Kovtun was impressive during the season so two top teams were interested in him at the same time : Dynamo and Spartak Moscow.

Whereas Kovtun's only honour during his 6-year spell in Dynamo was a Russian Cup in 1995, he won 3 titles in 1999, 2000 and 2001 after joining Spartak.

Moreover, he took part in numerous UEFA Champions League games and found himself a regular Russian national football team player.

Kovtun's strong points as a defender were mainly great tackling, tight marking of opponents and scoring goals in the crucial matches.

Stemming from this lack of speed, he often had to play too dirty so he could easily receive yellow cards or even be sent off (he holds the Russian League record for number of bookings).