Axel Smeets (born 12 July 1974 in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

) is a former

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and football manager, who played as a defender and could also play as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Career

During his career he played for several Belgian clubs and also played overseas for

UD Salamanca Unión Deportiva Salamanca, S.A.D. () was a historical Spanish football team based in Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 February 1923 and nicknamed ''Los Charros'', the club played in white shirts and black ...

, Sheffield United (where he got sent off on his debut against

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

) and

MKE Ankaragücü MKE Ankaragücü or fully Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi Ankaragücü (), is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Ankara. The football team wears a yellow and navy kit and plays its home matches at Eryaman Stadium following the ...

, where he had several experiences (good and bad) and ended his career in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

with HamKam due to a hip injury. The bad recovery from this injury prevented him from signing a 3 years contract for Club Brugge. He also won 25 caps without scoring for the Belgium Under-21s. The Norwegian Athletes Association had Smeets as right back on their football Team of the Year 2004. After passing hi
UEFA A Licence
he decided to take th

which he also successfully passed. He's now devoting himself to his player's careers. He also coaches the St. John's International School Boys Varsity football team.

References

External links

* 1974 births Living people Belgian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Standard Liège players K.A.A. Gent players UD Salamanca players Sheffield United F.C. players K.V. Kortrijk players Lierse S.K. players MKE Ankaragücü footballers Hamarkameratene players Men's association football utility players Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Eliteserien players Belgian Pro League players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Footballers from Brussels Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey English Football League players {{belgium-footy-midfielder-stub