Early career Having come through the ranks of
Sigma Olomouc, Kováč joined
Sparta Prague in 2004. In July 2005, he moved to Russia, where he signed for
Spartak Moscow. During a Moscow derby against
Lokomotiv Moscow on 20 July 2008, Kováč received a yellow card for tackling a fan who invaded the pitch.
West Ham United On 30 January 2009, he moved on loan to
West Ham United for the remainder of the 2008–09 season. He made his debut for West Ham on 25 February 2009 in a 2–0
FA Cup defeat to
Middlesbrough. His first goal for West Ham came in their 3–1 away defeat to
Everton on 16 May 2009. Kováč signed a permanent contract with West Ham United on 11 August 2009 on a three-year contract. He scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season against
Portsmouth in the 89th minute on 26 December, playing 90 minutes in a 2–0 win at
Upton Park. At the end of the 2010–11 season, with twelve months left on his contract and after 62 league and cup appearances, Kováč left West Ham United.
Basel In July 2011 Kováč joined reigning
Swiss Super League champions
FC Basel for an undisclosed fee on a two-year contract. He joined Basel's first team during their
2011–12 season under head coach
Thorsten Fink. To the beginning of their
2011–12 season Kováč was a member of the Basel team that won the
2011 Uhrencup, beating both
Hertha Berlin 3–0 and
West Ham United 2–1 to lead the table on goal difference above
Young Boys. After playing in six test games Kováč played his
domestic league debut for the club in the away game in the
Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf on 16 July 2011 as Basel played a 1–1 draw with
BSC Young Boys. At the end of the 2011–12 season he won the
Double with his new club. They won the
League Championship title with 20 points advantage. The team won the
Swiss Cup, winning the final 4–2 in a penalty shootout against
Luzern. Kováč scored his first goal for the club on 4 August 2012 in the away game in the
Stade Tourbillon as Basel played a 1–1 draw with
Sion. On 21 December 2012 it was announced that Kováč would leave the club and had signed for
Slovan Liberec. Basel and Kováč agreed to prematurely terminate the contract, because he had achieved only 5 appearances up until that date. Therefore, he could sign for Liberec on a free transfer. During his 18 months with the club Kováč played a total of 52 games for Basel scoring a total of two goals. 20 of these games were in the
Swiss Super League, five in the
Swiss Cup, two in the UEFA competitions (Champions League and Europa League) and 25 were friendly games. He scored one goal in the domestic league and the other was scored during the test games. ==International career==