Asmir Begović ( bosnian pronunciation : [ âsmir bêːɡoʋitɕ ] ; born 20 June 1987 ) is a bosnian professional football player who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League cabaret Everton and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Begović started his professional career with English club Portsmouth, signing for them in the summer of 2003. After a sequence of loans, he made his Premier League introduction in May 2009 and was sold to Stoke City for £3.25 million in February 2010. In the 2012–13 season, he played every league match and won the cabaret ‘s Player of the Year award. In November 2013, Begović became the fifth goalkeeper to score a goal in the Premier League, scoring from 97.5 yards ( 89.15 meters ) against Southampton after 13 seconds, besides getting the World Record for ‘longest goal scored in football ‘. In July 2015, he joined Premier League champions Chelsea for a tip of £8 million, remaining second-choice until his be active to AFC Bournemouth two years late.
Reading: Asmir Begović
Begović represented Canada at youth degree playing for them at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. In 2009, he decided to change his allegiance and represent his native state, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He soon established himself as their total one goalkeeper and helped them qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, their beginning major tournament .
Club career [edit ]
early career [edit ]
Begović was born in Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was at the time separate of Yugoslavia, to a Bosniak Muslim kin. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] His forefather, Amir, was besides a goalkeeper who played for Leotar and Iskra Bugojno whilst his mother, Ajnija, hails from Stolac. The Begović family fled the Bosnian War to Germany when Asmir was four years honest-to-god, where he began to play form football with local young person club FC Kirchhausen in Heilbronn. When he was 10, his syndicate moved to Edmonton in Canada. [ 6 ] Begović attended the St. Francis Xavier High School where he played for their academy. [ 7 ] He besides played Minor League Soccer with the Southwest Sting Soccer Club in Edmonton which earned him a call-up to the Canada under-17 squad. [ 7 ] In 2003, he earned a trial with Portsmouth and Tottenham Hotspur and his representatives paid for him to fly over to England. [ 8 ] After two days with Portsmouth, coaches David Hurst and Mark O’Connor were appropriately impress and offered Begović a condense before his trial at Tottenham could begin. [ 8 ]
portsmouth [edit ]
Begović signed a youth condense with Portsmouth in the summer of 2003 and due to him not having a European Union passport he spent two years on an education visa which prevented him from featuring in matches which involved money being taken on the gate. [ 8 ] After playing for the young person team he then spent time on loanword at La Louviere in Belgium in 2005 where he played doubly in the belgian acme flight. [ 8 ] Begović got his UK visa in the summer of 2006 which allowed him to sign on loanword for Macclesfield Town in the 2006–07 season, making his Football League debut in a 1–1 describe at Stockport County on 25 November as an 80th moment alternate, after injury to first gear choice goalkeeper Jonny Brain. [ 9 ] His loan spell was cut short, however, as he sustained a knee injury after making just three appearances. [ 10 ] In August 2007, Begović was loaned to AFC Bournemouth in League One in a deal persistent until January 2008. [ 11 ] He was recalled back from Bournemouth on 11 October 2007. [ 12 ] On 8 December 2007, Begović was named in Portsmouth ‘s 16-man matchday squad for the foremost time in a Premier League plot in a match against Aston Villa as a substitute. [ 13 ] In March 2008, he signed for Yeovil Town on loanword for a calendar month with Portsmouth having the properly to recall him back when they so desired. [ 14 ] On 29 March Begović made his introduction for Yeovil, keeping a clean sheet against Bristol Rovers. [ 15 ] [ 16 ] He was subsequently recalled after making two appearances despite Yeovil trying to re-sign him on an emergency lend. [ 17 ] The “ Glovers ” coach Russell Slade revealed in June 2008 that he wanted to sign Begović on lend again after Steve Mildenhall joined Southend United. [ 18 ] The move was delayed however due to his grandfather passing away. [ 19 ] He rejoined Yeovil on loanword, this time for three months in August 2008. [ 20 ] He made 14 league appearances, keeping three clean sheets in a struggling Yeovil side. Begović made his Portsmouth debut against Sunderland in their 3–1 gain on 18 May 2009. [ 21 ] Following his Premier League debut for Pompey Begović expressed his delight. “ It was antic, to make your first Premier League appearance is something I ‘ve looked ahead to for a long hanker time. ” [ 22 ] He joined Championship team Ipswich Town on lend until 16 January 2010 in October. [ 23 ] On 23 November Begović was recalled to Portsmouth due to David James being injured, ending his Ipswich Town loanword after having played six matches. [ 24 ] On his return to Fratton Park he went on to play 15 first team matches during the 2009–10 season .
