Royal AM striker Samir Nurkovic says it is “sad” that at Kaizer Chiefs he was mired by plenty of injuries because he wanted to contribute more to the club.
However, Nurkovic said he left Chiefs with a big smile on his face even though injuries hampered him, but he did the job he was tasked to do when he was fit.
Nurkovic highlighted scoring the all important goal and possibly the most important of his career in the CAF Champions League semi-final first leg win over Wydad Casablanca in Morocco.
That goal came when Arthur Zwane, now Chiefs head coach, was in charge then on the caretaker basis, as Amakhosi became the first side from Mzansi to win in Morocco in the Champions League.
That goal was enough to see Chiefs reach the Champions League final, however, they lost 3-0 to Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly in July last year.
But Chiefs, after Nurkovic only scored one goal in 15 appearances in all competitions last season, decided to let him go.
“I was happy with my performance at Chiefs and unfortunately I had a lot of injuries,” Nurkovic told iDiski Times.
“I think that was the unfortunate part. But I left Chiefs with my full heart, I left Chiefs as a better player – and that is how the professional player should think.
“When you have a contract, you just have to make sure that you give all yourself to the club and I did that. Now I’m at Royal AM and I will try to do my best as well.”
While the Serbian striker aims to do his best also for Shauwn ‘Ma’ Mkhize’s club, again injuries have not spared him.
Having joined Royal AM during the off season after his release from Chiefs, Nurkovic was carrying an injury that has seen him miss 12 matches in all competitions for the KwaZulu-Natal club so far.
He finally played his first match for the club, when Royal AM beat Chiefs in the Macufe Cup at Toyota Stadium on Sunday.
Nurkovic lasted for 71 minutes as Royal AM beat Amakhosi on penalties to win the Macufe Cup. However, he showed he has not lost the bustling power – holding and shielding the ball up top, bruising Erick Mathoho in one-vs-one when they were both challenging the ball.
He had sight of goal on two occasions before he was taken off, but both were easy saves, as he is still lacking match sharpness. Co-coach Khabo Zondo previously told iDiski Times that Nurkovic was going to be fit against SuperSport United after the international break.
“I’m happy to be back and happy to have won this trophy,” said Nurkovic who gave his Macufe Cup medal to a fan.
“To have lasted that long, I felt good. I mean we agreed with the coaches, which time they will have to take me off because it was my first game after a long time. So it was enough and I’m really happy to be back.”
Chiefs Suffer Macufe Cup Loss
