Veldin Hodža
Kosovan footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Veldin Hodža (Albanian: Veldin Hoxha; born 15 October 2002) is a Kosovan professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Russian Premier League club Rubin Kazan. Born in Croatia, he represented that nation at youth international levels but in 2025 switched to play for Kosovo national team at senior level.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 15 October 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Rijeka, Croatia | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Rubin Kazan | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2021 | Rijeka | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2021 | Rijeka | 0 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Orijent 1919 (loan) | 30 | (1) |
| 2022 | Hrvatski Dragovoljac | 16 | (0) |
| 2022–2024 | Rijeka | 70 | (8) |
| 2024– | Rubin Kazan | 60 | (5) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Croatia U17 | 6 | (0) |
| 2019 | Croatia U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2021 | Croatia U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2022–2024 | Croatia U21 | 21 | (3) |
| 2025– | Kosovo | 10 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16 September 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 17:05, 27 September 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
On 7 October 2020, Hodža made his senior competitive debut against Dilj in Croatian Football Cup first round. He scored a goal in the 69th minute and Rijeka won 6–0.[2] On 26 November 2020, Hodža made his first appearance in a UEFA competition, coming in as a substitute in the 87th minute for Gnezda Čerin in their Europa League group stage match against Napoli.[3] He then joined Orijent on loan in the winter transfer window.[4] He was taken off loan to Orijent and moved back to Rijeka, where his contract was formally terminated, and he joined the newly promoted club Hrvatski Dragovoljac to help with their relegation battle.[5][6]
On 20 June 2022, Hodža rejoined his former club Rijeka, signing a contract until summer 2024.[7]
On 12 September 2024, Hodža signed a four-year contract with Rubin Kazan in Russia.[8]
International career
From 2018, until 2024, Hodža has been part of Croatia at youth international level, respectively has been part of the U17, U18, U19 and U21 teams and he with these teams played thirty matches and scored three goals.[9] On 15 June 2023, Hodža was included in Croatia U21's 23-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2023 held in Georgia and Romania,[10] where he played in two of the three group stage matches, one as a substitute,[11] and one as a starter as Croatia finished third in their group and did not advance to the knockout stage.[12]
In October 2023, Hodža's agent confirmed that the Kosovo national team had shown interest in him,[13] following a meeting between Football Federation of Kosovo president Agim Ademi and the player three months earlier after his 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League second qualifying round match with Rijeka against Dukagjini.[14]
On 12 June 2025, the Football Federation of Kosovo announced that Hodža had decided to represent their national team.[1] On 29 August 2025, he accepted Kosovo's call-up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Switzerland and Sweden.[15] On 2 September 2025, Hodža's request to switch international allegiance to Kosovo was approved by FIFA.[16] His debut with Kosovo came six days later in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Sweden after coming on as a substitute at last minutes in place of Florent Muslija.[17]
Personal life
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 16 September 2026[19]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rijeka | 2019–20 | Croatian First League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020–21 | Croatian First League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Orijent 1919 (loan) | 2020–21 | Croatian Second League | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | Croatian Second League | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 15 | 1 | ||
| Total | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 33 | 1 | |||
| Hrvatski Dragovoljac | 2021–22 | Croatian First League | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 1 | |
| Rijeka | 2022–23 | Croatian League | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 37 | 1 |
| 2023–24 | Croatian League | 32 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 6[b] | 0 | 44 | 6 | |
| 2024–25 | Croatian League | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5[c] | 0 | 11 | 2 | |
| Total | 70 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 92 | 9 | ||
| Rubin Kazan | 2024–25 | Russian Premier League | 22 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | |
| 2025–26 | Russian Premier League | 29 | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | 35 | 3 | ||
| 2026–27 | Russian Premier League | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| Total | 60 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 176 | 15 | 24 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 214 | 16 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Conference League
- Three appearances in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Conference League
International
- As of match played 27 September 2026[20]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kosovo | |||
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 6 | 1 | |
| Total | 10 | 1 | |
- Kosovo score listed first, score column indicates score after each Hodža goal.[21]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 March 2026 | Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia |  Slovakia | 1–1 | 4–3 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Rijeka