Stoke City [edit ]
On 1 February 2010, Begović signed a four-and-a-half-year contract at Stoke City for a tip of £3.25 million. [ 25 ] Following the sign language coach Tony Pulis revealed that he had been tracking Begović for a while. “ We have been tracking Asmir for some time and we believe that potentially he is the best new keeper in the state ”. [ 26 ] Begović had besides held talks with Tottenham Hotspur prior to joining Stoke, but opted for the “ Potters ” due to “ sporting reasons ”. [ 27 ] He later revealed his relief at leaving Portsmouth following their fiscal tumult during the 2009–10 temper. [ 28 ] Portsmouth ended up owing Tottenham money for Begović, despite him turning them down, as Tottenham had already paid Portsmouth an installment on the transfer. [ 29 ] Portsmouth were ordered to pay Tottenham £1 million by the Premier League over the abort transfer as Spurs had already made an initial requital for both Begović and Younès Kaboul. [ 30 ] Begović made his debut for Stoke against Chelsea on 25 April 2010, replacing the injure Thomas Sørensen in the 35th minute, where he conceded five goals. [ 31 ] He kept his first clean sheet for City in a 0–0 hook with Everton on 1 May 2010. [ 32 ] He besides played in the last two games of the 2009–10 temper against Fulham and Manchester United. At the depart of the 2010–11 season Begović was handed the total one jersey by coach Tony Pulis. Begović allegedly refused to play in a League Cup match against Shrewsbury Town, a decision which Pulis said was “ wholly aweless ”. [ 33 ] Begović on the early hand, denied that he had refused to play. [ 34 ] Despite this Begović played his first match of the season in the next orotund of the League Cup against Fulham and then West Ham United. He made his foremost league appearance on 30 October against Everton replacing the injured Sørensen. [ 35 ] Following this Begović took over from Sørensen as City ‘s first choice ‘keeper, he besides ‘made peace ‘ with Tony Pulis with his absence from the Shrewsbury match. [ 36 ] [ 37 ] After a narrow kill at Arsenal in February 2011 Begović believes that Stoke are developing well. [ 38 ] The following workweek against West Ham, Begović made an error gifting a finish to Demba Ba. [ 39 ] Begović missed out on an FA Cup Final with second base option ‘keeper Sørensen being preferred to play in cup matches. [ 40 ] Begović started the 2011–12 season as first choice custodian and earned praise from Tony Pulis after he kept five clean sheets in six matches including a ticket display against Liverpool on 11 September. [ 41 ] however, Begović then conceded eighteen goals in the following seven matches, including a woebegone 5–0 kill by Bolton Wanderers a performance which led him to apologise to the supporters for his display. [ 42 ] Following the Bolton peer he was dropped in favor of Sørensen. [ 43 ] [ 44 ] Begović signed a new four-and-a-half year compress extension with Stoke in December 2011 keeping him at the club until 2016. [ 45 ] He regained number 1 spot in March 2012. [ 46 ] Begović continued as City ‘s number one stopper in 2012–13 and began the season in fine shape concession just 12 goals in the open 15 matches. [ 47 ] [ 48 ] Despite Stoke having a poor second half to the season, Begović remained in decent adequate shape and won the Player of the Year Award. [ 49 ] Begović remained beginning choice ‘keeper going into the 2013–14 season under modern coach Mark Hughes and produced a man of the match performance on the open day against Liverpool. [ 50 ] On 2 November 2013, Begović scored after 13 seconds against Southampton at a distance of 97.5 yards, after his long kick downfield deceived Artur Boruc. [ 51 ] His goal against earned him a put in the 2015 Guinness World Records for the ‘longest goal scored in football ‘. [ 52 ] [ 53 ]
It ‘s a cool touch but it was a fortunate incidental. I feel a bit bad for Boruc. It is a long ball that got caught in the wind and it took a sinful bounce. It ‘s not nice to be on the receiving end of those things as a goalkeeper. It does not make a goalkeeper look good and after it I did not want to celebrate out of respect for him .Begović speaks after scoring against Southampton.[54]
