Spending two seasons with the club, Kovačević managed over a goal every other game, was signed by Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade.

Kovačević was then signed by Premier League club Sheffield Wednesday in December 1995 valued at £2.5m in a joint £4.5m transfer also involving Dejan Stefanovic.

Darko played the remainder of the 1995/96 season but his failure to adapt and settle into the UK way of life prompted a bid of £2.5m from Real Sociedad to be accepted.

Larger clubs soon came calling, with Italian giants Juventus acquiring the big Serbian in the summer of 1999 for 33 billion lire (£12 million).

[6] In 2001 Kovačević spent a brief time with Lazio (as part-swap deal with Marcelo Salas), making only seven appearances, before moving back to Spain in the middle of the season.

Alongside Jesús María Satrústegui, Kovačević is Real Sociedad's all-time top goalscorer in European club competitions, with 10 goals.

[2][3] On the national level, Kovačević made his debut for Serbia and Montenegro in a December 1994 friendly match away against Argentina, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute for Predrag Mijatović, and earned a total of 59 caps, scoring 10 goals.

[13] A quick and powerful striker, with good movement, technique, and an eye for goal, Kovačević's key attributes were his strength and aerial ability.