ASMIR BEGOVIĆ: PLAYER FOCUS

Clocking in at 199 centimetres and 101 kilograms, Bosnian giant Asmir Begović is AC Milan’s newest goalkeeper. He arrives on loan from Bournemouth after having played the first half of the season for Qarabağ in Azerbaijan, the side knocked out of the Europa League in the group stage this season. Born in 1987, he’s gifted with a huge physique and great intelligence in reading any danger around the area, as well as superb natural instincts between the posts.

Asmir Begović leaves behind an impressive career in the Premier League, where he played 252 games and recorded 61 clean sheets, his first appearance coming for Portsmouth in 2008/09 before a long spell with Stoke City and then a stint at Chelsea. He spent two seasons in a Blues shirt, winning the league title in 2017. Asmir then moved on to Bournemouth for two years before leaving England and heading to Qarabağ. Since his arrival in the Premier League, only five goalkeepers have played more games than Begović in the competition (252): Cech, Foster, Hart, de Gea and Howard.

His time in England will forever be linked to one extraordinary moment that came in his Stoke City days as Asmir entered into the Guinness Book of Records for the longest goal ever: scoring from 92.6 metres in a match against Southampton on 2 November 2013. This goal added him to a list of just five goalkeepers to have ever scored in the Premier League (together with Paul Robinson, Peter Schmeichel, Tim Howard and Brad Friedel).

Begović has made 62 caps for the Bosnian National Team, including three in the 2014 World Cup group stage. Before finally opting for Bosnia in 2009, he had already made eleven appearances for the Canadian U20s thanks to his dual citizenship, including at the 2007 U20 World Cup. He joins his fellow countryman Rade Krunić here at Milan.
 

The official PUMA match kits for the 2019/20 season are available in the AC Milan Online Store!