Chivas' Nurse thrown into the fire

CARSON, Calif. -- For the last year, Roberto Nurse made the best of a bad situation.

After Nurse and his club Queretaro were relegated from the Mexican Primera Division, the Mexico City native turned up his goal-scoring fury. He torched Mexico's Primera A (second division) by scoring a league-high 17 goals between the Apertura '07 and Clausura '08 campaigns.

Still, Nurse had all the goals but none of the glory. When his time with Queretaro was over, Nurse wanted nothing to do with Mexico's second level.

"I decided to leave Mexico because I felt that I was stuck in a league that nobody cares about," Nurse said. "What interests me most is to succeed, to accomplish significant achievements and I think this is a good option. I just have to work hard to score goals."

With Chivas USA, Nurse quickly learned how much he was valued. Just one day after he signed with the Red-and-White, and hours after he received the necessary paperwork to play, Nurse started Chivas USA's SuperLiga tilt against Santos Laguna.

On a squad that has been depleted by injuries since the start of the season, Nurse is a welcomed addition. There will be an adjustment period, however, as Wednesday's match was the start of the process.

"He did OK. Obviously (it was) the first time on the field with this group of players," Chivas USA coach Preki said after Wednesday's match. "The game was fast and he had a little bit difficulty adjusting himself to this type of game. To be fair to him, he played 45 minutes and gave us some minutes so we can rest some of the guys."

Without Nurse, Preki likely would have had to have either started Ante Razov or Anthony Hamilton or adjusted the lineup in some manner. Maykel Galindo and Alecko Eskandarian have battled injury for most of the season while Justin Braun is out for as much as two weeks with a knee injury.

If and when the forwards begin to regain their health, the competition for minutes will likely be intense, but it's one Nurse said he's up for.

"It's going to be interesting. Possibly the ones who are in better form will get the starting spot," Nurse said. "But it's all up to me and how hard I work. That's how you achieve success. Nothing is impossible. I know I can accomplish it. I'm here for a reason and I believe I've got a good opportunity here."

Working hard is what Nurse does best, he said, and that's the only way he will be able to reach his goals.

"I expect the best from myself," Nurse said. "I want to score as many goals as possible as that's always what I try to achieve as a forward. I've got to work and follow the coaches' orders and when called upon I need to be ready."

Having spent his entire career in Mexico, Nurse said he knew little of Major League Soccer. In time, though, both his knowledge of the league and the United States will increase. It helps that Nurse speaks English.

"I know very little of the league. I've just been learning about it since I got here," he said. "In reality, this league is not thought of or followed very much in Mexico. It's an important league but in Mexico it's not given the necessary respect. I think that showed (on Wednesday) because I believe Santos was overconfident against us and they were pretty surprised."

One of the major perks for Nurse is the opportunity to play with Claudio Suarez. Nurse said having the opportunity to play with Mexico's all-time national team appearance leader humbled him.

"It's an honor. The man is an institution in Mexico and here as well," Nurse said. "It's fantastic to have the chance to play with him and train with him. Aside from being a great player, he's a great person and it's really a pleasure to be with him."