Beyond Borders
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-05 06:53:24
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Aleksandar Duric
- ISBN：9814751057
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Born in Bosnia in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia， Aleksandar Duric overcame a difficult childhood to become a junior canoeing champion。 Against all odds， he made an unlikely appearance at the 1992 Olympic Games whilst the fires of the Bosnian War raged in his homeland， a war that had tragic consequences for the Duric family。
A nomadic career in football followed， before Duric finally found his feet – and his home – in Singapore。 It was in this Southeast Asian nation that Duric truly made his name， becoming an all-conquering force in Singapore’s top domestic league and going on to represent the Singapore national team more than 50 times。
Told in a refreshingly frank and honest manner， Beyond Borders is far more than a footballer’s memoir。 Duric’s tale of tragedy and triumph， adversity and adventure， is as surprising as it is inspiring。
A nomadic career in football followed， before Duric finally found his feet – and his home – in Singapore。 It was in this Southeast Asian nation that Duric truly made his name， becoming an all-conquering force in Singapore’s top domestic league and going on to represent the Singapore national team more than 50 times。
Told in a refreshingly frank and honest manner， Beyond Borders is far more than a footballer’s memoir。 Duric’s tale of tragedy and triumph， adversity and adventure， is as surprising as it is inspiring。
Reviews
Joshua Wong
，
this is not your everyday football biography。 as the title suggests， it is a story of a journeyman footballer met with extraordinary circumstances along the way。 Duric came to Singapore at a time where Singapore football still had some support and Centre of Excellence were still around。 He quickly established himself as a top striker in Singapore， banging in goals and breaking records like no other。 During the early 2000s， Singapore had World Cup qualification in mind and decided to naturalised this is not your everyday football biography。 as the title suggests， it is a story of a journeyman footballer met with extraordinary circumstances along the way。 Duric came to Singapore at a time where Singapore football still had some support and Centre of Excellence were still around。 He quickly established himself as a top striker in Singapore， banging in goals and breaking records like no other。 During the early 2000s， Singapore had World Cup qualification in mind and decided to naturalised foreign born citizens to play for the country。 Needless to say， most of them failed。 Despite the performance in the league， Duric was overlooked for citizenship and needed to go through the normal process like any other PRs to gain his citizenship at 37。 Ever since then， i have always seen him put his best foot forward for our national team and we are very proud to him our own。 What is gripping about his story though， is the journey he took to Singapore。 From being a promising youth kayaker to a Yugoslav soldier then escaping to Hungary， became the first batch of Bosnian Olympian and hitchhiking his way to Barcelona in 1992， went back to play football in Hungary， Australia and China before setting foot in Singapore to call home。 I was hooked on this beautiful story of grit and humanity， I finished it in a day。 I highly recommend。 Note though towards the end Duric gives some opinion about the state of football in Singapore。 Rightly so since he has pretty much been in the scene since the start of the S-League。 Non-local football fans might not appreciate but most of the book though should remain relevant to any reader。 。。。more
Blake
，
'Beyond Borders' is truly a special read that transcends the typical autobiography of a retired footballer。 Indeed， not many footballers of international status can claim to have had such a turbulent， winding， and ultimately successful career and life as Aleksandar Duric。As such， this is not a tedious and watered-down blow-by-blow account of his exploits on the football pitch that are prevalent on the market nowadays。 Instead， Duric （with Glenn Wray） honestly takes us through his early years in 'Beyond Borders' is truly a special read that transcends the typical autobiography of a retired footballer。 Indeed， not many footballers of international status can claim to have had such a turbulent， winding， and ultimately successful career and life as Aleksandar Duric。As such， this is not a tedious and watered-down blow-by-blow account of his exploits on the football pitch that are prevalent on the market nowadays。 Instead， Duric （with Glenn Wray） honestly takes us through his early years in Yugoslavia as he pursued his dream of becoming a successful canoeist while sifting through local rubbish dumps to help earn some money with his family。 The years that follow ultimately shape Duric's character--from his experiences in the Bosnian War， his representation of Bosnia in the 1992 Olympics， his dabbling in smuggling to earn a crust， and his fractured relationship with his father， we can see how resilient and determined Duric was to eke out a living away from his true home， let alone eke out a footballing career。The second half of the book details his football exploits in Hungary， Australia， China， and ultimately Singapore。 For a footballer of international stature， Duric comes across as incredibly humble and truly thankful of the career he has truly earned。 And boy， did he earn it--he was a late bloomer in the world of international football， and became a fully-fledged Singaporean citizen and national at an age when other players would consider retirement。 By the time he retired in his early forties， the evergreen Duric had won numerous domestic and regional accolades with his domestic teams and the Singapore national team。 He truly did it his own way。Duric's honesty is also reflected in his scathing criticism of the S-League format。 Even though I couldn't identify with this as a non-follower of Singaporean football， I nevertheless appreciated his bravery in putting forward such thoughts， and shows how much he cares about his adopted-country's footballing fortunes。 'Beyond Borders' is a highly recommended read and a hidden gem that deserves more than a regional audience。HIGHLIGHTS: Honest anecdotes of Duric's upbringing; his account of a turbulent footballing career in Hungary and Australia; critique of Singaporean footballSTARS: 5/5FULL TIME SCORE: A comprehensive 4-0 aggregate win over two legs。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Beyond Borders
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Beyond Borders&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Beyond Borders&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0