Hello all, its time for another PPP article! After keeping an eye on how Smajlović continued to perform well this year, we dispatched Patrick to take a more in depth look at Sandefjord’s standout Bosnian-Swedish CB. Article below, enjoy!

-LM

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Who is Zinedin Smajlović?

Given the name from France International, Zinedine Zidane, Zinedin Smajlović was born in Stockholm on December 20th, 2003, and might have inherited a little extra skill from his name. Smajlović spent 3 years of his youth career at 5 clubs – Starting from 2019 at FC Djursholm, then 2020 in IFK Stocksund, 2021 transferred to IK Frej, and lastly, went to one of Sweden’s top quality youth academies in IF Brommapojkarna in 2022. IF Brommapojkarna was once an affiliate with Manchester United back in the late 90s, but now is affiliated with the Red Devils rivals, Manchester City. After a year at IF Brommapojkarna, Smajlović left on a free to Täby FK in the Division 2 Norra Svealand. At Täby FK, Zinedin pushed on, and after only 13 appearances (including 5 goals) was bought for 100k Euros by Serie A side Lecce in January 2024. After nearly two years of no game time with one year at Serie A side Lecce and then loaned out to Serie B side Lecco the next, Smajlović left Italia, and found himself back in the Nordic lands of Norway shortly after. Sandvikens IF in the second division of Sweden, signed Smajlović in July 2024, and after playing 10 stellar appearances and bagging 2 goals, Sandefjord said enough is enough and signed the youngster on a free transfer in January of 2025. Now less than a year later, Smajlović has established himself in the Eliteserien being a top player. Smajlović is the 2nd highest average rated CB in the league (behind Bodø’s Odin Bjørtuft) and has the 10th Highest average player rating in the league. Smajlović is determined, powerful and undeniably ready for the next step.

Sandefjord:

Sandefjord and their tactical setup has them playing a more possessive game where they look to open up defences in the midfield and work the ball into the box. Evidenced by Sandefjord having the 4th highest average team possession at 53.8% in the Eliteserien. Additionally, Sandefjord are currently 4th in accurate passes per match made with 418.8 and the 4th most accurate long balls per match at 29.6. All this while only maintaining an average of touches in the opposition box at 10th with 644, and just 45% of what Norwegian giants Bodø/Glimt have. Sandefjord enforce a mentality to attack the first opening you see and move forward towards the goal.

Technical Ability:

Zinedin Smajlović is forming himself into a very modern center half that utilizes his passing ability, composure, and his bravery to make progressive/overlapping runs to help keep the ball moving forward. Zinedin contributes heavily to this style with his composure and creativity on the ball. Zinedin has an 88.84 touches per90 showing that they use him as a backbone in build up. Over the span of his last 6 games where Smajlović played, here are his touches compared to his other teammates.

Smajlović touches in the last 6 games:

• 111 (Tied for most with Ottosson) vs Haugesund 3-2 W
• 117 (most on team) vs Bryne 1-0 W
• 69 (Most on team / only had 40% possession as a team) vs Molde 3-1 W
• 86 (second on team by 5 touches) / 46% team possession) vs Frederikstad 1-1 D
• 104 (Third on team, 16 behind first, and 6 behind second) vs Rosenborg 2-2 D
• 97 (most on team / 44% team possession) vs Tromso 1-0 W

Smajlović and his long-range passing are where he thrives. As mentioned previously, Sandefjord are 4th in accurate long balls per match. Smajlović contributes with 5.50 accurate long balls per90. Smajlović contributes to roughly 18.5% of their accurate long balls a game. Smajlović favours the stretch passing into the half spaces where his wingers seem to occupy frequently. If the long ball is not available, Smajlović recycles between his CB partner Kristiansen, and their DM Ottosson in a classic 2-3-5 build up. If Smajlović can’t open up the center of the pitch, he looks to switch the ball to the opposite wing to quickly create advantageous positions for his teammates to move forward towards the net. He showed the ability to read the play 1-2 steps ahead of his opposition when creating.

Examples of Passing:

Note: All screenshots were captured from FCompsTV – YouTube

After faking body position to look like he was passing to his wide teammate, Smajlović identifies opposition LB is being drawn out wide, and takes advantage of the space with a beautiful chip pass into the 18-yard box.

