Art Smakaj (born 4 February 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Austrian Bundesliga club LASK. Born in Croatia, he represents Kosovo at international level.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 4 February 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Zagreb, Croatia | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | LASK | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2013 | Dinamo Zagreb | ||
| 2013–2016 | Trnje | ||
| 2016–2022 | Lokomotiva | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022–2025 | Lokomotiva | 74 | (3) |
| 2025– | LASK | 6 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021 | Kosovo U19 | 2 | (0) |
| 2022– | Kosovo U21 | 11 | (0) |
| 2024– | Kosovo | 1 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 13 September 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 5 June 2024 | |||
Club career
editOn 11 December 2021, Smakaj was named as a Lokomotiva substitute for the first time in a Croatian First League match against Hajduk Split.[2] His debut with Lokomotiva came on 26 February 2022 in a 2–0 home win against Gorica after being named in the starting line-up.[3]
International career
editUnder-19
editOn 30 September 2021, Smakaj was named as part of the Kosovo U19 squad for UEFA Euro 2022 qualifications.[4] Six days later, he made his debut with Kosovo U19 in the match against Norway U19 after being named in the starting line-up.[5]
Under-21
editOn 30 May 2022, Smakaj received a call-up from Kosovo U21 for the UEFA Euro 2023 qualification matches against Andorra U21, England U21 and Albania U21.[6] His debut with Kosovo U21 came on 4 June in the UEFA Euro 2023 qualification match against Andorra after coming on as a substitute at 74th minute in place of Qëndrim Zyba.[7]
Senior
editOn 30 May 2024, Smakaj received a call-up from Kosovo for a friendly match against Norway,[8] and made his debut after coming on as a substitute at 78th minute in place of Lindon Emërllahu.[9]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 13 September 2025
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lokomotiva | 2021–22 | Croatian Football League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Croatian Football League | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | Croatian Football League | 26 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 1 | |||
| 2024–25 | Croatian Football League | 32 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 2 | |||
| Total | 74 | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 81 | 3 | ||||
| LASK | 2025–26 | Austrian Bundesliga | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 1 | |
| Career total | 80 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 89 | 4 | ||
International
edit- As of match played 5 June 2024
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kosovo | 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Honours
editLASK
References
edit- ↑ Art Smakaj at WorldFootball.net
- ↑ "Lokomotiva Zagreb vs. Hajduk Split 3–3". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ↑ "Lokomotiva–Gorica 2:0" (in Croatian). NK Lokomotiva Zagreb. 26 February 2022.
- ↑ "Lista e futbollistëve të Kombëtares U19 për kualifikimet e Evropianit" [List of footballers of the national U19 team for the European qualifications] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 30 September 2021.
- ↑ "Norway U19 vs. Kosovo U19 3–0". Soccerway. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ↑ Kosovan Football [@kosovanfooty_EN] (30 May 2022). "This is Albert Bunjaku's #Kosova U21 squad for the upcoming #EuroU21 qualifiers!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ "Andorra U21 vs. Kosovo U21 0–3". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- ↑ "Smakaj dhe Abdullahu – Kush janë dy futbollistët e ftuar për herë të parë te Përfaqësuesja e Kosovës" [Smakaj and Abdullahu – Who are the two footballers invited for the first time to the Kosovo national team] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 30 May 2024.
- ↑ "Smakaj debuton te Kosova" [Smakaj debuts in Kosovo] (in Albanian). Koha Ditore. 5 June 2024.
- ↑ "Nach 61 Jahren: LASK bejubelt Titel im UNIQA ÖFB Cup" [After 61 years: LASK celebrate title in the UNIQA ÖFB Cup]. ÖFB (in Austrian German). 1 May 2026. Archived from the original on 2 May 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
External links
edit- Art Smakaj at Soccerway.com
- Art Smakaj at WorldFootball.net
- Art Smakaj at kicker (in German)
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