Eldin Jakupović (; born 2 October 1984) is a Swiss professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. He started his professional career at Grasshopper Club Zürich in 2004, then moved to

FC Thun Fussballclub Thun 1898 is a Swiss football team from the Bernese Oberland town of Thun. The club plays in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of the Swiss football league system, following relegation from the Swiss Super League in the ...

a year later. After success there, Jakupović joined

FC Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (''FC Lokomotiv Moskva'', russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб "Локомотив" Москва, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three o ...

in March 2006. He returned to Grasshoppers on loan spending two seasons there. In 2010, he moved to Greece joining

Olympiakos Volou Olympiacos Volos Football Club ( el, Π.Α.Ε. Α.Σ. Ολυμπιακός Βόλου 1937) is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Volos, Greece. They currently participating in the Gamma Ethniki. History In 1938 Olympiacos a ...

. In September 2011, after one season at Olympiakos Volou, he joined

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...

. In 2012, he moved to

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

. In 2017, he left Hull City after their relegation back to the EFL Championship to join

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

side

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

. After leaving

, he joined fellow Premier League team Everton on a free transfer in September 2022. Having played at under-21 level for both Bosnia and Switzerland, he earned his only senior cap for the latter in 2008, and was part of their squad at

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

Club career

Early career

Jakupović was born in

Kozarac Kozarac ( sr-cyrl, Козарац, ) is a town in north-western Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, located near the city of Prijedor. It is located west of Banja Luka. Kozarac is also famous because of the Kozara National Park. Kozarac ...

, SFR Yugoslavia, present-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. He moved to Switzerland at a young age due to the Bosnian War and started his professional career at Grasshopper Club Zürich in 2004. He then moved to

in 2005. After a successful spell at FC Thun, Jakupović joined

in March 2006.

Grasshoppers

Jakupović returned to former club to Grasshopper Club Zürich on a year-long

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

on 30 August 2007. He scored a 94th-minute equaliser against BSC Young Boys in his third match for the club, earning Grasshoppers a 3–3 draw. During the season Jakupović forced Fabio Coltorti to the bench as his backup. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Jakupović extended his loan at Grasshoppers for another year, which meant new signing goalkeeper

Massimo Colomba Massimo Colomba (born 24 August 1977, in Villars-sur-Glâne) is a Swiss footballer who played as goalkeeper. He is currently the goalkeeper coach of both FC Sion. Career As a child Colomba played in the youth teams of his local side FC Villars-s ...

was benched.

Lokomotiv return

On 31 August 2009, Jakupović was confirmed as part of the Lokomotiv Moscow squad, with Ivan Pelizzoli leaving on loan to join AlbinoLeffe. Due to the number of foreigners in the Lokomotiv squad, Jakupović was asked to go out on loan again. In December, Jakupović went on trial at

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

and had a successful week. However, due to various reasons a deal could not be completed with Lokomotiv Moscow. After a turbulent time with the Lokomotiv management, Jakupović was allowed to be released.

Olympiakos Volou

Jakupović had a fine season with

. After they were

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

to the

Delta Ethniki Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also r ...

, Jakupović left the team.

Aris

On 30 September 2011, Jakupović joined

, with three other ex-teammates, Noe Acosta, Javier Umbides and Khalifa Sankare. He made his debut on 5 November 2011, against Olympiakos SFP, which finished 2–3.

Hull City

On 20 March 2012, Jakupović joined English

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

on trial, and after impressing in training and a friendly match Hull manager

Nick Barmby Nicholas Jon Barmby (born 11 February 1974) is an English football coach and former professional player. As a player, he played as a midfielder spending nearly his entire career in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, Middlesbrough, Evert ...

expressed a desire to sign Jakupović on a permanent contract. Following the sacking of Nick Barmby, Jakupović had trials with Ipswich Town. On 9 July 2012, Jakupović signed for Hull City on a two-year contract, becoming Steve Bruce's first full signing as manager. He officially joined the team on their pre-season training session in Portugal. He made his debut in a 3–1 friendly win against

North Ferriby United North Ferriby United Association Football Club was a semi-professional football club in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of their demise they were members of the Northern Premier League and played at Grange Lane. F ...

