TS Galaxy coach Sead Ramovic has explained why the club opted to sign “quality striker” Samir Nurkovic, who he said impressed him when he was assessing him.
Nurkovic has been unfortunate with his situation with Royal AM, who unlawfully terminated his contract without pay last year.
The player was signed for Royal AM at the beginning of last term, but was then let go without kicking the ball officially and no settlement. He took the matter to FIFA and Royal AM were found guilty by the world football mother body, who ordered the club to pay the player.
But Royal AM appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. But there, too, they were rejected and ordered to pay the money owed to the Serbian striker.
Royal AM have defied FIFA’s directives despite having been banned from making any transfers, with club president Shauwn Mkhize arguing in the heads of arguments filed to FIFA that Nurkovic was dishonest as he arrived at the club injured.
While this saga is still ongoing, Nurkovic tried his luck at Raja Casablanca in Morocco but wasn’t signed by Josef Zinnbauer’s side and also at Cape Town City, leading Ramovic and Galaxy to pounce on the free agent.
“We are a club that is not financially strong, so we have to get players that we know that the character is strong,” said Ramovic to iDiski Times on why he signed Nurkovic.
“We knew he had the difficult time but we also know we can improve every player and also to help any player to come back after a difficult injury. Yes, you had a bad time but we want to see if he wants to come back.
“After I spoke to him and saw what a character he is, we decided to bring him in because I’m sure a quality player like Nurkovic will help us to get our goals come through.
“This is what he showed. After one month, he came back very strong – he was fitter and you could see the quality he has. I am absolutely sure he will help us in the long term to achieve our goals because he is a great player with a fantastic attitude and works very hard.
“We are just happy to have him in our squad. Nurkovic is very happy that he saw the team welcome him and he could also see that every player in our squad has fantastic character and great attitude. So they push each other everyday to improve.”
Nurkovic scored in the 80th minute as Galaxy beat Sekhukhune United 2-0 at Mbombela Stadium on Sunday. It was the bustling striker’s first goal since scoring for Chiefs against Chippa United on 2 April last year.
Following the win, Galaxy moved to eighth on the DStv Premiership table with 12 points after nine matches.
