Chiefs’ Nurkovic wins Phakaaathi Player of the Month

It has not taken Samir Nurkovic much time to convince local football followers – and not just the Kaizer Chiefs supporters – that he is the real deal and it is not surprising that he was the runaway winner in the voting for the Phakaaathi Player of the Month for October.

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The 27-year-old Serb has been a marvel to watch and brought a different dimension to the Amakhosi style of play.

He was amazing for Amakhosi in the month of October where he scored three goals, including the famous brace against Mamelodi Sundowns.

The month that started with him being frustrated as he had to sit out because of a head injury, has ended well after he made his comeback as a substitute.

“I endured three very difficult weeks because of the head injury and it is great to be back and doing my job, which is to score goals,” he said after the Cape Town City Telkom Knockout game, where he scored a late equaliser for Ernst Middendorp’s side.

“However, I never want to be accused of selfishness. If a team-mate is in a better position than me to score, I will pass the ball to him,” he added.

Middendorp was recently quoted by The Sowetan newspaper explaining how he came to find Nurkovic and bring him to Amakhosi.

“I had a lot of chats (with Nurkovic) in May already‚ using my networks (in Europe) and getting information on him.

“He’s so full of confidence and full of convincing contributions to discussions… how he would like to play and to see where he is so far,” said Middendorp.

He also revealed that his plan was to merge him with Khama Billiat and Leonardo Castro to form a deadly three-pronged attack. And it has come out so well, with the trio now referred to as the “NBC”.

“I felt that Castro and Billiat were a little isolated last season but Nurkovic has given them the space to play because he needs a lot of attention inside the box.

“We had to check his style of play and compare it to what we had‚ and what we were looking for,” added the Chiefs coach.

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