Aleksandar Đurić
Aleksandar Đurić (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Ђурић; born 12 August 1970) is a former professional footballer who serves as the principal for Sport Singapore and the ActiveSG Football Academy. He played in the Singapore Cosmopolitan Football League, a top amateur football league in Singapore for SCC First prior to his retirement from professional football. He was noted for being a prolific striker with strong physical presence. His professional approach to his fitness and a disciplined lifestyle contributed to extending a career spanning over three decades.
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Đurić with Singapore in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 12 August 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Doboj, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1984–1987 | Sloga Doboj | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1994 | Szeged LC | 24 | (7) |
| 1995–1996 | South Melbourne | 5 | (0) |
| 1996 | Port Melbourne Sharks | 22 | (12) |
| 1996–1997 | Gippsland Falcons | 15 | (4) |
| 1997 | Locomotive Shanshan | 16 | (2) |
| 1997–1998 | West Adelaide | 8 | (3) |
| 1998 | Heidelberg United | 8 | (2) |
| 1998–1999 | West Adelaide | 27 | (5) |
| 1999 | Tanjong Pagar United | 16 | (11) |
| 1999–2000 | Marconi Stallions | 15 | (2) |
| 2000 | Sydney Olympic | 3 | (0) |
| 2000 | Home United | 10 | (6) |
| 2001–2004 | Geylang United | 126 | (97) |
| 2005–2009 | Singapore Armed Forces | 150 | (129) |
| 2010–2014 | Tampines Rovers | 137 | (78) |
| 2016 | Swiss FC (Cosmoleague) | 0 | (0) |
| 2016–2019 | SCC First (Cosmoleague) | 33 | (22) |
| 2019 | Singapore FC (Cosmoleague) | 3 | (1) |
| Total | 600 | (363) | |
| International career | |||
| 2007–2012 | Singapore | 53 | (24) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Đurić was junior kayaking champion of Yugoslavia when he was 15 and was ranked 8th in the world at 17. He represented Bosnia and Herzegovina in the C-1 500m canoeing event the 1992 Summer Olympics. After the Olympics, he returned to Hungary to resume his football career. In 1999, he signed for Tanjong Pagar United in the S.League where he was converted to a striker for the first time in his career. He won trophies with subsequent clubs Home United, Geylang United, Singapore Armed Forces and Tampines Rovers. He won eight league titles and three Singapore Cups in 15 seasons, amassing three Player of the Year and four top scorer awards on the way to becoming the league's all-time top scorer.
At international level, he debuted for Singapore at the age of 37 years in 2007. He became the first foreign-born player to start a match as captain in May 2008. He was in the Singapore squad for the AFF Championship in 2008, 2010 and 2012, the latter of which Singapore won. He retired from international football in December 2012 with a record of 24 goals in 53 matches. He was named the IFFHS World's Best Goal Scorer of the Decade for 2001 to 2010.
In 2013, he assumed his new duties as full-time fitness coach at his club Tampines Rovers. He retired from his playing career at the age of 44 in November 2014.