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The game against Reading was a flawless microcosm for Asmir Begovic’s Bournemouth career.
In fact, it effortlessly personified the fluctuating shifts that’s encompassed his time on the Dorset south coast.
In the third minute on Saturday, Darren Bond pointed to the spot. Bournemouth’s goalkeeper was judged to have brought down Alfa Semedo. Begovic’s mistimed lunge rounded off a perplexing sequence of football, aided by some extremely slack defending from a Cherries vantage point.
While he won’t be the only player to consider in the aftermath and during the cross-examination from the coaching prosecution on Monday, the marked error would have held him mostly accountable.
The next stage of his Bournemouth career transpired as he trudged down the tunnel at half-time, 2-0 down and with a distinct feeling of being neither here nor there. He had reached the stage of limbo.
After the penalty was converted, Begovic was a relative bystander for the next 40 minutes. He couldn’t have done much about Sone Aluko’s second, which probably only accentuated his first and only error. While Bournemouth huffed and puffed at the other end, he was left to stew on his desperate lunge out on Semedo and painstakingly waited to atone. There would be no crossfire of action nor any chance to recompense.
By now, it was beginning to bear resemblances to the same helpless feelings that had intertwined his last 12 months. After a catalogue of goalkeeping mishaps in the 2018/19 season along with the emergence of Aaron Ramsdale, Begovic got sent packing on a year-long tour of Europe. From sitting comfortably at the top of the pile – Begovic had played every minute in Bournemouth’s 2017/18 campaign – he was now left at bottom of the debris, desperately scrambling to keep some form of normality alive.
A move abroad meant his Bournemouth career would be left on pause and in a flux of disorientation. Although one could never assume it to be completely finished, it was left to be largely unattended.
He would arrive in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he joined Qarabağ on an initial six-month loan deal. But the temporary move would be cut short as he would move to Italy and provide ample back-up to Gianluigi Donnarumma at AC Milan just four months later.
But the COVID-19 crisis only fuelled the plight of anarchy in his own career, with the global pandemic curtailing his loan and the Serie A season.
His performance against Reading was a perfect embodiment to the series of trials and tribulations he had undergone. At times, it was chaotic, at other times serene. In truth, it was a game that epitomised the nature of his topsy-turvy, helter-skelter professional career in the south.
A nomadic at some points, settled in others, Begovic is a peculiar goalkeeper to consider. At Stoke he would be the categoric first choice, at Chelsea he sometimes wouldn’t even make the bench. Life as a goalkeeper is precarious and fortunes change quickly. And Asmir Begovic is the quintessential example of that.
In the 84th minute on Sunday and Bournemouth now 3-2 up following one of their trademark spells of somehow finding a surge of overwhelming momentum, Begovic was called into action. Reading were still reeling but did have a corner and a chance to wrestle some of the chaos back in favour.
A downward header from Lucas Joao skidded off the surface and headed for the bottom left corner. It clattered off the inside of the post and darted for the inside of the net. But Begovic would now complete his own cycle of stages – reformation.
Begovic flung himself to claw the ball away and turned the ball round for another corner. For a split second, the Reading players reacted like they had been transported back in time and to 1970, when Gordon Banks proceeded to keep out a header from Pele. Any internal shock the Reading players were already experiencing only heightened to unprecedented levels. In a crowd less stadium, loud gasps were tangible. No one could quite fathom how the Bosnian had managed it.
Four minutes later, Dominic Solanke wrapped up the victory after Begovic’s direct counterpart Rafael briefly anointed himself as a centre-back, attempting to dribble round the forward. In a chaotic passage of play, there had been goalkeeping brilliance at one end, goalkeeping embarrassment at the other.
Begovic’s stage of reformation had its final act in the 93rd minute after a sticking an outstretched leg out to deny Michael Olise. Begovic had brushed himself down and finished the game on top; that’s what experience does.
For all Reading’s vibrant youthful play, they caved in second half, ostensibly lacking the necessary experience to close the game out. Begovic, at 33-years-old, has largely seen and done it all. And playing in three different countries in 12 different months, with a small matter of a global pandemic to contend with at the same time, only adds further wisdom.
After missing the first game of this season, Begovic has become a constant in Jason Tindall’s side. Tindall is a burgeoning manager who for all his years as Eddie Howe’s sounding board, lacks the knowhow to be the man in the spotlight. Having a trusted on-pitch aide in Begovic is certainly helping.
The Bournemouth keeper, who had a loan spell at the club over 13 years ago, offers maturity to an unsettled backline and often acts as a role model for the other glovemen coming through the ranks. With Artur Boruc having left in the summer, it now leaves Begovic to become the wise-head in that department. His back-up Mark Travers is 12 years his junior.
During games Bournemouth are a relatively quiet, subdued outfit, that can sometimes show fleeting moments of trepidation. Throughout the 90 minutes against Reading, Begovic was the mouthpiece. He could be heard at either end with clear, concise audible instructions visibly tightening a creaking defence.
The relationship between Begovic and Tindall is proving conducive in other ways, too. Tindall’s more pragmatic approach plays to Begovic’s strengths and conceals other fragilities within his arsenal. The Bosnian has never been the most expansive with his feet or in his passing range, so Tindall placing less emphasis on passing through the thirds has significantly assisted Begovic in restoring confidence.
Not only has Begovic came back from the brink, but he’s one of a handful of leaders in the team. At the start of November, the 63-time capped international was given the captaincy after Steve Cook was suspended.
“He’s got a great presence. He’s a great leader on the pitch and off the pitch in the changing room. He’s a great player to have out there on the field and within your squad,” said Tindall.
“I’ve been delighted with Asmir since he’s been back and with the performances he’s shown since he’s been in the team. It’s great to have him here. He’s a big character, the players look up to him and always go to him for advice.”
The 33-year-old should still be in his relative prime within the life of a goalkeeper. And as witnessed in the 84th minute, Begovic remains supremely adept at pulling off big saves when it matters. Peaks and troughs have often accompanied Begovic in his Bournemouth career and the paradigm of that arrived against Reading.
But experience pays and can prove to be the ultimate ingredient in aiding a promotion push. Games like Reading can define a season and saves like that can be the difference in what league you’re in come next May.
As Jason Tindall quickly discovered, it’s better to have Asmir Begovic here than somewhere else in Europe.
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