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| Morris thrives among the best |
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Matshelane Mamabolo November 08 2009 at 01:25PM |
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Nasief Morris has come a long way from his early days as a professional rookie earning a meagre R500 playing for Santos, and looking up to Edries Burton for inspiration. How have you managed to stay so long in Europe playing on a regular basis? When I first started I was just excited to be in Europe and happy to be earning much better than I did back home. In time I realised I could secure my future and I decided to persevere and work hard. I was also keen to make myself a household name not only back home but in other parts of the world too. And I believe I achieved that in Greece. Now, I want to make my name in Spain. How have you changed as a player over the nine years you've been in Europe? There has been a lot of improvement. From early on in my career, even back home, I was almost always the youngest player in the teams I played for. And then I always looked up to the senior guys for guidance. Now here at Santander, I am one of the seniors and I am some kind of a role model to the younger players. And I find that all the things I learnt during my time as a junior player are coming in handy. I find myself giving advice to players who want to achieve some of the things I have, and it's really a good feeling because it tells me I have done something positive. But I have also realised it's easier to become a somebody in the game, but to stay that somebody requires a lot of hard work. What stands out as a career highlight? The beginning of my career in Europe was exciting. I found myself playing Champions League football just two years in and to be a part of something I had previously watched on television was tremendously fulfilling. Scoring goals for Panathinaikos in the world's biggest tournament gave me great pleasure. And also winning the Greek championship with them and going to the cup final on two occasions were highlights. How tough was the decision to leave the comfort of the Greek league to come to Spain? I've always regarded the Spanish league as the best in the world and to come here was a dream. As much as I enjoyed playing in Greece, their league is not of a very high level because not every game is competitive. So I was really excited at getting the opportunity to play in a league where I'd be tested to the max. You played for a team that got relegated last season (Recreativo Huelva), how did that impact on you? Obviously it was not a good experience to be a part of a team that got relegated. But personally, I had a pretty good season. I was among a few infield players who played nearly all the matches last season. I missed just one and a half games and that to me was a huge achievement coming as it did in my first season here. And while we got relegated, the fact that we conceded the same number of goals as Atletico Madrid who qualified for the Champions League says to me I was a part of a very good defensive unit. What is it like playing against some of the world's top names on a weekly basis? It's huge ma bru. For starters, just being in the same league as the highest-rated players in the world is a massive thing for me. Playing against them makes me realise I have the talent and it really lifts my spirits and gives me serious self-belief. As an ambitious player, these are some of the things I used to dream about and to be living that dream is a really big thing and I always thank God for that. But you are not a part of your country's national team. That must hurt? It does. But what can I do? I would just like to know what is the problem with me that I am being overlooked. I was under the impression that the problem was with (Joel) Santana who dropped me, but now I don't know. You do continue to nurse hopes you will play in the World Cup? I do want to play at the World Cup, which player wouldn't? And my dream is to continue working very hard so that I am also still around and fit enough for the 2014 World Cup. But it's very difficult to not know where I stand with the national team. But I don't want that to affect me personally. What do you make of Carlos Alberto Parreira's return to lead Bafana Bafana? I think it's good. He is not a new guy who has to try things out. He already knows the players so it won't be difficult for him to settle in. He has a history with the squad and his status and reputation in world football is such that we will get the respect of the other countries. He has got great experience. But I am also happy there is talk of having some of the local coaches helping out. The most important thing is that everyone does their job. Why don't we export players to Europe like we used to? If you look at the current make up of our players you will realise that most of them are small and this is always a disadvantage, especially in leagues like England. Also, I think most of the agents don't have good contacts in Europe because that's how you get to send players here. But the important thing is our players to take advantage of any opportunity that comes their way. Your manager or agent can only go as far as getting you a trial, after that the rest is up to you as a player. Also, I think most of our players at home are content with what they are earning because the salaries are now much better than when some of us started out. Can you believe I earned just R500 a month in my first season (97/98) at Santos?
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