Aleksandar Duric on his remarkable sporting journey and giving back to Singapore

The former national footballer, who will help lead Team Singapore at the 2026 Asian Games, tells CNA how his experiences as an athlete are shaping his work with the next generation.

Former national footballer Aleksandar Duric speaking to CNA. (Image: CNA)

This audio is generated by an AI tool.

SINGAPORE: More than a decade after ending his professional football career, Aleksandar Duric is preparing for another major sporting assignment.

The former Singapore striker will be one of Team Singapore's two assistant chefs de mission at the Asian Games in Japan, drawing on a sporting career that has taken him from the Olympics to football.

Duric, 56, said his experience as a former athlete could help him support competitors before important events, whether by calming their nerves or helping them focus.

"Myself and my team, who are around me, our job is to support them,” he told CNA.

His new role is the latest chapter in a sporting journey that has spanned more than four decades.

A CHILDHOOD SHAPED BY HARDSHIP

Duric's own sporting journey began thousands of kilometres from Singapore.

Born in 1970, he grew up in Doboj, a small town in the former Yugoslavia – now part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As a child, he would collect items that could be sold to help his parents.

"Life was rough and tough. It wasn't easy to live because we weren't (a) rich family," he said.

"Next to my house in the village, we had like a big depot of rubbish. Every day after school, we will go look for bottles, papers, metals and sell that, and you make some small money.”

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less

Sport became an important part of his life. He took up kayaking at the age of 12 and excelled at it.

But as conflict engulfed his homeland, Duric found himself in Hungary, unable to return home.

His sporting journey continued despite the upheaval. In 1992, Duric made it to the Olympic Games in Barcelona, representing Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"Going to (the) Olympic Games was also quite a journey. Usually Olympians, they go in business class, go with planes. I was one who was stopping the cars and trucks to go halfway to Barcelona," he said.

"I didn't have proper training. I didn't even have proper equipment."

Yet even while competing as a kayaker, football was never far from his mind.

"People used to always tell me, "Oh, Aleks, if you're not in this kayak, you can be a professional football player. And I never forgot that."

FINDING A HOME IN SINGAPORE

That footballing ambition took Duric through Europe, Australia and China, before Singapore eventually became home.

In Singapore, Duric took on a role as a striker, a position he had not played before.

"It took me a while to get used to that … and also coming as a striker and not playing as striker before in my life was also a huge challenge. But I mean, it's all hard work."

Over a 15-year career in Singapore football, Duric won eight top-flight titles and three Singapore Cups and was named Player of the Year three times.

Aleksandar Duric celebrating a goal for Singapore against Malaysia on Jul 23, 2011. (File photo: Facebook/FAS)

In 2007, he became a Singapore citizen and was called up to the national team at the age of 37. His Singapore debut came against Tajikistan in a World Cup qualifier in November that year.

Duric scored both goals in Singapore's 2-0 win, a debut he remembers vividly.

"I was so pumped," he recounted. "I hit the two posts. I should have scored five goals."

“I remember that after the game, everybody thought, ‘Is this guy really 37?’ Because I was flying, I had so much energy. I was so happy to play for the national team.”

Aleksandar Duric (centre) celebrates with his Singapore teammates after winning the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup in Bangkok on Dec 22, 2012. Singapore beat Thailand 3-2 on aggregate. (Photo: AFP/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

Duric later became the first foreign-born player to captain the Lions.

In 2012, he helped Singapore win the AFF Suzuki Cup.

Among the mementos Duric keeps from his career is a framed jersey from that 2012 triumph, signed by his teammates.

"It's just really special for me. This is the signature of all the players together with me as a team. It's something which will stay forever with me."

Duric finished his Singapore career with 24 goals from 53 appearances before his retirement.

Aleksandar Duric looks at his framed jersey from the Lions’ 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup-winning campaign. (Image: CNA)

A PROMISE TO GIVE BACK

Before his final professional match in 2014, Duric wrote a farewell letter setting out what he wanted to do next.

