minsk	22	(3)
2018–2019	Proleter Novi Sad	48	(17)
2019–2022	Vojvodina	63	(16)
2022	Kunshan FC	32	(16)
2023–	Henan FC	37	(18)
International career
2010	Serbia U19	3	(1)
2012	Serbia U21	1	(1)
2021	Serbia	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 May 2024

Club career

Early years

Čović came through the Vojvodina youth categories, and began his professional career at the age of 16 at Cement Beočin, making 19 league appearances and scoring 5 goals.^[1] He said: "The goal was to continue the tradition, since all the men from my closest family started their careers in Cement. It is interesting that all of them were defenders, I am the only forward".^[2]

Vojvodina

During the summer of 2011, Čović was signed to Vojvodina by a free transfer. He scored against Vaduz in a game that Vojvodina lost 3–1 in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase.^[3] Subsequently, having spent only a month with Vojvodina, Čović was traded to Spartak Zlatibor Voda. He made his league debut for his new club on 10 September 2011 in a 2–0 away victory over Novi Pazar.^[4]

China

Kunshan

On 2 May 2022, Čović joined China League One club Kunshan.^[5] He scored 16 goals in the 2022 China League One season, helped the team win the league title and get promoted to the Chinese Super League for the first time, however the club was dissolved in March 2023.^[6]

Henan

On 7 April 2023, Čović signed with Chinese Super League club Henan, reuniting with former Kunshan manager Sergio Zarco.^[7] He scored 15 goals in his first season in the top division, surpassing Leandro Netto's record in 2011 (14 goals) of most goals scored by a Henan player in a Chinese Super League season.^[8]

International career

Youth level

Čović appeared for under-19 and scored a goal in three games. On 29 February 2012, Čović scored a goal in a friendly for Serbia's U21 team against Bosnia and Herzegovina U21.^[9]

Senior national team

Čović got his first call up to the senior Serbia side for the friendly games against Dominican Republic and Panama.^[10] He made his debut on 25 January 2021, as a substitution during halftime.^[11] In the second half of a draw game against Panama he took captain's armband.^[12]

Career statistics

As of 2 November 2024^[13]

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cement Beočin	2007–08	Vojvodina League West	19	5	—		—		—		19	5
Proleter Novi Sad	2008–09	Serbian League Vojvodina	19	4	—		—		—		19	4
	2009–10	Serbian First League	16	7	—		—		—		16	7
	Total		35	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	35	11
Parma	2010–11	Serie A	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
Vojvodina	2011–12	Serbian SuperLiga	1	0	—		2[a]	1	—		3	1
Spartak Subotica	2011–12	Serbian SuperLiga	13	1	3	0	—		—		16	1
	2012–13	Serbian First League	19	2	—		—		—		19	2
	Total		32	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	35	3
Donji Srem	2013–14	Serbian SuperLiga	6	0	1	0	—		—		7	0
Spartak Semey	2014	Kazakhstan First Division	9	3	—		—		—		9	3
Proleter Novi Sad	2014–15	Serbian First League	11	4	2	0	—		—		13	4
Shakhtyor Soligorsk	2015	Belarusian Premier League	15	3	7	1	2[a]	0	1[b]	0	25	4
Proleter Novi Sad	2015–16	Serbian First League	4	0	—		—		—		4	0
Minsk	2016	Belarusian Premier League	24	8	3	0	—		—		27	8
Lamia	2016–17	Super League Greece 2	3	1	—		—		—		3	1
Minsk	2017	Belarusian Premier League	22	3	3	1	—		—		25	4
Proleter Novi Sad	2017–18	Serbian First League	14	7	—		—		—		14	7
	2018–19	Serbian SuperLiga	34	10	—		—		—		34	10
	Total		48	17	0	0	0	0	0	0	48	17
Vojvodina	2019–20	Serbian SuperLiga	9	2	3	1	—		—		12	3
	2020–21		30	9	4	3	1[a]	0	—		35	12
	2021–22		24	5	2	1	4[c]	1	—		30	7
	Total		63	16	9	5	5	1	0	0	77	22
Kunshan	2022	China League One	32	16	1	0	—		—		33	16
Henan	2023	Chinese Super League	24	15	0	0	—		—		24	15
	2024		26	7	1	0	—		—		27	7
	Total		50	22	1	0	0	0	0	0	51	22
Career total			374	112	30	7	9	2	1	0	414	121

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League Qualifying rounds
2. Appearances in Belarusian Super Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League Qualifying rounds

International

Serbia
Year	Apps	Goals
2021	2	0

Honours

Club

Proleter Novi Sad

• Serbian First League: 2017–18
• Serbian League Vojvodina: 2008–09

Shakhtyor Soligorsk

• Belarusian Cup runner-up: 2014–15
• Belarusian Super Cup runner-up: 2015

Vojvodina

• Serbian Cup: 2019–20

Kunshan

• China League One: 2022^[14]

Individual

• Province of Vojvodina Men's Player of the Year Award: 2018^[15]
• Vojvodina Player of the Season: 2020–21^[16][17]

References

1. "Nemanja Čović, novo lice u redovima novosadskog superligaša". FK Vojvodina website (in Serbian). Retrieved 8 December 2018.
2. "Parma me je kupila posle dva treninga". Blic (in Serbian). Retrieved 8 December 2018.
3. Vojvodina 1 Vaduz 3 – uefa.com
4. "Novi Pazar vs. Spartak Subotica – 10 September 2011 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
5. "昆山队官宣：尼曼贾·科维奇、李松益、于睿等12人加盟球队" (in Chinese). Sina Sports. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
6. "2023职业联赛准入名单：广州城、昆山、陕西未在列" (in Chinese). Dongqiudi. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
7. "球员加盟公告" (in Chinese). dongqiudi. 7 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
8. "创造历史！科维奇打破河南队尘封12年单赛季个人进球纪录" (in Chinese). Dongqiudi. 21 October 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
9. "Mladi Srbije bolji od vršnjaka iz BiH". Novosti. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
10. "ИЛИЈА СТОЛИЦА ПОЗВАО 25 ИГРАЧА ЗА УТАКМИЦЕ ПРОТИВ ДОМИНИКАНСКЕ РЕПУБЛИКЕ И САД" (in Serbian). 13 January 2021.
11. "БЕЗ ГОЛОВА У САНТО ДОМИНГУ" (in Serbian). 26 January 2021.
12. "СА ПАНАМОМ НАМ СУЂЕНО НЕРЕШЕНО" (in Serbian). 29 January 2021.
13. Nemanja Čović at Soccerway
14. "2022中甲联赛圆满落幕 昆山强势打破两项记录". sports.sina.com.cn (in Chinese). 8 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
15. "Novogodišnji koktel FSV". Dnevnik. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
16. "Nemanja Čović is the best player of Vojvodina last season". FK Vojvodina website. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
17. "Navijači nagradili: Nemanja Čović igrač sezone Vojvodine". Portal 021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.

External links

• Nemanja Čović at uefa.com
• Nemanja Čović at Soccerway