Amer Didić (born December 28, 1994) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a centre-back for Canadian Premier League club Atlético Ottawa. Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he represents the Canada national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Amer Didić | ||
| Date of birth | December 28, 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Atlético Ottawa | ||
| Number | 55 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Sherwood Park SA | |||
| FC Edmonton | |||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2015 | Baker Wildcats | 80 | (28) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | Swope Park Rangers | 34 | (1) |
| 2016 | → Sporting Kansas City (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Sporting Kansas City | 0 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → Swope Park Rangers (loan) | 40 | (2) |
| 2019 | San Antonio FC | 2 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | FC Edmonton | 46 | (3) |
| 2022–2023 | Pacific FC | 50 | (6) |
| 2024– | Atlético Ottawa | 1 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015 | Canada Universiade | 3 | (0) |
| 2017 | Canada U23 | 2 | (0) |
| 2020– | Canada | 2 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of April 13, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of January 15, 2020 | |||
Club career
Early career
Born in Zenica, Bosnia and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Didić began playing soccer with Sherwood Park District SA and later spent time in the FC Edmonton Academy system before playing four years of college soccer at Baker University, where he was a two-time NAIA All-American.[1][2] As a senior in 2015, he was named a NSCAA and NAIA All-American, as well as being named the Heart of America Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player.[1][3]
Swope Park Rangers
Didić was signed by United Soccer League side Swope Park Rangers on March 2, 2016.[4] In August 2016, Sporting Kansas City announced that they had signed Didić on a short-term loan, to play in the 2016-17 CONCACAF Champions League against Central FC. Didić made his first team debut on August 16, 2016 in the competition.[5] After receiving rave reviews in his first season with Swope Park Rangers, Didić was named to the 2016 USL All-League First Team.[6]
Sporting Kansas City
In May 2017, after six games with Swope Park in 2017, Didić was signed by Sporting Kansas City for the remainder of the 2017 season, with options for 2018, 2019 and 2020.[7] This made him the first Baker Wildcats soccer player to sign with an MLS club.[1] He remained on loan with Swope Park for the remainder of the season.[8] Upon conclusion of the 2017 season, Sporting KC announced they would exercise Didic's option for the 2018 season.[9] Didić made his first appearance for Sporting KC since the 2016 season when he started in a 2–0 victory over Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 on June 6, 2018. After three seasons with Sporting KC, Didić was released at the end of the 2018 season.[10]
San Antonio FC
In December 2018, Didić signed with United Soccer League club San Antonio FC for the 2019 season.[11] After starting the first two matches of the season on March 9 and 16, Didić was relegated to the bench for the following two games before being left out of the matchday 18 in April.[12] On April 15, 2019, Didić and San Antonio agreed to mutually terminate his contract so that he could pursue other opportunities.[13]
FC Edmonton
Right after his departure from San Antonio, Didić signed with his hometown club, Canadian Premier League side FC Edmonton.[14] That season, he made nineteen league appearances and one appearance in the Canadian Championship.[12] While out of contract during the off-season, Didić went on a preseason trial with Major League Soccer side Vancouver Whitecaps FC.[15] On February 24, 2020, he concluded his trial with Vancouver and returned home.[15] On March 2, 2020, Didić officially re-signed with Edmonton for the 2020 season.[16]
Pacific FC
On February 9, 2022, Didić signed with CPL reigning champions Pacific FC on a free transfer.[17] He left the club at the end of the 2023 season,[18][19] having made a total amount of 63 appearances in all competitions for them.[19]
Atlético Ottawa
On April 4, 2024, Atlético Ottawa announced the signing of the Canadian international, ahead of the 2024 Canadian Premier League season. Didić joined on a free transfer and signed a one-year contract with an option to extend for another season.[20] On April 13, 2024, he made his debut in the season opener against York United FC.[21]
International career
Didić represented the Canadian Interuniversity Sport team at the Universiade in South Korea in 2015.[22]
In March 2017, Didić received his first Canadian youth national team call-up for an under-23 tournament in Qatar.[2] In September of that year, he also received his first senior team call-up for a friendly against Jamaica, but did not appear in the match.[2]
He was recalled to the national team in October 2019 for a CONCACAF Nations League match against the United States.[23]
On January 10, 2020, he made his debut and scored his first goal against Barbados.[24]
Personal life
When he was a toddler, Didić and his family emigrated to Canada in the wake of the Bosnian War, eventually settling in Edmonton, Alberta.[25]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 1 May 2024[12]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | National Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Swope Park Rangers | 2016 | USL | 28 | 1 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 1 | ||
| 2017 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 25 | 2 | ||||
| 2018 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 27 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 74 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 4 | ||
| Sporting Kansas City | 2016 | Major League Soccer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| San Antonio FC | 2019 | USL Championship | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | ||
| FC Edmonton | 2019 | Canadian Premier League | 19 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 20 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 2021 | 24 | 3 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 25 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 46 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 3 | ||
| Pacific FC | 2022 | Canadian Premier League | 26 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 4 |
| 2023 | 24 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 30 | 4 | |||
| Total | 50 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 63 | 8 | ||
| Atlético Ottawa | 2024 | Canadian Premier League | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 4 | 1 | |
| Career total | 175 | 13 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 205 | 16 | ||
International
- As of 16 January 2020
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 2020 | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | |
- As of match played 10 January 2020[2]
- Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Didić goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 January 2020 | Championship Soccer Stadium, Irvine, United States | 1 |  Barbados | 3–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
Honours
Individual
References
External links
- Amer Didić at the Canadian Soccer Association
- Amer Didić at Soccerway