Asmir Begović
Asmir Begović (born 20 June 1987) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Everton, and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team as a goalkeeper.
Begović spent most of his childhood in Germany and Canada as a refugee from the Bosnian War. He signed for English club Portsmouth in the summer of 2003. He was loaned to Belgian side La Louvière in 2005, and later gained experience in The Football League with Macclesfield Town, Bournemouth, Yeovil Town and Ipswich Town. He made his Premier League debut for Portsmouth in May 2009 and took over from David James in 2009–10. However Portsmouth’s financial problems led him to be sold to Stoke City for £3.25 million in February 2010. He spent the remainder of the 2009–10 season as backup to veteran Thomas Sørensen, then became first-choice for the rest of his time at Stoke. In the 2012–13 season he played in every single league match and his performances saw him win the 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 against Southampton after 13 seconds. In July 2015, he joined Premier League champions Chelsea for a fee of £8 million.
Begović represented Canada at youth level playing for them at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. In 2009 he decided to change his allegiance and represent his native country, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He soon established himself as their number one goalkeeper and helped them reach the 2014 FIFA World Cup, earning over 40 caps.
Honours
Clubs
Chelsea
Individual
- Canadian U-20 Player of the Year: 2007
- Stoke City Young Player of the Year: 2011
- Stoke City Player of the Year:
2013
- Stoke City Player’s Player of the Year: 2013, 2014
- Stoke City Supporters’ Club Player of Season: 2014
- Stoke City Coaches Player of the Year (joint with Ryan Shawcross): 2013
- Bosnian Footballer of the Year: 2013