Asmir Begović

Asmir Begović (Bosnian pronunciation: [âsmir bêːɡoʋitɕ]; born 20 June 1987) is a Bosnian professional footballer who most recently played as a goalkeeper for EFL League One club Leicester City.

Begović started his senior career at Portsmouth, signing for them in the summer of 2003. After a sequence of loans, he made his Premier League debut 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 club'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, also getting the World Record for "longest goal scored in football". In July 2015, he joined Premier League champions Chelsea for a fee of £8 million, remaining second-choice until his move to AFC Bournemouth two years later. After losing his place to Artur Boruc early in 2019, he was loaned to Qarabağ and AC Milan before signing for Everton. From there he played at Queens Park Rangers, Everton for a second spell and Leicester City.

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 qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, their first major tournament.

Early life
Begović was born in Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was at the time part of Yugoslavia, to a Muslim family of Bosnian origin.[4] His father, Amir, was also 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 old, where he began to play organised football with local youth club FC Kirchhausen in Heilbronn. When he was 10, his family moved to Edmonton in Canada.[5] More...