'I was excited to play in front of 90,000 fans' - Nurkovic explains Kaizer Chiefs stay

Kaizer Chiefs striker Samir Nurkovic has revealed he has decided to stay at the club owing to its stature.

Prior to joining Amakhosi, the Serbian had played for nine teams but had never stayed for two seasons.

However, he has done so at the South African side, and is keen to extend his stay even further, and has explained the reason behind his decision to stay at Chiefs.

"The other clubs I played for before were not big like Chiefs," Nurkovich told Sowetan.

"When I came here, I was so overwhelmed and excited to play in front of amazing fans. To play in front of 90,000 fans was an amazing experience.

"I am so happy to be part of such a big club. In July it will be two years since I arrived here and I am really enjoying every moment here in South Africa. Even lifestyle-wise, I like it here."

The 29-year-old missed a big part of the concluded season owing to injuries. He has, however, set his sight on helping the team in the new campaign.

"Personally, this season hasn’t gone well for me. I missed a lot of games at the start of the season because of that injury [that made me undergo a groin surgery before the season started]," Nurkovic, who is commonly referred to as Kokota Piano, continued. 

"I think I missed 15 games. The injury made it hard for me to reach the form of last season again but I am working very hard. Hopefully, next season I will rediscover my old form."

The attacker has further insisted Amakhosi always come first and hopes to inspire them to achieve greater heights.

"I put the team first, that’s very important. I don’t really think about winning individual awards," the lanky forward added.

"Yes, I want to score more goals but challenging for the top-scorer award isn’t important."

Chiefs defied the odds to eliminate Morrocan outfit Wydad Casablanca from the Caf Champions League semi-finals to set up a date with defending champions Al Ahly, who eliminated Esperance.

The final will be played on July 17 in Morocco.