Aleksandar Ranković (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Александар Ранковић; born 31 August 1978) is a

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of

Singapore Premier League The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as the 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), wh ...

club

Lion City Sailors Lion City Sailors Football Club, commonly referred to as the Sailors or LCS, is a Singaporean professional association football, football club based in Bishan, Singapore, Bishan. It competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of the Si ...

. As a player, Ranković played the entirety of his professional career in the Netherlands and his native Serbia. Ranković also holds a Dutch Passport.

Club career

Ranković started his professional career with

FK Rad FK Rad () is a football club based in Banjica, Belgrade, Serbia. They compete in the Belgrade Zone League, the fourth tier of the national league system. Founded in 1958, the club spent a total of 30 seasons in the top flight between 1987 and 2 ...

, making his first appearances in 1997, at the age of 19. In 2002,

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

side

SBV Vitesse SBV Vitesse Arnhem (''Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse Arnhem, Eng: Professional Football Foundation Vitesse Arnhem''), widely known as Vitesse () or internationally known as Vitesse Arnhem, is a Dutch professional association football, footba ...

showed interest for the player and brought him into the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

, where he played as a first team regular for three seasons. In 2005, he moved to fellow Eredivisie participants

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation ...

where he became one of their key players. Ranković hit the news in January 2007, when he was sent off in a 3–1 defeat to AZ, match in which he also scored a goal. The incident took place after the referee Kevin Blom awarded a penalty to AZ, and Ranković pushed Blom whilst shouting "When I see you in the city, I'll kill you". Ranković received a five match ban for the death threats. He later apologized for the incident. On 22 June 2011, Ranković signed a one-year deal with

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; ), often referred to in English as Partizan Belgrade, is a Serbian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Belgrade. It forms ...

Coaching career

ADO Den Haag

On 15 May 2020, Ranković was announced as the new head coach of

until 2022.

Utrecht

On 30 June 2022, Ranković joined

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

as an assistant coach under Henk Fraser.

Lion City Sailors

On 28 June 2023, Ranković signed a two years contract with Singaporean side,

as their head coach. In his first ever game in charge on 1 July 2023, he guide the team to a 1–7 away win against

Tanjong Pagar United Tanjong Pagar United Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Queenstown, Singapore, Queenstown, Singapore. The club currently competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of Singapore football leag ...

. Ranković also guided the club in the

2023–24 AFC Champions League The 2023–24 AFC Champions League was the 42nd edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 21st and final under the AFC Champions League title, as the competition would be rebra ...

group stage winning against Hong Kong giants,

Kitchee Kitchee Sports Club (; ; ) is a Hong Kong professional Association football, football club based in Kowloon. It was founded in 1931 and currently competes in the Hong Kong Premier League. The club has won 12 List of Hong Kong football champion ...

2–1 and Korean giants,

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Jeonbuk have won the K League a record nine times, including ...

2–0. In his first season at the club, he steered the team to win the

2023 Singapore Cup The 2023 Singapore Cup will be the 24th edition of the Singapore Cup, Singapore's annual premier club football knock-out tournament organised by the Football Association of Singapore. Hougang United is the defending champions, having won the tou ...

. On 4 May 2024, Ranković steered his club to lift the 2024 Singapore Community Shield in a 2–0 win over Albirex Niigata (S). During the

2024–25 AFC Champions League Two The 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two was the 21st edition of the Asia's second-tier club football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and first since it was rebranded as the AFC Champions League Two. This was the fi ...

season, Ranković managed to guide the Lion City Sailors to the round of 16 as group leaders making them the first ever Singaporean Club to do so. He made history with the club after guiding them to the quarter-finals of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two after defeating Thailand side

Muangthong United Muangthong United Football Club () is a Thai professional football club based in Muang Thong Thani, Pak Kret district, Nonthaburi province. The club plays in the Thai League 1, the top-flight football league of Thailand. Muangthong United has pa ...

7–2 on aggregate in the round of 16.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manager

Lion City Sailors *

AFC Champions League Two The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC Ch ...

runner-up: 2024–25 *

: 2024–25 *

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

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, 2024–25 * Singapore Community Shield: 2024

Individual

Coach of the Year: 2024–25

References

External links

Voetbal International - Aleksandar Ranković

Aleksandar Ranković Stats
at Utakmica.rs 1978 births Living people Footballers from Belgrade Men's association football midfielders Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers Serbian men's footballers FK Rad players SBV Vitesse players ADO Den Haag players FK Partizan players First League of Serbia and Montenegro players Eerste Divisie players Eredivisie players Serbian SuperLiga players Serbia and Montenegro expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Serbian expatriate men's footballers Serbian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Serbian football managers ADO Den Haag managers Lion City Sailors FC managers Eredivisie managers Singapore Premier League managers Serbian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in the Netherlands Expatriate football managers in Singapore Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Singapore ADO Den Haag non-playing staff SBV Vitesse non-playing staff Sparta Rotterdam non-playing staff FC Utrecht non-playing staff {{Serbia-footy-midfielder-stub