The move of Begovic to Chelsea is quite an interesting one, with the Bosnian international trading regular games with Stoke to potentially 'riding the pine' of the bench at Chelsea. Courtois, who has continued to add to his silverware, took the no. 1 shirt from Cech and ran with it. Mourinho is known for his shrewd approach to the transfer market and with plenty of other examples of backup transfer attempts, like with Butland and Ruddy, Chelsea are keen to fill the void left by Cech.
And so here's some thoughts on the reasons behind the transfer...
Champions League football
Moving to Chelsea allows Begovic to get the chance to test his mettle against some of the world's best players in European competition. Even just for the starting games, he gets the chance to put himself on a bigger stage, with more mental roadblocks, like dealing with the increased media coverage and fanfare of playing in big games like this. As Bosnia's number one, and for an emerging team that might want to push for a World Cup historical success, he needs this kind of experience.
Injury cover
We all know how well Chelsea have done in recent years with their cover in the goalkeeping department and with Cech gone, Mourinho has no chance to simply point to the bench and bring on an experienced veteran that can guarantee them the win, should Courtois pull up injured. Bringing in Begovic solves this as he has the experience and mentality to provide cover as needed.
Time share
Playing with Stoke, and sharing time with Sorensen, Begovic is pretty used to the routine of having to prepare to play week and not the next. It takes a special kind of goalkeeper, person and mentality to have a time share in goal at this level. It's pretty common to see in ice hockey, where goalies will play upwards of 60 games and the coach can turn to whoever is 'riding the hot streak' to see out some wins, or to give the first choice time to rest for the playoff run.
It's not too common in the EPL but Mourinho might be considering a 50-50 split eventually (or if Begovic plays well enough) so that he can keep his young prodigy sharp and rested, and to ease the pressure on a young mind from cracking.
Guiding Courtois
A thing of the old days which is forgotten about a lot in the age of superstars in the media, is the need for a goalie pa- a father figure, room mate and encourager to keep the first choice content and ready for success. Goalies train with each other, spend a lot of time with each other, and can push each other on to greatness, like with the simple competition at training of stopping the most shots. And not just making sure the goalies don't hate each other behind the scenes, goalies that get along, will do so much better as a team.
Courtois is incredibly efficient with his technique and maturity, but there is always more to learn (so long as you care enough about being the best you can be). With him looking to continue his dominance of Belgian callups and at Chelsea, it would be good for him to have a guiding figure who has been in the game longer than he has to provide tips and support from the goalie's point of view. Ironically this is the same kind of role that Given can provide at Stoke, if they choose to give Butland his chance, and will play a big (if invisible) part in his evolution.
And so here's some thoughts on the reasons behind the transfer...
Champions League football
Moving to Chelsea allows Begovic to get the chance to test his mettle against some of the world's best players in European competition. Even just for the starting games, he gets the chance to put himself on a bigger stage, with more mental roadblocks, like dealing with the increased media coverage and fanfare of playing in big games like this. As Bosnia's number one, and for an emerging team that might want to push for a World Cup historical success, he needs this kind of experience.
Injury cover
We all know how well Chelsea have done in recent years with their cover in the goalkeeping department and with Cech gone, Mourinho has no chance to simply point to the bench and bring on an experienced veteran that can guarantee them the win, should Courtois pull up injured. Bringing in Begovic solves this as he has the experience and mentality to provide cover as needed.
Time share
Playing with Stoke, and sharing time with Sorensen, Begovic is pretty used to the routine of having to prepare to play week and not the next. It takes a special kind of goalkeeper, person and mentality to have a time share in goal at this level. It's pretty common to see in ice hockey, where goalies will play upwards of 60 games and the coach can turn to whoever is 'riding the hot streak' to see out some wins, or to give the first choice time to rest for the playoff run.
It's not too common in the EPL but Mourinho might be considering a 50-50 split eventually (or if Begovic plays well enough) so that he can keep his young prodigy sharp and rested, and to ease the pressure on a young mind from cracking.
Guiding Courtois
A thing of the old days which is forgotten about a lot in the age of superstars in the media, is the need for a goalie pa- a father figure, room mate and encourager to keep the first choice content and ready for success. Goalies train with each other, spend a lot of time with each other, and can push each other on to greatness, like with the simple competition at training of stopping the most shots. And not just making sure the goalies don't hate each other behind the scenes, goalies that get along, will do so much better as a team.
Courtois is incredibly efficient with his technique and maturity, but there is always more to learn (so long as you care enough about being the best you can be). With him looking to continue his dominance of Belgian callups and at Chelsea, it would be good for him to have a guiding figure who has been in the game longer than he has to provide tips and support from the goalie's point of view. Ironically this is the same kind of role that Given can provide at Stoke, if they choose to give Butland his chance, and will play a big (if invisible) part in his evolution.
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