Dritan Smajlaj

Early career

Having started his career with his hometown club Kastrioti Krujë as a youth player, he joined the first team in the 2004–05 season in the Albanian First Division, and he helped the side finish third in the league and achieve promotion to the Albanian Superliga in the 2005–06 season. Following the promotion winning campaign, he left the club and remained in the Albanian First Division with Besëlidhja Lezhë, who he also helped achieve promotion to the Albanian Superliga, as they finished runners up in the league, just two points behind the winners Skënderbeu Korçë. In his debut season in the Albanian Superliga, Smajli made 27 league appearances and scored twice, but he couldn't help his side fight off relegation, as they finished second from bottom and were automatically relegated to the Albanian First Division.

Vllaznia Shkodër

Smajli left Besëlidhja Lezhë following their relegation, and he joined Albanian Superliga side Vllaznia Shkodër in the summer of 2008, where he made an immediate impact in defence and helped his side challenge for the title, as they finished in second place, four points behind the champions Tirana. He also helped Vllaznia Shkodër reach the semi-finals of the Albanian Cup, as they narrowly lost to Tirana 1–0 on aggregate after extra time over two legs. He made his European debut in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round on 17 July 2008 against Slovenian side Koper. He started in defence and played the full 90 minutes in a…

Smajli has represented Albania in U17 and U21 teams, making three appearances in total. He made his competitive debut with U17 team on 24 September 2001 in the qualifying round match of UEFA European Under-17 Championship against Croatia in an eventual 5–2 away defeat.