By mid-November, Asmir Begovic could well have come up against Glenn Whelan and Jonathan Walters four times in a month.
The Chelsea goalkeeper was between the sticks when the Stoke men played their respective roles in the Potters’ pair of upset victories over Chelsea in the past fortnight.
And the Bosnia no.1, who played with Whelan and Walters for five years at the Britannia Stadium, will be hoping that the Republic of Ireland internationals will have less of an impact if selected by Martin O’Neill for the set of Euro 2016 play-offs next week.
Speaking to The Irish Independent, Begovic couldn’t be more full of praise for his former teammates.
On Walters – “He’s one of those guys who never lets you down, his work-rate is unbelievable, and his quality and skill-sets are sometimes undervalued too. People don’t give him the credit for the goals that he scores and the contribution he makes. He’s a top player and proved himself at Premier League level a long time. He knows where the goal is, he gets himself in the right positions and he’s just really reliable, and that’s the thing a lot of teams and managers like about him.”
On Whelan – “To the naked eye, and the uneducated football fans, it’s difficult for them to understand his role, but he keeps the team ticking over. He’s the guy who is the disciplined one, who’ll sit in front of the back four, do the dirty work that people don’t appreciate at times. He’s made a whole career out of that and that’s why he’s been so valuable to teams.”