on 16 July 2012. His first Championship match for The Tigers came on 21 December 2012 at

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

, when he played in a 2–1 victory as Hull moved into second place in the Championship table. This was followed up by three more league appearances, all of which consisted of clean sheets. In January 2014 Jakupović joined

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

on loan until 8 February. On 29 January 2014, Jakupović was recalled to parent club

. On 13 February 2014, Jakupović re-joined

until 17 May 2014, but was again recalled on 27 March 2014. On 9 July 2014, Jakupović signed a new two-year contract with Hull City, and began their

campaign as third-choice goalkeeper behind

Allan McGregor Allan James McGregor (born 31 January 1982) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Rangers. McGregor has also previously played for St Johnstone, Dunfermline Athletic, Turkish team Beşikta ...

and Steven Harper. He made his first appearance of the season on 18 October away to Arsenal as a substitute when Harper injured his arm before half-time, and did not concede until

Danny Welbeck Daniel Nii Tackie Mensah Welbeck (born 26 November 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Brighton & Hove Albion. Welbeck made his way through the youth teams at Manchester United before making his senio ...

equalised for 2–2 in added time. A week later he started for the first time in the division, keeping a clean sheet in a goalless draw against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

. Jakupović started for Hull against Arsenal in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

fifth round on 20 February 2016, at the Emirates Stadium. He made 12 saves to earn his side a 0–0 draw, which led to a replay at the

KC Stadium The MKM Stadium (also known as the Hull City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations) is a multi-purpose facility in the city of Kingston upon Hull, England. The stadium was previously called the KC Stadium, but was renamed the KCOM Stadi ...

. On 24 June 2016, Jakupović signed a new two-year deal with Hull City. Since McGregor was out with a back injury that ruled him out for about six months, Jakupović started off the 2016–17 season against Premier League Champions,

and helped earn the Tigers a 2–1 victory on opening day.

Leicester City

In July 2017, following Hull City's relegation back to the second tier of English football, Jakupović signed a three-year deal with

side

. He made his debut in the

third round match against

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...

. He signed a one-year contract extension in June 2020. On 10 June 2022, it was announced that Jakupović would be released from Leicester City upon expiry of his contract at the end of the month.

Everton

Jakupović's Leicester contract expired in June 2022. Two months later he signed for Everton until the end of the year as a back-up keeper, following injuries to first and third choices

Jordan Pickford Jordan Lee Pickford (' Logan; born 7 March 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Everton and the England national team. Pickford has previously played for Sunderland's academy, reserve, and senior te ...

and Andy Lonergan.

Los Angeles FC

On 9 January 2023, Jakupović signed a one-year contract with Los Angeles FC.

International career

Jakupović has dual citizenship, both Bosnian and Swiss, and has represented both at under-21 level. He has played for Bosnia and Herzegovina U21 for two competitive matches, and a friendly match against Austria U21 for Switzerland on 1 March 2006. In August 2005, Jakupović received his first call-up to the Bosnia and Herzegovina national squad which was a match against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and Lithuania, however he did not accept the call up. In March 2007, Jakupović was asked again to play for the senior

against Norway, but declined the offer. Jakupović was included in the Swiss

squad. He made his debut on 20 August 2008 in a friendly match against

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

. He was called up for the first two matches of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, but was an unused substitute. In October 2008, Jakupović said that he would not play again for the Swiss national team due to family reasons.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Hull City * Football League Championship play-offs:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

References

External links

Official UEFA player page
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jakupovic, Eldin 1984 births Living people People from Prijedor Bosnia and Herzegovina emigrants to Switzerland Association football goalkeepers Bosnia and Herzegovina footballers Bosnia and Herzegovina under-21 international footballers Swiss men's footballers Switzerland under-21 international footballers Switzerland international footballers UEFA Euro 2008 players Grasshopper Club Zürich players FC Thun players FC Lokomotiv Moscow players Olympiacos Volos F.C. players Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Everton F.C. players Los Angeles FC players Swiss Super League players Russian Premier League players Super League Greece players English Football League players Premier League players Swiss expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Russia Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate footballers in Greece Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate footballers in England Swiss expatriate sportspeople in England