Dardan Shabanhaxhaj
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 23 April 2001[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Graz, Austria | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Rubin Kazan | ||
| Number | 99 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2009 | Grazer AK | ||
| 2009–2010 | AKA HIB Liebenau | ||
| 2010–2014 | Grazer AK | ||
| 2014–2019 | Sturm Graz | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2021 | Sturm Graz II | 22 | (4) |
| 2020–2023 | Sturm Graz | 17 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | → Kapfenberger SV (loan) | 23 | (6) |
| 2022–2023 | → Mura (loan) | 25 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | Mura | 19 | (7) |
| 2024– | Rubin Kazan | 52 | (7) |
| International career | |||
| 2017 | Kosovo U16 | 2 | (0) |
| 2021 | Austria U21 | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 28 February 2026 | |||
Dardan Shabanhaxhaj (born 23 April 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Russian Premier League club Rubin Kazan.
Shabanhaxhaj began his career with Grazer AK before joining the academy of Sturm Graz. He started his senior career with Sturm Graz II and later made appearances for the first team. During his time with Sturm Graz, he had loan spells at Kapfenberger SV and Slovenian club Mura. After a successful period in Slovenia, Mura signed him permanently in 2023. In 2024, he moved to Russian side Rubin Kazan.
A former Kosovo under-16 international, Shabanhaxhaj represented the Austria under-21 team in a pair of friendlies before switching back to represent the Kosovo national team.[3]
Club career
Early career and Sturm Graz II
Shabanhaxhaj began his senior career with Grazer AK, where he played until December 2009, when he joined AKA HIB Liebenau and after one season, he returned to Grazer AK. Ahead of the 2014–15 season, he joined the youth academy of Sturm Graz, where from the 2015–16 season, he also played for the academy teams, progressing through all age groups.
On 26 July 2019, Shabanhaxhaj made his debut for Sturm Graz's reserve team in a 3–1 away win against Gleisdorf 09 in the Austrian Regionalliga Central after coming on as a substitute in the 84th minute in place of Sebastian Zettl.[4] Three weeks later, he scored his first goal for Sturm Graz's reserve team in his fourth appearance for the club in a 2–1 home win over Wolfsberger AC's reserve team in the Austrian Regionalliga Central.[5]
Sturm Graz
On 16 February 2020, Shabanhaxhaj was named as a Sturm Graz substitute for the first time in a Austrian Bundesliga match against SV Mattersburg.[6] On 7 May 2020, he signed a three-year contract with Sturm Graz and received squad number 33.[7] His debut with Sturm Graz came on 28 June 2020 against Rapid Wien after coming on as a substitute at 84th minute in place of Jakob Jantscher.[8]
Loan to Kapfenberger SV
On 16 August 2021, Sturm Graz announced the loan of Shabanhaxhaj to Austrian Second League club Kapfenberger SV.[9] His debut with Kapfenberger SV came six days later against his former youth club Grazer AK after coming on as a substitute at 46th minute in place of Sanel Bajrektarević.[10]
Mura
On 9 June 2022, Shabanhaxhaj joined Slovenian PrvaLiga side Mura, on a season-long loan.[11] His debut with Mura came a month later in the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifying round against Sfîntul Gheorghe after coming on as a substitute at 61st minute in place of Nikola Petković.[12]
On 21 June 2023, the clubs agreed on a permanent transfer and Shabanhaxhaj signed a three-year contract with Mura.[13]
Rubin Kazan
On 25 January 2024, Shabanhaxhaj signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Russian Premier League club Rubin Kazan and received squad number 99.[14] His debut with Rubin Kazan came five weeks later against Krasnodar after being named in the starting line-up.[15]
International career
Kosovo
On 2 January 2017, Shabanhaxhaj received a call-up from Kosovo U16 for a four-day training camp in Durrës, ahead of the start of the 2017 Mercedes-Benz Aegean Cup.[16] His debut with Kosovo came fourteen days later in the 2017 Mercedes-Benz Aegean Cup match against Turkey after being named in the starting line-up.[17]
Austria
On 17 March 2021, Shabanhaxhaj received a call-up from Austria U21 for the friendly matches against Saudi Arabia and Poland.[18] His debut with Austria came ten days later in the friendly match against Saudi Arabia after coming on as a substitute in the 60th minute in place of Romano Schmid and providing an assist for his side's ninth goal in a 10–0 home win.[19]
Proposed Albania switch and Kosovo return
In May 2025, after five years of absence from international football and following his move to Rubin Kazan, where he became a teammate of former Kosovo and later Albania international Mirlind Daku, there were reports that Shabanhaxhaj might switch his allegiance to Albania through Daku's mediation.[20]