Begović missed his first League meet for about two years at Newcastle United on 26 December after he broke his finger in a training session which ruled him out for five weeks. [ 55 ] He returned to the starting line-up against Chelsea on 26 January 2014. [ 56 ] Begović played 33 times for Stoke in 2013–14 as the team finished in 9th position. [ 57 ] [ 58 ] Begović kept his fiftieth fairly sheet for Stoke on 4 March 2015 in a 2–0 victory over Everton. [ 59 ] [ 60 ] Begović kept his target as act one custodian in 2014–15 dally in 36 matches as Stoke finished the season again in ninth position and they ended the campaign with a 6–1 victory against Liverpool. [ 61 ] [ 62 ] He was dropped by Mark Hughes for three matches in May after making a mistake against Sunderland. [ 63 ] This prompted media meditation about his future at the club. [ 64 ] [ 65 ] indeed, Begović departed the Britannia Stadium in July 2015, in entire he spent five-and-a-half seasons at Stoke making 172 appearances. [ 66 ]
Chelsea [edit ]
Begović playing for Chelsea in 2015 On 13 July 2015, Chelsea signed Begović on a four-year batch for a fee of £8 million. As character of the deal Chelsea besides offered midfielder Marco vanguard Ginkel in function exchange to Stoke on lend for one season. [ 67 ] [ 68 ] [ 69 ] He made his debut nine days later on Chelsea ‘s pre-season go, coming on at half clock for Thibaut Courtois with Chelsea 1–0 up against the New York Red Bulls, but the equal ended in a 4-2 defeat. [ 70 ] His first competitive repair was the 2015 FA Community Shield on 2 August at Wembley Stadium, in which he was unused in a 1–0 passing to rivals Arsenal. [ 71 ] Six days by and by he came on as a substitute for Oscar when Courtois was sent off for conceding a penalty with a disgusting on Bafétimbi Gomis, who converted it for a 2–2 draw. [ 72 ] On 16 August, Begović made his first competitive begin for Chelsea in a 3–0 aside loss to Manchester City. [ 73 ] A calendar month by and by, he earned the first clean tabloid of the season for Chelsea in a UEFA Champions League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv which ended in a 4–0 win for Chelsea. [ 74 ] He kept a sequence of three clean sheets before Courtois returned to the team on 5 December. [ 75 ] In his moment season with Chelsea, Begović did n’t get much play time, and there were speculations that he would leave the clubhouse in the winter transmit window. however, since Chelsea could n’t find a substitution for him, he was forced to stay at Stamford Bridge. [ 76 ] In malice of featuring in only two league games, he received a winners ‘ decoration as Chelsea won the 2016–17 Premier League. [ 77 ]
AFC Bournemouth [edit ]
On 30 May 2017, Begović signed for Premier League club Bournemouth on a long-run contract for an undisclosed fee. [ 78 ] He debuted for Bournemouth on the unfold day of the new Premier League season, in a 0–1 loss against West Bromwich Albion. [ 79 ] Begović kept his first clean plane in the season on 30 September, in a 0–0 draw against Leicester City. [ 80 ] He had another impressive performance, this time against his former club Chelsea, who lost 0–3 to Bournemouth. [ 81 ]
loanword spells to Qarabağ & AC Milan [edit ]
On 2 September 2019, Begović was sent on a 6-month loanword to Qarabağ. [ 82 ] He made his debut for Qarabağ on 15 September 2019, in a 2–0 victory against Neftçi in the Azerbaijan Premier League. [ 83 ] He signed on loanword for Serie A clubhouse AC Milan for the rest of the 2019–20 temper on 13 January 2020. [ 84 ]
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return to AFC Bournemouth [edit ]
Begovic made 45 Championship appearances in the 2020–21 temper, keeping 15 clean sheets. [ 85 ]
Everton [edit ]
On 20 July 2021, Begović joined Everton on an initial 12-month compress with an option for a further year. [ 86 ]
International career [edit ]
Canada [edit ]
Begović was the starting goalkeeper for Canada in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He made respective unmanageable saves for his team in a 3–0 loss to Chile and let in one goal against Austria. Late in the one-third match of the tournament, after allowing two goals, Begović came out of his sphere to play a long ball from a Congo defender. The ball took a high bounce off the wet flip, forcing him to use his hands to prevent it from going over his capitulum. He was shown a square red card, and midfielder Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault was forced to play in goal, as Canada had used up its three substitutes. [ 87 ] On 14 August 2007, 20-year-old Begović received his first call-up to the senior Canada squad for the friendly match with Iceland, but did n’t see any natural process on the pitch. [ 88 ] In November 2008, he accepted another call for Canada ‘s 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier versus Jamaica, but again did n’t get any play time as Lars Hirschfeld was the prefer option in goal. Players with