# Lazar Samardžić

Lazar Vujadin Samardžić (Serbian Cyrillic: Лазар Вујадин Самарџић, pronounced; born 24 February 2002) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger for Serie A club Atalanta, on loan from Udinese. Born in Germany, he plays for the Serbia national team.

## Club career
### Hertha BSC
#### Youth

Samardžić played for BSV Grün-Weiss Neukölln 1950 e.V. from 2008 to 2009 and joined Hertha BSC from 9 October 2009. Samardžić played for the U17 and U19 teams of Hertha BSC in the Under 17 and Under 19 Bundesliga, scoring 16 and 14 goals respectively. Samardžić won the bronze award of the Fritz Walter Medal in the U17 group.

#### First team

Samardžić was announced to have signed a professional contract, and first appeared as an unused substitute for the professional team in a 3–3 away draw against Fortuna Düsseldorf on 28 February 2020.
Samardžić made his debut for Hertha BSC in the Bundesliga on 22 May 2020, coming on as a substitute for Per Ciljan Skjelbred in the 81st minute of the Berlin derby against Union Berlin, which finished as a 4–0 win. Samardzic is considered one of Germany's most talented prospects and he has attracted serious interest from elite clubs around the world, such as Chelsea, Barcelona and Juventus.

### RB Leipzig

On 8 September 2020, Samardžić joined fellow Bundesliga side RB Leipzig on a five-year deal. He made his RB Leipzig debut on 3 October, coming off the bench in a 4–0 win against FC Schalke 04.

### Udinese

Ahead of the 2021–22 season, 19-year-old Samardžić moved to Italian Serie A club Udinese. He signed a five-year contract.

### Atalanta

On 18 August 2024, Samardžić joined fellow Serie A side Atalanta on loan, with an obligation to make the transfer permanent under certain conditions. Later that year, on 26 November, he scored his first Champions League goal in a 6–1 away victory over Young Boys.

## International career

Samardžić played for Berlin at the Under-15 level and Germany at the Under-17 and Under-19 levels. He first appeared internationally and played two matches in the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification against Belarus and Slovenia. He then played in all three matches of the group stage of the tournament, scoring once, but the team failed to progress to the knockout stage. For the U-19 level, he played in the 2020 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification, scoring twice.

### Serbia national team

In February 2023, the Football Association of Serbia announced that Samardžić had accepted manager Dragan Stojković's invitation to switch his allegiance to Serbia on his 21st birthday. He subsequently received his first official call-up to the Serbian senior national team the following month, being included in the list for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Lithuania and Montenegro.
On 25 March 2023, Samardžić made his debut for Serbia in a 2–0 win over Lithuania in Belgrade.
Samardžić was selected in Serbia's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024. He played in group stage matches against Slovenia and Denmark. Serbia finished fourth in the group.

## Personal life

Samardžić was born in Berlin, and he is a Serb from Bosnia and Herzegovina. His father hails from Živinice, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 16 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Hertha BSC II | 2019–20 | Regionalliga Nordost | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 1 |
| Hertha BSC | 2019–20 | Bundesliga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| RB Leipzig | 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 |
| Udinese | 2021–22 | Serie A | 22 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 24 | 2 |
| Udinese | 2022–23 | Serie A | 37 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 39 | 5 |
| Udinese | 2023–24 | Serie A | 34 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 34 | 6 |
| Udinese | 2024–25 | Serie A | — | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Udinese | Total | Total | 93 | 13 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 98 | 13 |
| Atalanta (loan) | 2024–25 | Serie A | 26 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 4 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 134 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 152 | 18 |
* ↑ Includes DFB-Pokal, Coppa Italia
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
* ↑ Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana

### International

    As of match played 18 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Serbia | 2023 | 5 | 0 |
| Serbia | 2024 | 12 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 17 | 0 |

## Honours

RB Leipzig
* DFB-Pokal runner up: 2020–21
Individual
* Fritz Walter Medal U17 Bronze: 2019