Péter Kovács (born 7 February 1978) is a Hungarian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

Újpest Újpest (; , ) is the 4th District in Budapest, Hungary. It is located on the left bank of the Danube River. The name Újpest means "New Pest" because the city was formed on the border of the city of Pest, Hungary in 1838. Újpest was a village ...

and

Érd Érd (; ; , ) is a town in Pest County, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. It is a city with county rights. History The area has been inhabited since ancient times. Archaeological findings indicate that prehistoric humans lived here 50,000 year ...

in Hungary, for La Neuveville-Lamboing in Switzerland, for

Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...

and

Haka Haka (, ; singular ''haka'', in both Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture. A performance art, hakas are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the f ...

in Finland, for

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

Strømsgodset Strømsgodset is a former municipality in Vestfold county (from 1964 Buskerud county) in Norway which is today a part of the city of Drammen. History Strømsgodset was originally a small rural annex to the city parish of Bragernes (Drammen). ...

Odd Grenland Odds Ballklubb, commonly known as Odd, is a Norwegian professional football club from Skien. Originally the football section of a multi-sports club, founded in 1894 nine years after the club's founding. Most sports other than football and gymnast ...

Sarpsborg 08 Sarpsborg 08 Fotballforening, commonly known as Sarpsborg 08 or simply Sarpsborg (), is a Norwegian professional football club based in Sarpsborg, playing in Eliteserien. Sarpsborg 08 and its predecessors played in 1. divisjon from 2005 to 2010. ...

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Sandefjord ...

and

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

in Norway, and for Lierse in Belgium.

Club career

Kovács was born in

Salgótarján Salgótarján (; , German: ''Schalgau'') is a city with county rights in Hungary, the capital of Nógrád County, north-eastern Hungary, making it the third least populous county capital. The nearby Salgó Castle is a well-known tourist attra ...

, Hungary. When playing for

FC Haka FC Haka, originally ''Valkeakosken Haka'', commonly known as Haka, is a Finnish professional football club based in the industrial town of Valkeakoski. The club was founded in 1934 and competes in Finland's premier division, the Veikkausliiga. ...

he scored a goal against

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in the 2001–02 Champions League qualifyings. Kovács gained notoriety in August 2009, when in the quarter-finals of the Norwegian Cup, he scored a goal against

SK Brann Sportsklubben Brann is a Norwegian professional football club based in Bergen. Founded on 26 September 1908, Brann has played in the first tier of Norwegian football for 67 out of 80 seasons, the second most of any club. They play their hom ...

after Brann's keeper fell to the ground with an injured knee while trying to clear the ball upfield following a home pass. He also came one goal short of being joint top scorer in the 2009 Norwegian premier league, finishing behind Rade Prica. He became the top scorer in the 2012 Norwegian premier league, and won the league with

in 2013, during his second spell at the club. On 21 July 2015, he signed a five-month deal with for

on a free transfer. On 10 November 2015, he signed a one-year deal with newly relegated

in the

Norwegian First Division The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon () and OBOS-ligaen (due to sponsoring ties with :no:OBOS, OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon ...

Personal life

Kovács has a relationship with Norwegian female footballer,

Melissa Wiik Lindy Melissa Løvbræk Wiik (born 7 February 1985) is a Norwegian footballer who plays for Urædd FK and the Norway national team. Career Asker played in the elite Toppserien league in Norway, and Wiik was the league's top scorer of the 2007 ...

. He speaks Hungarian, English and Norwegian fluently.

Career statistics

Club

International goal

:''Score and result list Hungary's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Kovács goal.''

Honours

FC Haka * Finnish Championship: 2000 *

Finnish Cup The Finnish Cup (; ) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa Conference League ...

: 2002 Strømsgodset * Norwegian Championship: 2013 Individual *

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...

Top goalscorer:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Norwegian Premier League Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

top goalscorer: 2012 *

top goalscorer: 2008

References

External links

* * *
Magyarfutball.hu Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovacs, Peter 1978 births Living people Footballers from Salgótarján Hungarian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Hungary men's international footballers Nemzeti Bajnokság II players Veikkausliiga players Eliteserien players Norwegian First Division players Belgian Pro League players Újpest FC players FC Lahti players FC Haka players Tromsø IL players Viking FK players Strømsgodset Toppfotball players Odds BK players Lierse S.K. players Sarpsborg 08 FF players Sandefjord Fotball players Arendal Fotball players Hungarian expatriate men's footballers Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Finland Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Finland Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Norway