double nationality, like Begović, who had already played for a country ‘s national team at youth flush, were not allowed to switch nationalities after they turned 21, but on 3 June 2009 FIFA removed the age limit. [ 89 ] In deep June 2009, he spoke with bosnian head coach Miroslav Blažević about the hypothesis of making his debut for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Quotes in the bosnian media seemed to indicate Begović ‘s intent to play for the country of his give birth. [ 90 ] Begović missed the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup for Canada saying Portsmouth wanted him to spend the whole pre-season with the baseball club. On 12 July 2009 on Full-Time: Vancouver’s Soccer Show on the team 1040 radio in Canada he indicated his desire to continue with the Canadian national team. He suggested that comments he had made to Bosnia ‘s principal coach had been misinterpreted due to hapless translation. In the same interview, Begović besides said :
I ‘ve played for Canada for a long time. There ‘s no decisiveness, I do n’t want to switch … but there is a state of doubt with Canada soccer ( next coach, etc ). Get things in place and I ‘m happy to stay with Canada, that ‘s where I see my future … I ‘ve been approached by Bosnia. There were talks … but I have no intention on playing for Bosnia. [ 91 ]
Bosnia and Herzegovina [edit ]
however, less than two months late, Begović changed his mind and on 21 August 2009 accepted a call-up for two Bosnia 2010 World Cup qualifiers : away at Armenia on 5 September 2009, and four days subsequently versus Turkey at home in Zenica. During the pre-match preparations, Begović gave an interview to the Bosnian web portal, stating among other things :
I was born in Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina is my fatherland and I would n’t be disappointed even if I do n’t get a casual to play right away. [ 92 ]
He did not play in either pit. however, his debut for the national team ultimately came in the future qualifier against Estonia. He came on to replace Kenan Hasagić in the 92nd minute of the match, in which Bosnia won the meet with a final examination seduce of 2–0. [ 93 ] On 3 March 2010, he played a significant role in a couple for the first time as he got to play the second half in Bosnia ‘s friendly match against Ghana. Bosnia won the match 2–1 and Begović did n’t concede any goals. [ 94 ] He received his first full cap against Sweden in May 2010. Bosnia lost the match 4–2, but Begović was not responsible for any of the goals according to the bosnian media, as they blamed Bosnia ‘s defense for the goals. [ 95 ] He caused controversy after he pulled away of Bosnia ‘s friendlies against Slovakia and Mexico. [ 96 ] Since August 2012, Begović has been the first choice goalkeeper for the national team. On 27 May 2013, Begović has been voted the 2012 Bosnian Footballer of the year by the Bosnian Sport Writers ‘ Jury. [ 97 ] On 16 October 2013 Bosnia defeated Lithuania 1–0 to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, their beginning major tournament. [ 98 ] In June 2014, he was named in Bosnia and Herzegovina ‘s police squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, [ 99 ] where he played full 90 minutes in all 3 matches .
personal life [edit ]
On 18 June 2011, Begović married his American-born wife, Nicolle Howard, with whom he has two daughters, Taylor and Blair Rose Begović. [ 100 ] [ 101 ] [ 102 ] In April 2011 he joined FC Edmonton ‘s charity ‘Kicks for Kids Program ‘. [ 103 ] Begović was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina while it was part of the SFR Yugoslavia, and moved to Germany at the age of four. [ 104 ] Growing up in Germany, Begović supported Bayern Munich and cites goalkeeping big Oliver Kahn as his inhalation. He besides attended matches at his local baseball club VfB Stuttgart. [ 105 ] Along with his native Bosnian, Begović is fluent in three extra languages : german, english and french. [ 106 ] In October 2013 he set up his own charity, the Asmir Begović Foundation. [ 107 ] Begović ‘s younger brother Denis plays for Bristol City ‘s Under 18s as a goalkeeper. [ 108 ]
career statistics [edit ]
club [edit ]
- As of match played 21 September 2021[109]
International [edit ]
- As of match played 7 September 2020[125]
National team
Year
Apps
Goals
Bosnia and Herzegovina
2009
1
0
2010
3
0
2011
5
0
2012
9
0
2013
9
0
2014
11
0
2015
9
0
2016
7
0
2017
7
0
2018
1
0
2020
1
0
Total
63
0
Honours [edit ]
Chelsea
Qarabağ FK
Canada U23
Individual
See besides [edit ]
References [edit ]
Read more: Timothy Castagne