Asmir Begović

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Asmir Begović
Begovic.jpg
Personal information
Full name Asmir Begović
Date of birth 20 June 1987 (1987-06-20) (age 24)
Place of birth Trebinje, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) [1]
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club Stoke City
Number 1
Youth career
2000–2003 Kirchhausen
2003–2005 Portsmouth
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2005–2010 Portsmouth 11 (0)
2005 → La Louvière (loan) 2 (0)
2006 → Macclesfield Town (loan) 3 (0)
2007 → Bournemouth (loan) 8 (0)
2008 → Yeovil Town (loan) 16 (0)
2009 → Ipswich Town (loan) 6 (0)
2010– Stoke City 47 (0)
National team‡
2004–2007 Canada U-20 11 (0)
2009– Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:57, 10 March 2012 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:05, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Asmir Begović (born 20 June 1987) is a Bosnian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Stoke City and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.

While growing up Begović lived in Bosnia, Germany and Canada. In 2003 he moved again this time to England where he joined Portsmouth's academy. He went out on loan to five clubs in order to gain first team experience before making his Portsmouth debut in May 2009. Begović joined Stoke City for a fee of £3.25m in January 2010 where he has established himself as first choice goalkeeper.

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] Portsmouth

Begović signed a youth contract with Portsmouth in 2003 and spent time on loan at La Louviere in Belgium in 2005. He signed on loan for Macclesfield Town in the 2006–07 season, making his Football League debut in a 1–1 draw at Stockport County on 25 November as an 80th minute substitute, after injury to first choice goalkeeper Jonny Brain.[2] His loan spell was cut short, however, as he sustained a knee injury after making just three appearances.[3]

In August 2007, Begović was loaned to Bournemouth in League One in a deal lasting until January 2008.[4] He was recalled back from Bournemouth on 11 October 2007.[5] On 8 December 2007, Begović was named in Portsmouth's 16-man matchday squad for the first time in a Premier League game in a match against Aston Villa as a substitute.

In March 2008, he signed for Yeovil Town on loan for a month with Portsmouth having the right to recall him back when they so desired.[6] On 29 March Begović made his debut for Yeovil, keeping a clean sheet against Bristol Rovers.[7][8] He was subsequently recalled after making two appearances despite Yeovil trying to re-sign him on an emergency loan.[9] The Glovers manager Russell Slade revealed in June 2008 that he wants to sign Begović on loan again after Steve Mildenhall joined Southend United.[10] The move was delayed however due to his grandfather passing away.[11] He rejoined Yeovil on loan, this time for three months in August 2008.[12] 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 win on 18 May 2009.[13] Following his Premier League debut for Pompey Begović expressed his delight. "It was fantastic. To make your first Premier League appearance is something I've looked forward to for a long long time."[14] He joined Championship team Ipswich Town on loan until 16 January 2010 in October.[15] On 23 November Begović was recalled to Portsmouth due to David James being injured, ending his Ipswich Town loan after having played six matches.[16] On his return to Pompey he went on to play 15 first team matches during the 2009–10 season.

[edit] Stoke City

On 1 February 2010, Begović signed a four and a half year contract at Stoke City for a fee of £3.25m.[17] Following the signing manager 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 young keeper in the country. It was important we brought in another goalkeeper because we were a bit exposed in that department. Most clubs in the Premier League have three experienced keepers, but we had managed with just the two for a long time"
—Stoke manager Tony Pulis has high hopes for Asmir Begović.[18]

Begović had also held talks with Tottenham Hotspur prior to joining Stoke, but opted for The Potters due to "sporting reasons". He later revealed his relief at leaving Portsmouth following their financial turmoil during the 2009–10 season.[19] In a bizarre turn of events, it was revealed that Portsmouth in fact owe Tottenham money for Begović, despite him turning them down to play for Stoke, as Tottenham had already paid Portsmouth an installment on the transfer.[20] Portsmouth were ordered to pay Tottenham £1million by the Premier League over the aborted transfer as Spurs had already paid an initial payment for both Begović and Younès Kaboul.[21]

