Nasief Morris' move to Greece at age 20 gave him the opportunity to buy his mother a house, but there were many other glorious moments during his time abroad.
Regarded as one of South Africa's greatest exports, Morris spoke to Soccer Laduma about his time in Greece, Spain and Cyprus, which saw him playing against top stars such as Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Kaka.
Clubs played for
I was in Europe for 10 years. I went there (to Aris Thessaloniki) when I was 20, so it was obviously difficult in the beginning. Moving to Greece where a lot of people were not speaking English was difficult. The welcome was okay, but it was not easy for me. Luckily I was in the same team with a Zimbabwean, Kennedy Nagoli. He had previously played for Jomo Cosmos, so he took me around and showed me the place. He picked me up for training until I got a car. It was difficult in the beginning, but things were better once I settled in. I went on to play for Panathinaikos, Recreativo Huelva in Spain and Racing Santander in Spain. Then I finished off in Cyprus (with Apollon Limassol).
How the move happened
The move (to Aris) was a loan deal from Santos. Six months later, everything was discussed and I got a permanent contract (for the following season). I played at Aris for two years and they ended up having financial issues. We discussed with the club to give me my papers and whatever money that they had to give me. My agent then organised for me to go to Panathinaikos from there. That was a big step in my career because it was straight into the (UEFA) Champions League and that was one of the highlights of my career. I was at Panathinaikos for five years and I was part of a group that won a league title after many years. After the five years, there were new owners and they said I was not part of the plans. I then got an opportunity to go play in Spain in La Liga, on loan to Recreative Huelva for one season. We ended up getting relegated. My next season was another loan spell in Spain with Racing Santander. With Racing, I played the majority of the games in the first round. I ended up coming home for the Christmas break and I got stuck here because of work permit and things like that. Also, my father was fighting cancer and I ended up spending a lot of time with him. He passed away a month later, so when I went back for the second round of the season, I think I only played one or two games. After that, we terminated my contract with Panathinaikos and I went to Cyprus for one year.
The rands and cents
The money from Santos to Aris was not a massive change. But six months into my season in Greece, when we renegotiated for me to sign for the following season, they gave me a $25 000 gift. So, I was basically signing a pre-contract after spending the first season on loan. That $25 000 was for me signing the agreement. With that money, I bought my mother a new house. That was the start of it.
My first day in Europe
The first time I went there was on a trial (at Aris). And then the second time was too obviously. When I went the first time on trial, I was comfortable because I had been travelling before with the national under-20 team to different countries, so I knew about different cultures. It was a nice place and it's on the coast. It was different, but nice. I remember being nervous and training with the team for the first time. When I arrived there, the team actually had the weekend off. I think we arrived on a Friday, so I was with Mike Makaab for the weekend and he took me for two sessions over the weekend, just to get me going because I had to train with the team on Monday. I think that was a good thing because it set me up nicely for the Monday session. When I trained with the team on Monday, there was a lot of running, but I managed to have a good session without lagging behind or getting tired. I was actually running more than everybody else. I think I was there for a week and one of the friendly games I played was against Panathinaikos. Mike came back home, but there was a guy who was taking care of me in Greece. We played against Panathinaikos in the friendly match and we drew 2-2. I think that's how they made the decision that I should be signed. So after two weeks of being back in South Africa, they sent a letter that they want me to sign. Apparently they wanted to buy me straight away, but Mike convinced Goolam Allie (Santos chairman) that we should first do a loan deal and then see what happens after that.
My debut
My debut was a massive game. It was a big derby. It's the second biggest derby in Greece. It was Aris versus PAOK in their stadium. That was my first game. Now that I am talking about it, I remember everything like it was yesterday. It was strange for me because the fans were separated. They were separated by police. Half of the stadium were PAOK fans and a quarter of the stadium was Aris fans. In between them, there was a big gap and rows of police. We went 1-0 up and our fans started shooting flares to the PAOK fans. I was stunned because it was something I had never experienced in my life because in South Africa, the fans sit with each other even in a derby. But that it not possible in Europe, especially in Greece because they are so passionate about the sport.
The best player I played with
There are two I can mention. The first would be Rene Henrikson. He was a Swedish international. He played with me at Panathinaikos. He was not the quickest of players, but it was difficult to get past him in one-on-one situations because of his experience. I learnt a lot from him. The other player was Giourkas Seitaridis. He played with me for a few seasons at Panathinaikos and he ended up going to FC Porto. He also played in Russia for a short period and went to Atletico Madrid.
The best player I played against
There are too many to mention. I faced Ronaldinho, (Lionel) Messi and Thierry Henry. So many qualities. Another player I would mention is (Miroslav) Klose. There was also Kaka when I played in La Liga. That's why it's difficult to answer because there were so many quality players. I don't think I can pick one player.
Most memorable moment
There was a season (at Panathinaikos) where we had to play in the play-offs to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League. We had a game against a team from Poland. We lost the away leg 2-1 and we faced them home. I scored the first goal in the home leg and we ended up beating them 4-1 or something like that. The game had gone into extra time, so we scored two goals in extra time to secure our place in the group stages of the Champions League.
Lowest moment
It was in a derby against Olympiakos. I was at Panathinaikos. I think we were 1-0 down and when they scored the second goal, it was five minutes before time. As the guy ran past me to go celebrate, I kicked him and obviously I got a straight red card. I took of my jersey and threw it at the referee and I got suspended for six games and I got a fine from the club. The club appealed the ban and they cut it from six to four games.