“For the rest of my life, I will live another dream. The dream of giving back to the country that has given me so much … And I will now focus on helping Southeast Asian kids fulfil their dreams of playing professional football, scoring goals like I did and have a better life,” he wrote.

Asked how far he had come in keeping that promise, Duric replied: “Probablyhalfway. More can be done. I remember when I said that.”

His work at the ActiveSG Football Academy has become a major part of that effort.

Aleksandar Duric speaks to young footballers during a training session.

NURTURING YOUNG FOOTBALLERS

For the past decade, Duric has been helping to develop a young generation of footballers through the academy, where he is principal.

It started with 500 children across five centres in 2016, and now has more than 4,000 participants across 17 centres.

On weekends, Duric can often be found on a football pitch surrounded by children learning the game.

"This is one of my typical Saturdays, Sundays, mornings, and afternoons," he said.

"It's more than football. It's making new friends, getting confident."

This year, the academy also opened girls-only programmes at two centres.

"I'm just one of those passionate guys in this country who want to really help our future kids to become something in the sport. We have a lot of heroes here in Singapore who are doing (a) similar and good job," he said.

"Helping so many kids play football, having this kind of dream to become like myself, dreaming to be football players, it's a great achievement."

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

这位前国家足球运动员将帮助带领新加坡队参加 2026 年亚运会，他向 CNA 讲述了他作为运动员的经历如何影响他与下一代的合作。

前国家足球运动员亚历山大·杜里奇接受中央社采访。（图片：中央社）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：在结束职业足球生涯十多年后，亚历山大·杜里奇正准备迎接另一项重要的体育任务。

这位前新加坡前锋将担任新加坡代表团在日本亚运会的两名助理团长之一，他的体育生涯涵盖了从奥运会到足球的各个领域。

56岁的杜里奇表示，他作为前运动员的经验可以帮助他在重要比赛前支持参赛者，无论是安抚他们的紧张情绪还是帮助他们集中注意力。

“我和我的团队，我们身边的人，我们的工作就是支持他们，”他告诉 CNA。

他的新角色是他长达四十余年的体育生涯的最新篇章。

一段充满艰辛的童年

杜里奇的运动生涯始于距离新加坡数千公里之外的地方。

他出生于 1970 年，在多博伊长大，多博伊是前南斯拉夫的一个小镇，现在是波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那的一部分。

小时候，他会收集一些可以卖掉的东西来帮助父母。

“生活很艰难。因为我们家并不富裕，所以生活并不容易，”他说。

“我家旁边，村里，有个很大的垃圾场。每天放学后，我们都会去那里捡瓶子、纸张、金属，然后卖掉，赚点小钱。”

CNA游戏 猜词游戏 逐行破解单词 流行词游戏 用给定的字母组成单词 迷你数独 小小谜题，挑战你的大脑 迷你填字游戏 小方格，大挑战 单词搜索 尽可能多地找出单词 显示更多 显示更少

体育运动成为他生活中重要的一部分。他12岁开始练习皮划艇，并且在这方面表现出色。

但随着冲突席卷他的祖国，杜里奇发现自己身在匈牙利，无法返回家乡。

尽管经历了动荡，他的体育生涯仍在继续。1992年，杜里奇代表波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那参加了巴塞罗那奥运会。

“去参加奥运会也是一段漫长的旅程。通常奥运选手都是坐商务舱，乘飞机去的。而我，却是拦下汽车和卡车，搭车前往巴塞罗那的中途队伍。”他说道。

“我没有接受过正规训练，甚至连合适的装备都没有。”

然而，即使在参加皮划艇比赛时，他心中也从未远离过足球。

“人们过去总是跟我说，‘哦，亚历克斯，如果你不划这艘皮划艇，你就可以成为一名职业足球运动员了。’我一直都记得这句话。”

