Ardian Kozniku (born 27 October 1967 in Đakovica, Autonomous Province of Kosovo, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

) is a former Croatian footballer who played as a striker. He was born in Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

 and is of Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

n descent.

He started his career at KF Vllaznimi

KF Vllaznimi

Klubi Futbollistik Vëllaznimi is a football club based in Đakovica, in western Kosovo. The club was founded in 1927 and currently plays in the top division of football in Kosovo, the Raiffeisen Superliga....

 from Đakovica and was later picked up by KF Prishtina

KF Prishtina

Football Club Prishtina is a football club based in Prishtina, Kosovo. The club was founded in 1922 and currently plays in the Raiffeisen Football Superleague of Kosovo.- History :...

. He later moved to Croatian side Hajduk Split in 1990 and played there until 1994. He then went on to play for French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 clubs AS Cannes

AS Cannes

Association Sportive de Cannes Football is a French association football club based in Cannes. The club was formed 1902 as a sports club and currently play in the Championnat de France amateur, the fourth division of French football. Cannes plays its home matches at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin...

, Le Havre AC

Le Havre AC

Le Havre Athletic Club Football Association is a French association football club based in Le Havre. The club was founded originally as an athletics and rugby club in 1872, thus making it the oldest association football and rugby club registered in France...

 and SC Bastia

SC Bastia

Sporting Club de Bastia is a French association football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club currently plays in the Championnat National, the third division of French football. Bastia previously had stints in both Ligue 1 and Ligue 2...

, as well as Cypriot

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

 side APOEL

APOEL FC

APOEL F.C. is a professional football club based in Lefkosia , Cyprus and they are one of the founding members of the Cyprus Football Association. APOEL is one of the most popular football teams in Cyprus and they are the most successful with an overall tally of 21 championships, 19 cups and 12...

, before making his comeback to Croatia in the summer of 1998, signing with Dinamo Zagreb

Dinamo Zagreb

GNK Dinamo Zagreb, commonly referred to as Dinamo Zagreb , or by their nickname Modri are a Croatian football club based in Zagreb. They play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Croatian football, having won thirteen Croatian championship titles, ten...

. After two seasons and a half with Dinamo Zagreb, he made a move to Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n side FC Kärnten

FC Kärnten

FC Kärnten was an Austrian association football club based in Klagenfurt, Carinthia. It was founded in 1920 under the name of KSK Klagenfurt. They last played home games at the Sportzentrum Fischl.- History :...

 in the winter break of the 2000-2001 season and left the club after only six months for Croatian side NK Hrvatski dragovoljac

NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac

NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac is a Croatian football club based in the Novi Zagreb neighbourhood of the country's capital city of Zagreb. The team's fans are known as the "Black Warriors"...

, where he finished his career in 2002.

With Hajduk Split, he was the top goalscorer of the opening season of the Croatian First League in 1992, scoring 12 goals. He scored a total of 45 goals in the league.

He was an occasional member of the Croatian national team

Croatia national football team

The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...

 in the 1990s, winning 7 international caps and scoring 2 goals. He made his international debut in a friendly match against Slovakia

Slovakia national football team

The Slovakia national football team represents Slovakia in association football and is controlled by the Slovak Football Association , the governing body for football in Slovakia. Slovakia's home stadium is Štadión Pasienky and their head coach is Vladimír Weiss...

 in April 1994 and also made three appearances in Croatia's qualifying campaign for the UEFA Euro 1996, scoring one goal. He was a member of Croatia's bronze medal-winning squad at the 1998 FIFA World Cup

1998 FIFA World Cup

The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...

, but was left an unused substitute in all of the team's seven matches at the tournament. His last match for Croatia was a friendly against Australia

Australia national football (soccer) team

The Australia national association football team represents Australia in international association football competitions. Its official nickname is the "Socceroos"...

 in early June 1998, during the team's preparations for the upcoming World Cup, where he also netted one goal in his team's 7-0 victory.

From 2007 to 2010 he has served as the president of the Croatian Diving Federation.

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	9 October 1994	Maksimir, Zagreb Zagreb Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...		2 – 0	2 – 0	Euro 1996 Qualifying
2	6 June 1998	Maksimir, Zagreb Zagreb Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...		6 – 0	7 – 0	Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...

External links

• Profile at Playerhistory.