Resilient is a word Asmir Begovic uses a lot. He uses it to describe his Everton side, whose new-found fortitude was forged in a relegation battle that threatened to engulf the club last season.
It also comes up when he talks about his glove brand AB1, which was launched in 2019 to go up against the giants of the sportswear world, only for a global pandemic to shut down football and plunge start-ups like his into deep uncertainty.
It is also an apt description of Begovic himself, whose formative experience as a child refugee fleeing the Balkan conflict makes him one of the most remarkable footballers in the Premier League.
He was just four when his family left war-torn Trebinje and his father Amir – himself a useful goalkeeper playing in the Yugoslavian second division – had to take the difficult decision to move them to Germany.
They eventually settled in Canada and Begovic still gets the occasional flashback to those days when his family had nothing but the compassion of the communities they moved into. It has deeply imprinted in him the importance of giving back.
“I have been a refugee twice in my life. I’ve had to overcome some difficult situations, my whole family have,” he tells i.
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“It helped me a lot in my life and I don’t feel sorry for myself. I don’t think ‘poor me’ – I went through it and I wouldn’t change it for anything because it has made me who I am today.
“I’ve always been keen to give back and help out less fortunate people because I’ve been in that situation and know what it’s like, so that is why I do some of the things I do.”
Begovic might lay claim to being the Premier League’s busiest footballer. He runs a charitable foundation, a goalkeeping academy and lays on goalkeeping clinics in disadvantaged communities throughout the UK and Europe. He is also the only player in the world to own and run his own glove brand.
“I’m a professional first and foremost but when opportunities come up, I like to take them,” he says. “Goalkeeping is a huge passion of mine and runs through my family – my grandad and my dad were both goalkeepers.
“It was a bit of a leap of faith to set up the brand and it hasn’t always been easy but it’s been an incredible journey. I’m the only goalkeeper who has his own brand and my business model was always to try and be competitive with prices so families and parents can afford it.”
A key part of the business is running a glove bank, which collects used gloves and finds projects and underprivileged areas where they can be put to use. Encouraging kids without access to the equipment to think seriously about goalkeeping is a real passion of his.
All of this activity might be mistaken for Begovic starting to wind down his playing career but retirement is not a consideration, even at the age of 35. He remains a solid understudy to Jordan Pickford, filling in with distinction in a 1-0 win over West Ham last month. Whisper it quietly, but there is a shift in feeling at Goodison Park ahead of a game-changing stadium move.
“Last season was difficult for so many reasons,” Begovic says. “We came through it, it was character-building in a way.
“It taught us a lot and we don’t want to make those mistakes again. It’s a great club with a humongous fanbase, great supporters and an incredible tradition and we want to be the players who take that forward into the new stadium.”
Asked to sum up this season so far he opts for “solid”.
“We’re competitive in every game – you can tell the manager has had a pre-season to get his information in rather than fighting fires every week,” Begovic says.
The Bosnian says Frank Lampard is an excellent man-manager.
“He’s very impressive,” Begovic says. “He commands respect. You can tell when he speaks people listen and his playing career helps with that. He’s a really, really good fit.”
The desire to play on is there and in an ideal world he’ll be part of the squad that moves to the new ground at Bramley-Moore Dock in 2024.
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The bonds between players and fans at Goodison Park are growing and the squad is “close”. He can empathise deeply, too, with the dreadful plight of team-mate Vitalii Mykolenko and the Ukranian people displaced by a war so like the one which had such a profound impact on his own family’s life.
“I can relate to those people. It brings it home to me. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone but these things happen in life, unfortunately,” he says. “All we can do is help each other. It’s what I’m determined to do.”
Asmir Begovic’s glove brand can be found at ab1gk.com, along with more information on the glove bank initiative
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