AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth’s first summer signing Asmir Begovic was officially unveiled to the national media and discussed his move from Chelsea to Vitality Stadium.
The Premier League winner from last season spoke about a number of topics to the broadcast and written media and here are the best bits from Begovic’s fist press conference.
On why he left Chelsea and joined AFC Bournemouth…
The main reason I left Chelsea was a lack of game time. I had a fantastic time there it’s a great club, I played in the Champions League, experienced football at the highest level and won the Premier League title.
It was a great experience but the lack of playing time as I approach the best years of my career was big, I wanted to go somewhere to compete for more playing time.
The project here is super exciting from the owner all the way down to the players and fanbase, it’s exciting where it can go.
On the manager selling the club to him…
He didn’t have to sell it all that much, it’s there for everyone to see. The progression is clear and I’m excited to be pushing forward. Lots of good things are happening here.
The ultimate target is to stay in this division, you can never get too ahead of yourself and take things for granted. But we can also take the club to new levels.
On other clubs’ interest…
I had a couple of conversations. But I wanted to come here with the manager, quality of players and the project it was the most exciting opportunity for me.
It’s important to listen to people and assess your options but this was my number one choice personally by far.
On improving during his time at Stamford Bridge…
Overall in the two years I improved a lot. First and foremost, training with players of that calibre made me better. There was great coaching and I played in big games – that experience alone was enough but the pressure of being at Chelsea and the mental pressures that brings was a great experience.
But you can only not play for so long so it was the right time to move on.
On the standard in training since he arrived…
It’s been really good, the standard has been high. Us new boys have fitted in really well.
It’s been a really fun first couple of weeks so far.
On Eddie Howe being an influence in the move…
Eddie Howe was a huge factor, he’s one of the best up and coming managers in the world of football. I want to learn from him and hopefully he can take me to another level, that’s part of the attraction.
When I first went to Portsmouth 14 years ago he was a player there so we played in the reserves together a few times. When I came for my first spell at Bournemouth he was one of the first team coaches but you could see back then he had a fantastic football brain.
His injuries were unfortunate but it’s not a surprise to see him doing so well.
