At Everton between 2021 - 2023
Asmir Begović was born in Trebinje, the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His father, Amir, was also a goalkeeper who played for Bosnian clubs Leotar and Iskra Bugojno.
The family moved to Germany to escape the Bosnian war when he was just 4 years old, before moving to Canada 6 years later. There, Asmir played Minor League Soccer for Southwest Sting in Edmonton, and was rewarded with a call up to the Canada under-17 squad.
Begović moved to England in 2003 and signed a youth contract with Portsmouth.
After two years in Portsmouth's academy, he loaned to Belgian club La Louviere, and then to Macclesfield Town, where he suffered a knee injury. In August 2007, he signed on loan for AFC Bournemouth, making 9 appearances before returning to Portsmouth in 2007.
He had 2 short loan spells at Yeovil Town in 2008, and another at Ipswich Town in 2009, before signing a permanent 4 1/2 year deal with Stoke City on 1st February 2010, for a reported fee of £3.25 million.
It was in the Potteries that he really made his mark, playing more than 150 times across a five-year period.
His debut came against Chelsea, before and kept a clean sheet against Everton the following week.
He was awarded Player Of The Year following the 2011-2012 season, and went on to keep 50 clean sheets for Stoke City. On 2nd November 2013, he made the Guiness Book Of World Records with the 'longest goal scored in football', scoring from 97.5 yards after just 13 seconds, versus Southampton. He would go on to make over 160 appearances for the Potters.
On 27th May 2013, Begović was voted the '2012 Bosnian Footballer of the Year' by the Bosnian Sport Writers' Jury. Also, in 2013, the Asmir Begovic Foundation was founded with the goal to build and improve recreational facilities both in England and Bosnia and Herzegovina, encouraging children to be active and provide them with the opportunity to get involved in sports.
On 13th July 2015, Asmir Begović signed for Chelsea on a four-year deal for a reported fee of £8 million, providing cover for Thibaut Courtois. Opportunities to play were slim, and after 2 seasons, with only 19 appearances, it was time to look for a move.
With first-team football a priority, he signed for AFC Bournemouth on 30th May 2017.
During the 2017-2018 season at The Cherries, Begović played every minute of every Premier League game, keeping six clean sheets as they finished in 12th place. He then made 24 appearances in the Premier League in 2018-2019 as the Cherries finished 14th.
Begović spent the first half of the 2019/20 season on loan to Qarabag, in the Azerbaijan Premier League, making 17 appearances in all competitions, including five in the Europa League.
In January 2020, he joined Serie A outfit AC Milan on loan for the remainder of the 2019-2020 campaign and made two appearances for the Rossoneri.
Bournemouth were relegated at the end of the 2019-2020 campaign, so Begović returned to the club in the Championship for the 2020-2021 season, playing a further 51 times for The Cherries in all competitions, until the end of his contract.
Asmir Begović also has over 60 international caps for the Bosnia and Herzegovina National team.
On 20th July 2021, Everton announced that Begović had joined the club on an initial 12-month contract with an option for a further year.
“When I first heard of the possibility of joining Everton, I was really excited,” said Begović. Opportunities like this don’t come around every day so I’m honoured and pleased to be here".
“The ambition is to get this club to where it belongs. We want to be challenging for those European spots, challenging for trophies and being in that upper echelon of the league. With the squad we have, the fan base, and the tradition of the Club, everything is in place for us to be successful.”
Asmir left Everton at the end of the 2022-2023 campaign.