Begović made his debut for Stoke against Chelsea on 25 April 2010, replacing the injured Thomas Sørensen in the 35th minute.[22] He kept his first clean sheet for City in a 0–0 draw with Everton on the 1 May 2010.[23] He also played in the last two games of the 2009–10 season against Fulham and Manchester United. At the start of the 2010–11 season Begović was handed the number one jersey by manager Tony Pulis. Begović allegedly refused to play in a League Cup match against Shrewsbury Town a decision which Pulis says is totally disrespectful.[24] Begović on the other hand, denied that he had refused to play.[25]

Despite this Begović played his first match of the season in the next round of the League Cup against Fulham and then West Ham United. He made his first league appearance on the 30 October against Everton replacing the injured Sørensen.[26] Following this Begović has taken over from Sørensen as City's first choice 'keeper, he has also 'made peace' with Tony Pulis with his absence from the Shrewsbury match.[27][28] After a narrow defeat at Arsenal in February 2011 Begović believes that Stoke are developing well.[29] The following week against West Ham, Begović made an error gifting a goal to Demba Ba.[30] Begović missed out on a FA Cup Final with second choice 'keeper Sørensen being preferred to play in cup matches.[31]

Begović started the 2011–12 season as first choice keeper and has earned praise from Tony Pulis after keeping five clean sheets in six matches including a fine display against Liverpool on 11 September.[32] However, since then Begović has conceded eighteen goals in seven matches including a 5–0 defeat by Bolton a performance which led him to apologise to the supporters for his display.[33] Following the Bolton match he was dropped in favour of Sørensen.[34][35] Begović signed a new four and a half year contract extension with Stoke in December 2011 keeping at the club until 2016.[36]

[edit] International career

[edit] Canada

Begović appeared for Canada in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup after appearing in an Adidas commercial as part of an ad campaign ahead of the tournament. He made several crucial saves for his team in a 3–0 loss to Chile. Late in the third round robin match of the tournament, Begović came out of his area to play a long ball from a Congo defender. The ball took a high bounce off the wet pitch, forcing him to use his hands to prevent it from going over his head. He was shown a straight red card, and midfielder Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault was forced to play in goal, as Canada had used up its three substitutes.[37]

On August 14, 2007, 20-year-old Begović received his first call-up to the senior Canadian squad for the friendly match with Iceland, but didn't see any action on the pitch.[38]

In November 2008, he accepted another call for Canada's 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier versus Jamaica, but again didn't get any playing time as Lars Hirschfeld was the preferred option in goal. Begović missed the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup for Canada due to Portsmouth wanting him to spend the whole pre-season with the team. In late June 2009, he spoke with Bosnian head coach Miroslav Blažević about the possibility of making his debut for the Bosnian national football team. Quotes in the Bosnian media seemed to indicate Begović's intent to play for the country of his birth,[39] however on July 12, 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.[40]

He suggested that comments he had made to Bosnia's head coach had been misinterpreted due to poor translation. In the same interview, Begović also said, "I've played for Canada for a long time. There's no decision, I don’t want to switch… but there is a state of uncertainty 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."

[edit] Bosnia and Herzegovina

However, less than two months later, Begović changed his mind and on August 21, 2009 accepted a call up for two Bosnian 2010 World Cup qualifiers: away at Armenia on September 5, 2009, and four days later 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 homeland and I wouldn't be disappointed even if I don't get a chance to play right away".[41] He did not play in either match. However, his debut for the national team finally came in the next qualifier against Estonia. He came on to replace Kenan Hasagić in the 92nd minute of the match, in which Bosnia won the match with a final score of 2–0.[42]

