Chiefs delighted to have Nurkovic back
THERE is a great sense of anticipation in the Kaizer Chiefs camp following striker Samir Nurkovic's inclusion in the squad to play in Angola this afternoon.
The Serbia-born Nurkovic has been a prolific striker in the past and kept Chiefs in the Premiership title hunt for the greater part of last season when he scored 14 goals in 24 appearances.
He will likely be in the starting XI that will run out against Angolan champions Primero De Agosto in a CAF Champions League second leg encounter at the Estádio 11 de Novembro, in Luanda, Angola (kick-off 5pm SA time).
Since the start of the season, injury has side-lined Nurkovic, but after proving his fitness in training, he is ready to return to action.
His teammate, defender Ramahlwe Mphahlele, who will captain the side, said Chiefs will not burden Nurkovic by placing him under pressure to score goals. Mphahlele does not expect miracles from Nurkovic in his comeback outing.
Mphahlele said: “We know what
Samir is capable of, but we are not going to put pressure on him by saying 'you are back now, and you have to score goals for us'.
"As long as he comes back and plays for the team. He can create chances for other players to score, players like Khama Billiat‚ Leonardo Castro‚ Lazalous Kambole and Dumisani Zuma. These players are all capable of scoring goals.
"Then there is Tower (Mathoho) who is also capable of scoring goals‚ so we are not going to burden him too much.
"He has been doing well at training, and we all hope he continues like that in the matches.
"We all know what he can do. If given a chance, he will bury it.
"Everybody is happy to have him back because he is important for the team.”
After Chiefs' dramatic fall from grace at the end of last season, Mphahlele feels the Champions League will offer the club an opportunity to regain lost prestige if they do well in Africa.
"The second leg is a completely new ball game because they are playing at home," said Mphahlele. "We know they will come at us.
"I believe that we have a good chance of going through to the group stages, which is what we came here for.
"The team is aware of how big the game is and everybody is aware of the need to start the new year with a win and then carry on from there.
"It is important to have the team in the group stages so that we can compete with the best in Africa.
"This is an opportunity that we spoke about last season. We didn't win the league, but the team is in the Champions League.
"The coach also is willing and prepared to go the extra mile.”