Prijedor native Eldin Jakupović new Bosnian star in the English Premier League

Eldin Jakupović was born on 2 October 1984. He is a Bosnian-Swiss professional footballer, goalkeeper for Hull, the new member of the English Premier League. Jakupović was born in Prijedor. Due to the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, his family fled to Switzerland, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

He began his professional career at Grasshoppers from Zurich, then moved to FC Thun a year later. After success, Jakupović became a member of FC Lokomotiv Moscow in March 2006. In September 2011, he moved to Aris, and finally in 2012 he signed for Hull.

In March 2012, Jakupović joined Hull City. In a friendly match, he defended so impressively that manager Nick Barmby expressed a desire to urgently sign a permanent contract. And Jakupović signed for Hull City for two years. He slowly progressed at Hull, whose players, due to their characteristic black and orange jerseys, are called the „Tigers“. He started as the third goalkeeper, behind Allan McGregor and Steven Harper. He waited a long time for his chance, and when he got it, he shone against the famous Arsenal in the FA Cup in February this year. Viewers in Bosnia and Herzegovina could see that performance of his, when he defended fantastically and after a nil-nil result, Hull won the second match against the famous Arsenal.

Jakupović has dual citizenship, Bosnian and Swiss. He played for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Switzerland U-21. In the meantime, he felt neglected, so on several occasions he refused invitations to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In October 2008, Jakupović also refused the Swiss national team, saying he did not want to play for family reasons. Today he would probably accept Baždarević's invitation. Although he is 32 years old, that is not a problem for a goalkeeper, because, as a rule, they have a longer playing career. Teammates say about Eldin that he gives them confidence with his brilliant saves, and that he is a real tiger.