On March 3 he played a significant role in a match 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 didn't concede any goals.[43] 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. He caused controversy after he pulled out of Bosnia's friendlies against Slovakia and Mexico.[44]

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Club

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other[A] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Portsmouth 2008–09 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – 2 0
2009–10 9 0 3 0 3 0 – – 15 0
Total 11 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 17 0
La Louvière (loan) 2005–06 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – 2 0
Total 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Macclesfield Town (loan) 2006–07 3 0 1 0 0 0 – 0 0 4 0
Total 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Bournemouth (loan) 2007–08 8 0 0 0 0 0 – 1 0 9 0
Total 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 9 0
Yeovil Town (loan) 2007–08 2 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 0 2 0
2008–09 14 0 0 0 0 0 – 0 0 14 0
Total 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 0
Ipswich Town (loan) 2009–10 6 0 0 0 0 0 – – 6 0
Total 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
Stoke City 2009–10 4 0 0 0 0 0 – – 4 0
2010–11 28 0 0 0 2 0 – – 30 0
2011–12 15 0 3 0 0 0 5 0 – 23 0
Total 47 0 3 0 2 0 5 0 0 0 57 0
Career total 93 0 7 0 5 0 5 0 1 0 111 0

[edit] Footnotes

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Football League Trophy.

[edit] International

As of June 2011[45]

Bosnia and Herzegovina national team
Year Apps Goals
2009 1 0
2010 3 0
2011 5 0
2012 1 0
Total 10 0

[edit] Personal life

Asmir was born in Trebinje, Yugoslavia later to become part of what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina to a Bosniak family.[46] His father, Amir Begović,[47] was a goalkeeper for FK Leotar from Trebinje and FK Iskra from Stolac. His mother's name is Ajnija, who is from Stolac. The Begović family fled war-torn Bosnia for Germany when Asmir was four years old, where he began to play organized football. When he was 10, his family moved to Edmonton, Alberta.[48] In 2004 they moved back to Germany to follow Asmir's youth football development. On 18 June 2011, Begović married his American wife, Nicolle, with whom he has a daughter, Taylor.[49][50][51][52]

Growing up in Germany, Begović supported giants Bayern Munich and cites goalkeeping great Oliver Kahn as his inspiration. He also attend matches at his local club VfB Stuttgart.[53]

[edit] Honours

[edit] Individual

[edit] References

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  29. ^ "Stoke City are developing well - keeper Asmir Begovic". BBC Sport. 25 February 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/9407129.stm. Retrieved 27 February 2011. 
  30. ^ "Stoke boss Tony Pulis backs Asmir Begovic after error". BBC Sport. 6 March 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/9416177.stm. Retrieved 4 June 2011. 
  31. ^ "Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic accepts FA Cup omission". BBC Sport. 26 April 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/9468359.stm. Retrieved 4 June 2011. 
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  45. ^ "Begović, Asmir". National Football Teams. http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=24153. Retrieved 5 June 2011. 
  46. ^ Bill Lankhof (2007-07-01). "Asmir's world settled at last". Sun Media Corp.. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Columnists/Lankhof/2007/07/01/4305227-sun.html. Retrieved 2009-11-09. 
  47. ^ http://san.ba/index.php?id=10214
  48. ^ Bill Lankhof (2007-07-01). "Asmir's world settled at last". Sun Media Corp.. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Columnists/Lankhof/2007/07/01/4305227-sun.html. Retrieved 2009-11-09. 
  49. ^ "Odbio sam stati na gol Engleske". SAN Dnevne novine. 2009-11-13. http://san.ba/index.php?id=9165. 
  50. ^ http://san.ba/index.php?id=19224
  51. ^ http://www.sarajevo-x.com/showtime/showbiz/clanak/110623154#
  52. ^ http://scsport.ba/v2/tekst.php?ID=27390
  53. ^ Stoke City Official Matchday Magazine 24 September 2011 v Manchester United

[edit] External links

Stoke City F.C. – current squad
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