Youth Smith grew up in
Bloomfield, Connecticut and attended
Watkinson School in nearby Hartford, where he played varsity soccer for four years, garnering All-State honors during his junior and senior campaigns. In addition, Smith also enjoyed success on the school's
track and field team, once running the
100 meters in 10.5 seconds. Smith also played club soccer for
Oakwood Soccer Club. He went on trial during Bolton Wanderers preseason training and impressed by what they saw, Smith was offered a three-year scholarship contract with Bolton's youth academy.
Professional Smith was named as a Bolton
substitute for games against
Tottenham Hotspur and
Charlton Athletic during the early part of the
2006-07 season. He made his first team debut for Bolton in their
League Cup defeat at Charlton Athletic in October 2006, and made his
Premier League debut against
Manchester United on October 28, 2006, as an 85th-minute substitute for
Kevin Davies. Smith joined
Carlisle United on loan in January 2007, making his debut against
Doncaster Rovers as a 63rd-minute substitute, replacing
Kevin Gall. He scored his first professional goal on April 29, 2007, against
Swansea City. Following his injury playing internationally for the United States, Smith missed all of Bolton's 2007 pre-season, including the
Peace Cup in
South Korea. When he regained his fitness, he was loaned out to
League Two clubs
Darlington and
Stockport County. In May 2008 he was one of a number of young players released by Bolton manager
Gary Megson. Afterwards, he signed with
Toronto FC. Smith made his MLS debut on August 17, 2008, as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 loss to the
New York Red Bulls. Midway through the 2009 MLS season, Smith expressed his desire to leave Toronto. After long talks with the Toronto FC GM, both parties decided leaving was in the best interest of Smith, especially with interest for him coming from a club in Croatia. He was released by Toronto FC on June 16, 2009. In July 2009 he signed a two-year contract with
HNK Rijeka of the
Croatian
Prva Liga. Smith made his debut the same month in Rijeka's match against Luxembourg side
FC Differdange 03 in the
Europa League qualifying round when he came off the bench. After leaving Rijeka, Johann trained with
Kalmar FF of the
Swedish Allsvenskan for two weeks. On March 23, 2010, Kalmar FF and Smith agreed to a one-year contract. On May 25, Kalmar FF terminated their contract with Smith, stating that he did not live up to their expectations. Smith was in talks with
Rijnsburgse Boys of the
Dutch Topklasse league in February 2011. However, a contract was not offered. Later in 2011, Smith continued to trial around Europe, most notably with German sides
SV Wacker Burghausen,
Kickers Offenbach and
1. FC Magdeburg. Smith trialed with the New York Red Bulls in the summer of 2012, but was not offered a contract. In September 2012, Smith signed a contract with
Finnish club
KuPS of the
Veikkausliiga until the end of the season, ending Smith's two-year hiatus from professional soccer. In 2014, Smith spent time with both
Adelaide Raiders and
Cumberland United in the
NPL South Australia. On March 17, 2015, Smith signed with
Canadian club
FC Edmonton of the
North American Soccer League.
International Smith was named to the United States squad for the
2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in
Canada, but a pre-tournament injury forced his removal from the team. He has since played for the
United States U-20 team, but he has not been called up to the senior squad. ==Career statistics==