在新加坡寻找家

杜里奇的足球梦想让他走遍了欧洲、澳大利亚和中国，最终新加坡成为了他的家。

在新加坡，杜里奇担任了前锋的角色，这是他以前从未踢过的位置。

“我花了一段时间才适应……而且，作为一名前锋，我以前从未踢过前锋，这对我来说也是一个巨大的挑战。但我的意思是，这一切都需要付出努力。”

在长达 15 年的新加坡足球生涯中，杜里奇赢得了 8 次顶级联赛冠军和 3 次新加坡杯冠军，并三次被评为年度最佳球员。

2011年7月23日，亚历山大·杜里奇庆祝新加坡队对阵马来西亚队的进球。（资料照片：Facebook/FAS）

2007 年，他成为新加坡公民，并在 37 岁时入选国家队。同年 11 月，他在世界杯预选赛对阵塔吉克斯坦的比赛中首次代表新加坡队出场。

杜里奇在新加坡2-0战胜对手的比赛中独中两元，他至今仍清晰地记得自己的首秀。

“我当时兴奋极了，”他回忆道。“我两次射门都击中了门柱。我本应该进五个球的。”

“我记得赛后，大家都在想，‘这家伙真的37岁了吗？’因为我状态极佳，精力充沛。能为国家队效力，我感到非常高兴。”

2012年12月22日，在曼谷举行的2012年铃木杯东南亚足球锦标赛决赛中，新加坡队以总比分3-2战胜泰国队，夺得冠军。图为亚历山大·杜里奇（中）与队友庆祝夺冠。（图片：法新社/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul）

杜里奇后来成为首位担任狮队队长的外籍球员。

2012年，他帮助新加坡队赢得了AFF铃木杯。

杜里奇保留着许多职业生涯纪念品，其中包括一件装裱起来的2012年夺冠球衣，上面有队友的签名。

“这对我来说意义非凡。这是所有队员和我作为一个团队共同的签名。它将永远伴随着我。”

杜里奇在新加坡的职业生涯中，出场 53 次，打入 24 球，之后退役。

亚历山大·杜里奇正在欣赏他那件装裱起来的球衣，那是他所在的狮队在2012年赢得铃木杯冠军时的战袍。（图片：CNA）

回馈社会的承诺

在 2014 年的最后一场职业比赛之前，杜里奇写了一封告别信，阐述了他接下来想做的事情。

“余生，我将追逐另一个梦想。那就是回馈这个给予我如此之多的国家……我将专注于帮助东南亚的孩子们实现他们的梦想，让他们像我一样踢职业足球、进球，并拥有更美好的生活，”他写道。

当被问及他在履行承诺方面取得了多大进展时，杜里奇回答说：“大概完成了一半吧。还有更多工作要做。我记得我说过这话。”

他在ActiveSG足球学院的工作已成为这项工作的重要组成部分。

亚历山大·杜里奇在训练课上与年轻足球运动员交谈。

培养年轻足球运动员

过去十年，杜里奇一直通过他担任校长的足球学院帮助培养年轻一代的足球运动员。

该项目于 2016 年在五个中心启动，当时有 500 名儿童参与，现在已有 17 个中心的 4000 多名参与者。

周末，人们经常可以看到杜里奇在足球场上，周围都是正在学习踢球的孩子们。

“这是我典型的周六、周日、早晨和下午的日常，”他说。

“这不仅仅是踢足球，还能结交新朋友，增强自信。”

今年，该学院还在两个中心开设了女子专属课程。

“我只是这个国家众多充满热情的人之一，真心希望帮助我们未来的孩子们在这个运动中有所成就。在新加坡，我们有很多英雄人物都在做着类似且出色的工作，”他说。

“能够帮助这么多孩子踢足球，让他们拥有像我一样的梦想，梦想成为足球运动员，这是一项伟大的成就。”

订阅我们的邮件，即可获取精选热点新闻和引人深思的文章。

订阅通知，第一时间获取突发新闻和精彩报道。

加入我们的频道，即可在您常用的聊天应用上获取当日热门文章。