Fahrudin Mustafić (born 17 April 1981), also known as Mustafic Fahrudin, is a retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who spent most of his playing career as a centre-back for

S-League The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which re ...

side

Tampines Rovers FC Tampines Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Tampines, Singapore, that competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of Singapore football league system. Founded in 1945, the club have won the national league c ...

and retired at the end of the 2018 season. Born in Serbia, he played for the Singapore national team.

Football career

Club career

Born in

Novi Pazar Novi Pazar ( sr-cyr, Нови Пазар, lit. "New Bazaar"; ) is a city located in the Raška District of southwestern Serbia. As of the 2011 census, the urban area has 66,527 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 100,410 inhabita ...

SR Serbia , life_span = 1944–1992 , status = Constituent state of Yugoslavia , p1 = Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia , flag_p1 = Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg , p2 ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

, Fahrudin started playing in the youth team of

FK Novi Pazar Fudbalski klub Novi Pazar () is a professional football club from Novi Pazar, Serbia. The club was formed in 1928 as FK Deževa. FK Novi Pazar compete in the Serbian SuperLiga and play their home games at the 12,000 capacity Novi Pazar City Stad ...

when he was 10.FUTSAL FISTICUFFS LEAD FAHRUDIN TO LIONS
at fas.org.sg, 21 February 2006 He played in the youth teams until 2000, when he joined the senior squad and spent two seasons in the

Second League of FR Yugoslavia The Second League of Serbia and Montenegro was the second tier of the football league system in Serbia and Montenegro, one level below the First League of Serbia and Montenegro. History Formed in 1992 after the breakup of Yugoslavia, it consisted ...

. In January 2002, Fahrudin was brought to Singapore with the help of fellow Serbian and Tampines Rovers player, Sead Muratović. Impressive displays in his first two seasons earned him citizenship. Fahrudin, or ''Farra'' as he is affectionately known by fans of the Tampines Rovers and the national team. Known as a tenacious player, Fahrudin became a pivotal member of the national set-up with his crisp passing and tight marking ability. He is also proficient in taking penalties and was the first-choice penalty taker for both club and country. In September 2009, Fahrudin went to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

to play for

Persija Jakarta Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jakarta ( 'Indonesian Football Association of Jakarta'; abbreviated as Persija), is an Indonesian professional football club based in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. Persija Jakarta is one of the most suc ...

. Following his release by Persija, he joined

Persela Lamongan Persatuan Sepakbola Lamongan, or commonly known as Persela, is an Indonesian football club based in Lamongan, East Java. Currently the club plays in Liga 2, the second tier of football in the country. History Although it has been establishe ...

. He returned to the Tampines Rovers in June 2011. At the end of the

2018 Singapore Premier League The 2018 Singapore Premier League (also known as the Great Eastern Hyundai Singapore Premier League due to sponsorship reasons) was the inaugural season of the Singapore Premier League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for associati ...

, Fahrudin announced his retirement from professional football, having played more than 300 official games for Tampines Rovers.

International career

Fahrudin made his debut for the national team in a friendly against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

in January 2006. Fahrudin was also part of the national side that took part at the

2007 AFF Championship The 2007 AFF Championship was the 6th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of Southeast Asia. The group stage was co-hosted by Singapore and Thailand from 12 to 17 January. Knockout stage with two-leg Home-and-away format w ...

, where he played a key role in helping Singapore retain their title. He scored his first goal for Singapore in the final through a controversial penalty against

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

at the

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...

Personal life

Fahrudin has Serbian, Bosnian and Singaporean citizenship, receiving the latter in 2005 under the

Foreign Sports Talent Scheme The Foreign Sports Talent Scheme (FST), initially known as Project Rainbow, was a scheme used by sports officials and organisations in Singapore to scout and facilitate the migration of non-Singaporeans deemed to possess sports talent to play in S ...

National team career statistics

Goals for senior national team

Honours

Tampines Rovers *

S.League The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which re ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Singapore Cup The Singapore Cup is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic Singaporean football. Established in 1998, it is the foremost football cup competition in the country. It is open to clubs in the Singapore Premier League. Since ...

: 2004, 2006 Singapore *

AFF Championship The ASEAN Football Federation Championship (less formally the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup for sponsorship reason, is the primary association football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football ...

: 2007, 2012 Individual *

ASEAN Football Federation The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) is an organisation within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and is an international governing body of association football in Southeast Asia. It consists of the federations of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, ...

Best XI: 2013

References

External links

* *
Fahrudin Join Persija
*https://web.archive.org/web/20131013033232/http://www.goal.com/en-sg/match/98590/singapore-vs-thailand/report 1981 births Living people Footballers from Novi Pazar Singaporean men's footballers Singapore men's international footballers Serbian men's footballers Serbian emigrants to Singapore Singaporean people of Bosniak descent Singaporean people of Serbian descent Bosniaks of Serbia FK Novi Pazar players Tampines Rovers FC players Expatriate men's footballers in Indonesia Singaporean expatriate sportspeople in Indonesia Liga 1 (Indonesia) players Persija Jakarta players Persela Lamongan players Expatriate men's footballers in Singapore Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Singapore Naturalised citizens of Singapore Singapore Premier League players Men's association football midfielders Hougang United FC players Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers Naturalised association football players {{Singapore-footy-bio-stub