In March 2026, Shabanhaxhaj was planned to be called up from Kosovo for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification play-offs, but due to an injury, he was unable to join the national team.[3]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 28 February 2026[2]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sturm Graz II | 2019–20 | Austrian Regionalliga Central | 12 | 2 | — | — | 12 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21 | 7 | 2 | — | — | 7 | 2 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 22 | 4 | — | — | 22 | 4 | ||||
| Sturm Graz | 2019–20 | Austrian Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2020–21 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | ||
| Kapfenberger SV (loan) | 2021–22 | Austrian Second League | 23 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | 24 | 6 | |
| Mura (loan) | 2022–23 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 30 | 1 |
| Mura | 2023–24 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 19 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 7 | |
| Total | 67 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 74 | 14 | ||
| Rubin Kazan | 2023–24 | Russian Premier League | 10 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Russian Premier League | 23 | 5 | 8 | 2 | — | 31 | 7 | ||
| 2025–26 | Russian Premier League | 19 | 2 | 5 | 1 | — | 24 | 3 | ||
| Total | 52 | 7 | 13 | 3 | — | 65 | 10 | |||
| Career total | 158 | 25 | 19 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 178 | 28 | ||
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
References
- ^ Dardan Shabanhaxhaj at WorldFootball.net
- ^ a b Dardan Shabanhaxhaj at Soccerway
- ^ a b "Dardan Shabanhaxhaj i pafat: Mori ftesë nga Kosova, por pësoi një lëndim dhe mungon për play-offin e Kupës së Botës" [Unlucky Dardan Shabanhaxhaj: Received a call-up from Kosovo but suffered an injury and will miss the World Cup play-offs] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 12 March 2026.
- ^ "FC Gleisdorf 09 – Sturm Graz Amateure" (in German). Austrian Football Association. 26 July 2019.
- ^ "Sturm Graz Amateure – WAC" (in German). Austrian Football Association. 16 August 2019.
- ^ "SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz 1:2 (0:2) SV Mattersburg" (in German). Austrian Bundesliga. 16 February 2020.
- ^ "Shabanhaxhaj verlängert langfristig" [Shabanhaxhaj extends long-term] (in German). SK Sturm Graz. 7 May 2020. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020.
- ^ "SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz 2:3 (2:0) SK Rapid Wien" (in German). Austrian Bundesliga. 28 June 2020.
- ^ "Christoph Lang mit neuem Vertrag" [Christoph Lang with a new contract] (in German). SK Sturm Graz. 16 August 2021.
- ^ "2. Liga | Kapfenberger SV 1919 against Grazer AK | Lineup". WorldFootball.net. 28 August 2021.
- ^ "Dardan Shabanhaxhaj je čarno-bejli!" [Dardan Shabanhaxhaj is a black-and-white player!] (in Slovenian). NŠ Mura. 9 June 2022. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022.
- ^ "Conference League Qual. | FC Sfîntul Gheorghe against NŠ Mura | Lineup". WorldFootball.net. 7 July 2022.
- ^ "Dardan Shabanhaxhaj ostaja čarno-bejli!" [Dardan Shabanhaxhaj remains black-and-white player!] (in Slovenian). NŠ Mura. 21 June 2023.
- ^ "Дардан Шабанхаджай – в «Рубине»!" [Dardan Shabanhaxhaj at Rubin!] (in Russian). FC Rubin Kazan. 25 January 2024.
- ^ "First match of spring resulted in a draw against Rubin". FC Krasnodar. 2 March 2024.
- ^ "Përfaqësuesja U-17 filloi grumbullimin katërditor në Durrës" [The U-17 national team began a four-day training camp in Durrës] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 2 January 2017.
- ^ "Kosova pësoi humbje në ndeshjen e parë nga Turqia" [Kosovo suffered a defeat in their first match against Turkey] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 16 January 2017.
- ^ "ÖFB MediaInfo 44/2021: Erster Kader des neuen U21-Jahrgangs einberufen" [ÖFB MediaInfo 44/2021: First squad of the new U21 vintage convened] (in German). Austrian Football Association. 17 March 2021.
- ^ "Österreich U21 – Saudi Arabien U21" [Austria U21 – Saudi Arabia U21] (in German). Austrian Football Association. 27 March 2021.
- ^ "EKSKLUZIVE | E ndjekin Austria dhe Kosova, cili është lojtari i cili po pret vetëm thirrjen e Shqipërisë! (VIDEO)" [EXCLUSIVE | Austria and Kosovo are tracking him: which player is waiting only for a call-up from Albania! (VIDEO)]. Telesport.al (in Albanian). 7 May 2025.
External links
- Dardan Shabanhaxhaj at Soccerway.com
- Dardan Shabanhaxhaj at WorldFootball.net
- Dardan Shabanhaxhaj at FBref.com
- Dardan Shabanhaxhaj at kicker (in German)