Zinedin shapes to pass to his right, dragging the defenders over, before finding a pass through the lines to his teammate in space to turn and progress:

This is where Smajlović’s creativity helps with Sandefjord’s chance creation and in showing that they are a possessive and attacking team. He’s confident and a daring player. Does not matter who is there, he wants to go forward. Zinedin likes putting himself in situations where he can force the opposition to make difficult decisions in defensive coverage. Whether this is to draw in the press, or to shift the defensive coverage to open up new passing lanes, he will find a way to manipulate the defence. Smajlović has some interesting stats to go off with his 1.08 Successful Dribbles per90, 75.8% dribble success rate per90 and fouls won per90 being at 0.90. Implementing the second nature of looking to go forward with confidence and having him be the focal point of where the ball needs to be. One man army pro (COD reference for the nerds). It’s a good sign that Sandefjord regularly require a lot out of Smajlović, showing he has experience being a main focal point.

Example of Dribbling:

Smajlović wins the ball back in his 18-yard box, before pushing past 3 defenders and finding his teammate in open space:

Athleticism & Defence

Some of the most interesting traits from Zinedin Smajlović that make his technical ability stand out more, are his size and athleticism. At 21 years old, Smajlović stands tall at 191 CM (6’3”). He has a big strong frame, good speed and runs hard, while surprisingly agile for his dominant size. He quickly jumps forward after winning the ball, and is always thinking about being progressive and proactive. Not only does Smajlović has the foundation to develop further, but he also already has the man-like strength, with great leaping ability. Sandefjord tend to use Smajlović as one of their main aerial threats when attacking from set pieces. Smajlović often finds himself getting good touches in the box due to it and has been very effective with getting shots on net. Smajlović has 1.42 touches in opposition box per90, along with his 1.20 shots per90 and 0.22 shots on target per90. He has great balance and finds himself constantly winning duels along with his great strength and balance he possesses. Not only that, but with his speed, he has impressive recovery ability. Smajlović for some defensive stats that stand out are his 5.63 Duels won per90, 63.3% Duels won per90, and his astounding 5.20 recoveries per90. Sandefjord instill a high line and press system for their team. Smajlović is the stopper of the CB pairing between him and Kristiansen. Smajlović has an instinct to play on the front foot, which also applies to his defensive mentality. He is almost both the unstoppable force and the immovable object. Smajlović attempts many duels a match but wins the majority of them. His strength alone can separate the opposition from the ball but also demonstrates good timing in the tackle. Besides having the technical ability to tackle, his high-level reading of the game allows him to constantly interrupt the flow of the opposition.

Examples of Defensive Play:

Smajlović does a great job reading that the pass will be received by the opposition player in the half space. He starts to move as the pass is being fired in, strongly separates the man from the ball, and starts the counter:

Smajlović is running back to defend a counter attack and is in a 1v1 position. Smajlović does an amazing job to angle the opposition towards the byline and on an angle to get a low quality shot. Smajlović gets him exactly where he wants on the byline and blocks his shot:

Set Pieces:

Sandefjord tend to use Smajlović as one of their main aerial threats when attacking from set pieces. The cross comes in and Smajlović’s teammates drag and block their man markers towards the front post, to get Smajlović in a 1v1 aerial duel where he converts for a goal:

Refinement & Dedication

Zinedin Smajlović is having a tremendous season and has been making a name for himself in the Eliteserien. At just 21 years old, doing what he does, it is remarkable. Smajlović is refining his game and tends to keep improving as we have seen from him over time. Reiterating on the point for one of Smajlović’s best traits, is also one of his weaknesses now. His dedication and bravery he possesses to always leave it all on the pitch is strong, which makes him play harder, but sometimes too hard. Smajlović has the most yellow cards on his team with 5 and is tied for most on his team for red cards with 1. It is interesting as well, considering that Smajlović has the second lowest fouls committed per90 on his team with 0.7. He tackles well, but when he fouls, he overpowers his man a little too much. Additionally, Sandefjord foul the second most in the Eliteserien at 13.0 fouls per match. On top of that, they have the third most yellow cards in the Eliteserien at 53, tied for the most red cards in the Eliteserien at 3, and lastly, conceded the most penalties in the Eliteserien at 11. As a team, that is not great. Even being carded as much as they are, they have conceded the 6th fewest goals against at 40. If those penalties were cut in half, it’d put them tied for top three for goals against. Once Smajlović refines his defensive craft a little more, he can be the best CB in the Eliteserien.

Zinedin Smajlović is destined for greatness. Already on the right path, Sandefjord seem to be unlocking his full potential. It may not be long before we see him make the leap to a top Eliteserien side, or even to one of Europe’s elite leagues. With his dedication, drive, and decisiveness, Smajlović isn’t just a name to watch, but he’s a future star in the making. The question now is.. how far can he go?

-PMC III