He gave me a chance

Kyle Lewis: Hi, Samir. You were linked with a lot of clubs before joining TS Galaxy. How did your move take place?

Samir Nurkovic: Six months before my move to TS Galaxy, I was in talks with Tim Sukazi, the Chairman of the club. I know the coach (Sead Ramotime vic) and he knows me from my at Kaizer Chiefs. At that time, we could not reach (an) agreement, but TS Galaxy was always there.

KL: There were reports that you had a niggling injury which stopped you from securing moves to other clubs. Were those reports true?

SN: The injury was not a secret at all. It was from my time at Kaizer Chiefs when we were playing in the CAF Champions League. I had a knee injury and then I had surgery after the Chamover pions League final. It was all the news, but after that I did not have any problem.

KL: You scored your first goal for Galaxy against Sekhukhune United in October, which won thePSLGoaloftheMonth.Congrats. Were you relieved to have that pressure off your shoulders?

SN: Wow, what a goal! Yes, I was relieved. It is all about that, hard work, which I mentioned before. In your prowork fessional career, it is all about the you do on the field and the extra work you put in and you feel the benefits in the matches. That goal was all about the hard work I was putting in when I was not playing. So, now football is giving me everything back.

KL: What are your personal goals the 2023/24 season?

SN:

for

Let me just say that I am happy to be back on the field. I had not played for one year and it required a lot of resilience and hard work from my side. I put in a lot of work to maintain fitness and I’m happy to be playing again. I never set any goals for myself. I’m just happy to be back and what I can promhard. ise is that I will continue to work But I have to be realistic, it is going to take some time to get back to where I was before, but it is all about hard work.

KL: Speaking about hard work, are 31 now. Do you find that you to train more now than you did in 20s?

SN:

you have your

100 percent, to maintain everytakes thing. So, your recovery time longer, everything takes longer (when you are) over 30. You need to do extra work and rehab. So, before training I would work to prevent injury. You have to maintain that level of profestop. sionalism, just to stay at the I’m not saying I am at the top level now, but I’m working towards that goal. I want to be back where I was before and that requires a lot of hard grafting.

KL: With the team being two games away from clinching the Carling Knockout title, would you say that the motivation levels in camp are at an alltime high?

SN:

We have to stay consistent. What I have to mention is that we really have a good coach who has a lot of knowledge on the tactical side. He brought that kind of discipline that South African football needs. We are really working hard. It’s difficult, but we need to stay consistent. Recently, we played lots of games in a short time, so it’s important to recover properly so we can be at our best for the semifinals.

KL: How important has Ramovic been for you as you settle into life at the Rockets? SN: Really important. He gave me a chance. Ramovic was one of the main guys that wanted me there. I’m thankful to him. He is a very good coach, and his tactical stuff is amazing. He has been putting in some hard work with that for the team. I also need to thank the Chairman for the opportunity. I need to just continue working hard and be realistic and understand that after a long time, it will take some time for me to get back to my best. Like I said, the coaching has been great, and this is a really ambitious club.

KL: Josef Zinnbauer told Soccer Laduma in an interview earlier this year that you are a great player, but he needed someone fit and that is why you never joined Raja Casablanca. Is that the view from your side as well?

SN:

When I joined TS Galaxy, I was not able to play 90 minutes, but it is normal for a coach to say that. So, when you are coaching the club, you want a player who is immediately able to perform, but in my case, I had to be realistic. I did not play for a year. But Zinnbauer is a good coach, and it was a g ood experience for me, but it is in the past. I did my part, I was training with them, and they were telling me that they were happy, but from my agent’s side and from the club, they could not reach an agreement.

KL: Does the same apply with your training stint at Cape Town City?

SN: Yes.

KL: Did you consider retiring before your move to the Mpumalanga-based outfit?

SN:

I was thinking about it, I can’t lie. Not for a long time, it was not realistic because I’m only 31 and that is still too young to retire. I told myself that I cannot give up now, it’s time for me to give that extra push and put in more work. That was what I did from my side and everything else, I leave in God’s hands. It’s important for me to be professional and do my best.

Kyle Lewis: Hi Davor, where is the case at the moment?

Davor Lazic: The case is with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. We still need to have a hearing. What we do expect is that they will be scheduling a hearing soon.

KL: Reports have suggested that the money owed to Samir Nurkovic could be pursued through PSL grants. Is this true?

