Christopher Ronald Nurse (born 7 May 1984) is an English-born Guyanese retired footballer who is currently an academy coach for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami.

Chris Nurse
Personal information
Full name Christopher Ronald Nurse
Date of birth (1984-05-07) 7 May 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth Hammersmith, London, England
Position(s) Attacking Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Miami United
Number 8
Youth career
Kingstonian
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2003 Kingstonian 18 (1)
2003–2004 Sutton United 0 (0)
2004 Aldershot Town 1 (0)
2005–2006 Moor Green 29 (2)
2006–2007 Hinckley United 23 (3)
2007–2008 Tamworth 42 (9)
2008 Stevenage Borough 2 (0)
2008–2009 Halesowen Town 5 (0)
2009 Rochester Rhinos 22 (2)
2009–2010 AFC Telford United 12 (0)
2010 Puerto Rico Islanders 18 (2)
2011–2012 Carolina RailHawks 29 (1)
2012 Puerto Rico Islanders 5 (0)
2013 FC Edmonton 21 (4)
2014 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 16 (1)
2015 Carolina RailHawks 15 (0)
2016 Puerto Rico FC 14 (0)
2017–2018 Sutton United 0 (0)
2019 Miami United 7 (0)
International career
2008–2016 Guyana 47 (5)
Managerial career
2018–2019 Tooting & Mitcham United (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 July 2020
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 June 2012

Career

edit

Club

edit

Nurse began his professional career in the English non-League system as a dynamic young midfielder who was a part of the youth academy at Kingstonian F.C before featuring for the reserve team & impressive displays during pre-season saw him rewarded with a place in the senior squad.

Nurse has extensive experience at multiple levels. He played for Aldershot & Stevenage Borough in the Conference National and almost won promotion from the Conference North with Hinckley United in 2006–07.

On 6 March 2009, the USL First Division team Rochester Rhinos announced the signing of Nurse to a one-year deal for the 2009 season.[1] reaching the play-offs but were eliminated by the Puerto Rico Islanders.

In March 2010 the Puerto Rico Islanders completed the signing of Nurse to a one-year deal. Nurse played in the proceeding three CFU Club Championship matches and led the Islanders to become the 2010 CFU Club Championship Winners in Trinidad and Tobago. In July 2010 Nurse played for the Puerto Rico Islanders defeating the then MLS league leaders, Los Angeles Galaxy 5–3 on aggregate, which paved the way for their progression to the group stages of the CONCACAF Champions League for the third consecutive year. Nurse continued his strong performances leading Puerto Rico to the USSF Division 2 Pro League championship title defeating the Carolina Railhawks in the Playoff Final.

Nurse signed with Carolina RailHawks of the North American Soccer League on 7 March 2011.[2] Nurse was part of a sensational season for the Railhawks, going on a 10-game win streak in a team that broke almost every existing club record and finishing top of the North American Soccer League winning the regular season title. He re-signed with Carolina for the 2012 season on 1 February 2012.[3]

In January 2013 Nurse was signed by FC Edmonton after his previous club Puerto Rico Islanders folded and no longer continued to operate. In 2013 Nurse was selected 7 times onto North American Soccer League Team of the Week and selected North American Soccer League August Player of the Month. At the end of the season Nurse was Shortlisted for North American Soccer League 2013 Best XI and Voted 2013 FC Edmonton players MVP of the season by his teammates,

In January 2014 Nurse Signed with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and was part of a talented squad that saw the team finish Runners- Up in the Soccer Bowl 2014. Nurse was nominated 2014 North American Soccer League Humanitarian of the Year Award for his work with the Breast Cancer Associations in South Florida.

Nurse was released by Puerto Rico at the end of their 2016 season.[4]

Coaching

edit

Nurse joined the Academy coaching staff of Major League Soccer club Inter Miami in March 2023.[5]

International

edit

Nurse, who is of Guyanese descent, is a current International player for the Guyana national football team nicknamed the Golden Jaguars, despite having been born in England. In September 2011, Nurse was announced captain of the Guyana national football team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.

International goals

edit
Scores and results list Guyana's goal tally first.[6]
No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 7 October 2011 Barbados National Stadium, Saint Michael, Barbados   Barbados 2–0 2–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
2. 11 September 2012 Providence Stadium, Providence, Guyana   El Salvador 2–2 2–3 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3. 22 March 2016 Providence Stadium, Providence, Guyana   Anguilla 2–0 7–0 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification

Personal

edit

As a young boy Nurse played Sunday league football for Wallington Wanderers Football Club and Carshalton Athletic alongside footballer Nigel Reo-Coker. From here Nurse progressed onto Kingstonian Football Academy, balancing full-time training with academic studies going onto complete a BTEC National Diploma in Sports Studies and completed a BSc (Hons) degree in applied sports therapy from 2005 to 2008 at University College Birmingham (the degree was awarded by Birmingham University).

Nurse's brother Jon played for English Football League Two side Dagenham & Redbridge and international football for Barbados.

During Nurse's time with the Puerto Rico Islanders he spearheaded a significant fund raiser for Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in memory of his mother and raised in excess of $6000. The team wore pink jerseys which were raffled after a home fixture.

Honors

edit

Kingstonian Football Club

edit

Sutton United Football Club

edit

Hinckley United

edit

Puerto Rico Islanders

edit

Carolina Railhawks

edit
  • NASL Regular Season Champions: 2011

Fort Lauderdale Strikers

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Rhinos acquire Islanders' Atieno, Rochester also brings in Guyana midfielder Archived 18 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "RailHawks Announce Player Signings and Preseason Schedule". OurSports Central. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  3. ^ "| NASL". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  4. ^ "PRFC ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO ROSTER HEADING INTO THE OFFSEASON". puertoricofc.com. Puerto Rico FC. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Academy Update: Inter Miami CF Academy Announces Updates to Technical Staff". InterMiamiCF.com. Inter Miami. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Nurse, Chris". National Football Teams. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
edit