Daniel Bennett

Early life Bennett was born in Great Yarmouth, England. However, his family moved to Singapore shortly after when he was two years old. He was educated in Singapore at Tanglin Trust School and the United World College of South East Asia, where his father Andrew was a teacher and later headmaster until 2004. Bennett graduated with an honours degree in Sports Science from Loughborough University.

Club career Early career and club debut Bennett was selected to join the FAS Milo Scheme for talented young footballers at the age of 12.

Balestier Central Bennett returned to Singapore in 1999 hoping to make a career as a professional footballer. Then Balestier Central coach P. N. Sivaji gave him his first opportunity with the S.League club.

Tanjong Pagar United Bennett moved to previous club Tanjong Pagar United (formerly Tiong Bahru) in May 2000. Having played as a midfielder for 15 years, his defining career shift to defence came when coach Tohari Paijan played him as a centre-back in the absence of regular stopper Lim Tong Hai in a league match.

Recognition of his performances came when he was selected in the Singapore selection that faced Manchester United and Liverpool in a couple of high-profile friendly matches, and culminated in a S.League Player of the Year award.

Wrexham Bradford City manager Jim Jefferies was impressed with Bennett and offered him a trial at the Yorkshire club. On 8 February 2002, Wrexham manager Denis Smith signed him on a short-term contract til the end of the 2001-02 Football League. Although it is not known how much Wrexham had paid to secure the deal, the club's fans paid money to ensure the club could secure Bennett's signature. He made his league debut against Port Vale on 6 March 2002, partnering Trinidad & Tobago international Dennis Lawrence in the heart of defence. He was assessed as "enjoying a remarkable start, looking composed at the back and reading the game superbly" by the fans, who had contributed money to sign the player. Bennett made over 20 appearances for the Welsh side but with the Welsh side 4th from bottom in the league, relegation was confirmed at the end of the season.

He returned to Wrexham in the 2002-03 season. Bennett was offered new terms by Wrexham at the end of the season but chose to reject the contract to return to Singapore to improve his chances of featuring regularly for the national team.

Return to the S.League Amid interest from Home United, Tampines Rovers and Woodlands Wellington after his Wales stint, Bennett signed for defending champions Singapore Armed Forces in mid-2003.

Woodlands Wellington He moved to ambitious Woodlands Wellington in 2005, joining his international colleagues Agu Casmir, Itimi Dickson, Goh Tat Chuan and Masrezwan Masturi. Bennett led the team to 3rd place in the 2005 S.League, and 2nd and 3rd placing in the 2005 and 2006 Singapore Cup respectively.

Back to SAFFC After two seasons with the Rams, Bennett rejoined Singapore Armed Forces for a second time, achieving the S.League and Singapore Cup double in 2007 and 2008.

In the 2007 Singapore Cup final won by Singapore Armed Forces on 25 November, Bennett was involved in a clash with Tampines Rovers' Noh Alam Shah, a fellow Singapore national team player towards the end of the match. Noh Alam Shah kneed Bennett in the head in a tussle for the ball and after being dragged away by his team-mates, returned and kicked Bennett in the head. Bennett was knocked unconscious and had to be taken to hospital while Alam Shah was sent off by referee Abas Daud. The incident resulted in Alam Shah receiving a 12-month global ban which was reduced to 7 months on appeal.

Bennett was handed the club's captaincy in 2012. As captain he won the Singapore Cup in 2012 as well as the league title in 2014.

Geylang International After playing for the Warriors for nine years and amassing four league titles and winning the Singapore Cup three times, Bennett signed for Geylang International ahead of the 2016 S.League campaign. He was a key cog of the Eagles defence, helping the team to the league's third-best defensive record, with 29 goals conceded in 24 games as Geylang finished fifth in the nine-team competition.

Tampines Rovers In 2017, Bennett joined the 6th S.League club of his career, signing for Tampines Rovers for the 2017 S.League season. On 7 July 2021, Bennett scored the only goal for Tampines Rovers in the 2021 AFC Champions League group stage fixtures encounter against Gamba Osaka in an 8–1 defeat at the Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. At 43 years and 181 days, Bennett also eclipsed Dejan Damjanović (39 years and 341 days) as the oldest ever scorer in the tournament's history.

Tanjong Pagar United In January 2022, Bennett returned to Tanjong Pagar United for the second time after over 20 years. He will play for the Jaguars for the 2022 Singapore Premier League season. On 9 March 2022, Bennett scored a header against Hougang United which put him to become the league's oldest scorer at 44 years and 239 days, breaking Aleksandar Đurić's record of scoring at 43 years and 284 days.

International career Daniel Bennett at Changi Airport, returning home with the triumphant Singapore team after the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship final.

After deliberating for two years, Bennett applied for Singaporean citizenship and therefore became eligible to become a Singapore national footballer. He made his debut under then head coach Jan B. Poulsen in a friendly match against the Philippines on 11 December 2002. He had a goal disallowed that day, an effort that he still maintains was a legitimate goal.

He would score his first international goal against Hong Kong on 4 August 2003.

However, Bennett and his country would achieve significant successes in football within the next few years. Under coach Radojko Avramović, Bennett never missed a call-up to Singapore's tournament squad. He scored with a long-range effort in the 3rd minute of the 2004 finals first leg against Indonesia in front of an intimidating 100,000 Senayan crowd. With his 122nd appearance in the away leg of the 2012 ASEAN Football Championship finals, Bennett surpassed Aide Iskandar and Malek Awab as Singapore's most capped player. Bennett subsequently completed a hat-trick of titles with tournament wins in 2007 and 2012.

As of January 2017, Bennett amassed 132 caps, tied with Shahril Ishak as Singapore's most-capped player.

Career statistics Club

( - ) indicates unavailable referenced data conforming to reliable sources guidelines.

International Scores and results list Singapore's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bennett goal.

Honours SAFFC (Warriors FC) Singapore Premier League: 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014 Singapore Cup: 2007, 2008, 2012 Singapore Community Shield: 2008, 2010, 2015

Wrexham FAW Premier Cup: 2002–03

Tampines Rovers Singapore Cup: 2019 Singapore Community Shield: 2020

Singapore ASEAN Football Championship: 2004, 2007, 2012

Individual S.League Player of the Year: 2001