DL:

Anything that happens will depend on the decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport. However, that appeal which was filed was filed out of the prescribed deadline. So, basically, we clearly put it and FIFA confirmed that the first decision is final and binding. However, it is the club’s view in front of the CAS that they have not been deliberate by not doing it in time. They say they have grounds to prove that they did deliver in the set time. That’s why Royal AM are appealing the Samir Nurkovic decision but also against FIFA and their system. The club did not want to pay the player and we filed a complaint to FIFA. FIFA made a decision, and they accepted our claim. That decision was delivered to everyone involved as it can’t be any different. So, there is this FIFA Legal portal, and they upload (the) decision there – this was sent on 3rd May 2023. Royal AM had 10 days to ask for grounds for this decision. Once the deadline to appeal (has) passed, you cannot ask for grounds or appeal. However, the club claims they only received the decision (on) 22nd May. That is 19 days later, which is quite impossible. The club believe the 10 days must start from the 19th May.

KL: Okay… DL: FIFA already sent a letter in that regard saying they did everything by the rules and research where they confirmed that everything was in order. That is one of the things

KL: Bernard Parker suffered a horrible injury in the cup tie against Mamelodi Sundowns. What was the mood like in the dressing room after seeing your teammate go through that?

SN: The mood wasn’t good, but it was important that we kept our focus high and won that game against Sundowns for him. We felt sorry for him because he is a real professional and role model for the young players and it’s always good to have such a player in the team. I wish him a speedy recovery and we know that he will come back stronger.

KL: Strikers are often scapegoated that the club would need to prove during CAS proceedings and that is what they challenged. Royal AM first need to argue how come they filed an appeal inside the deadline and that’s the formal issue, then afterwards they would be able to argue the merit of the case such as things they were claiming in the first case, like Samir was injured or he was sick or he never appeared. There were a lot of claims like that in the first part of the case. First of all, they say he came injured, then they said he never appeared, then they said he never signed a contract. It was quite a strange thing to hear that the club decided to terminate his contract, which was never signed according to them, you know. But we are still not in that part of the second case, but even if we go there, which won’t be the case because they missed the deadline, I don’t think there is much problem or forecast from FIFA’s decision.

aving spent over a year without making a competitive appearance after exiting Naturena in July 2022, you may have thought that Samir Nurkovic’s time in South Africa was coming to an end. However, in September, the Serbian joined TS Galaxy in a surprise move and has already shown what he is capable of, scoring a wonder goal against Sekhukhune United that won him the PSL Goal of the Month for September/October. Talk about a man inching closer to getting back to his best! In this interview, Soccer Laduma’s Kyle Lewis speaks to the player fondly known as “Kokota Piano” about his first goal for the club and coach Sead Ramovic’s impact. Furthermore, we pin down his lawyer Davor Lazic as he sheds light on the ongoing Royal AM dispute.

KL: We’ve read reports that you could motivate to FIFA to turn the transfer ban to a points deduction. Is that something you would consider?

DL:

We have to wait for the CAS. When the first decision became binding, we addressed the issue to the club and asked for the payment to be done. From that moment, they realised they should have appealed the decision. Royal AM then decided to appeal nonetheless, but they were outside the deadline. There is no point at this stage for Samir to ask for further bans. What the club did, in the meantime, they filed this appeal out of date. They asked as a provisional measure that the transfer ban issued by FIFA be terminated by CAS and CAS ruled that they won’t do it. They sent a letter to me and the club. They went out to the public that CAS overruled the transfer ban, and this proved to not be the case. So, basically, the transfer ban is still on. So, at this stage, we don’t have to ask for additional bans, but if they don’t pay, then yes, there is the option for a points deduction or a relegation to another division. There is a case number as CAS is dealing with the case. The only thing we are waiting for is a hearing date, but we are expecting to get the hearing date soon.

in South African football. How do you deal with the pressure?

SN:

What bigger pressure can you get than at Chiefs? It’s really big pressure and if you survive there, then you can play anywhere else in the world. I would not call it a pressure, a football player cannot have pressure, you should be enjoying it as you are doing what you love. I would say it’s all about mindset and it’s important to not overthink stuff and focus on your play. If you are homeless or living on the street and don’t have something to eat, that is real pressure, but I would not call doing what you love as pressure.