Nasief Morris

Nasief Morris
Personal information
Full name	Mogammat Nasief Morris
Date of birth	16 April 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth	Cape Town, South Africa
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Youth career
	Santos Cape Town
Senior career*
Years	Team
1998–2001	Santos Cape Town
2001–2003	Aris
2003–2010	Panathinaikos
2008–2009	→ Recreativo (loan)
2009–2010	→ Racing Santander (loan)
2010–2011	Apollon Limassol
2011–2012	SuperSport United
2012	→ Santos Cape Town (loan)
2012–2014	Santos Cape Town
2014–2017	Milano United
Total
International career
2004–2009	South Africa
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mogammat Nasief Morris (born 16 April 1981) is a South African former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He left his country in 2001 to pursue a career in Europe, going on to play mostly in Greece but also in Spain and Cyprus. Morris won 37 caps for the South Africa national team between 2004 and 2009.

Club career

Greece

Born in Cape Town, Morris started his career at local Santos F.C. before signing for Greek club Aris Thessaloniki in June 2001, for €350.000. In his second season in the Superleague he played 27 games (two goals) as the latter club finished in sixth position, thus qualifying to the UEFA Cup.

After two years, Morris joined fellow league side Panathinaikos FC. He made his UEFA Champions League debut on 1 October 2003 in a 1–1 group stage home draw against Rangers.^[1] During his five-year tenure he never appeared in less than 21 league matches, as his team won the double in the 2003–04 campaign; additionally, he made 14 Champions League and 18 UEFA Cup appearances.

Spain

At the beginning of 2008–09, Morris was loaned out to Recreativo de Huelva in Spain.^[2] He made his La Liga debut on 31 August 2008, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 derby away win against Real Betis.^[3]

Morris only missed one league match for Recreativo, scoring on 3 May 2009 in 2–1 away triumph over CA Osasuna in the last minute,^[4] but Recre eventually suffered relegation. In the following season, still on loan, he moved to another Spanish top level team, Racing de Santander.^[5]

Morris started in his first games with Racing, but eventually was only third or fourth-choice stopper – 11 appearances in the first 15 rounds, only one in the following 23. On 5 May 2010, he was sent off in a 5–1 home loss against Sevilla FC.^[6]

Later years

In July 2010, after it was announced that Panathinaikos would not extend his contract with the club, Morris signed with Apollon Limassol from Cyprus.^[7] After one season, the 30-year-old returned to his country and joined SuperSport United FC.^[8]

International career

Morris made his debut with the South Africa national team in 2004. In that same year, he was temporarily suspended by FIFA from all competitions after attempting to attack a referee during a 2–1 loss against Zambia on 21 February.^[9]

Morris was selected for the Bafana Bafana squad that appeared in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, in an eventual group stage exit in Ghana.

Career statistics

Score and result list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Morris goal.

List of international goals scored by Nasief Morris^[10]
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	2 June 2007	Kings Park Stadium, Durban, South Africa	Chad	1–0	4–0	2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

References

^ "Rangers denied in Athens". BBC Sport. 1 October 2003. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
^ "Official, Nasief Morris will play for Recreativo Huelva". Football Press. 18 July 2008. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
^ "Real Betis 0–1 Recreativo Huelva". ESPN Soccernet. 31 August 2008. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
^ "Osasuna 1–2 Recreativo Huelva". ESPN Soccernet. 3 May 2009. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
^ "Nasief Morris es el tercer fichaje" [Nasief Morris is third signing] (in Spanish). Web del Racing. 15 July 2009. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
^ "Sevilla run riot". ESPN Soccernet. 5 May 2010. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
^ "No glamour move for Morris". Kick Off. 23 July 2010. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
^ "Nasief Morris signs with Supersport United". Goal. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
^ "SA defender gets Fifa ban". BBC Sport. 15 March 2004. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
^ "Zuma scores twice in record win for South Africa". Mail & Guardian. 2 June 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2018.

External links

Nasief Morris at BDFutbol
Nasief Morris at National-Football-Teams.com
Nasief Morris – FIFA competition record (archived)
Nasief Morris at Soccerway
Nasief Morris at WorldFootball.net

[1] "Rangers denied in Athens". BBC Sport. 1 October 2003. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

[2] "Official, Nasief Morris will play for Recreativo Huelva". Football Press. 18 July 2008. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2011.

[3] "Real Betis 0–1 Recreativo Huelva". ESPN Soccernet. 31 August 2008. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

[4] "Osasuna 1–2 Recreativo Huelva". ESPN Soccernet. 3 May 2009. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

[5] "Nasief Morris es el tercer fichaje" [Nasief Morris is third signing] (in Spanish). Web del Racing. 15 July 2009. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

[6] "Sevilla run riot". ESPN Soccernet. 5 May 2010. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

[7] "No glamour move for Morris". Kick Off. 23 July 2010. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2011.

[8] "Nasief Morris signs with Supersport United". Goal. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.

[9] "SA defender gets Fifa ban". BBC Sport. 15 March 2004. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

[10] "Zuma scores twice in record win for South Africa". Mail & Guardian. 2 June 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2018.

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