It’s not every day you sit and have a pint with a Rangers legend.
It’s not every day you have a pint poured for you by one either.
This was as surreal and exciting as it sounds. I was meeting Nacho Novo in NN10, his Rangers pub on Paisley Road.
I had offered to pay, but he insisted I didn’t.
Playing over 250 games and winning six trophies with the club, Nacho Novo is a Rangers legend. And as if it needed any confirmation, the wee Spanish Bluenose is Rangers through-and-through.
The fans are everything to Nacho
Nacho doesn’t shy away from his responsibilities to adoring Rangers fans. He embraces it. And it’s the least he feels he can do.
“That’s just me. That’s how I was brought up. I appreciate the fans,” he explains.
“You see players, when everything’s going well, everybody loves you. But when things go bad, these fans they stayed for me as well.
While I have enjoyed some great moments at Rangers, there have also been some tough times.
During these times the fans stood by me. This I will never forget. I love them. I will always support them. I am one of them and proud to be so.”
Nacho’s appreciation for supporters comes from a time in his youth when he was shunned by one of his idols for a signature. It meant so much to the young Nacho, that he promised he would have time for anyone that asked for it if he made it as a player.
It’s this which inspired his bar in Glasgow’s Southside, about a mile from Ibrox. NN10 is designed to be a modern Rangers haunt which promotes and supports the Rangers family. It’s also the perfect setting to sit down and have a chat with the man.
The pub is about memorabilia, culture, links and accessibility to ex-players and heroes. It’s down to Earth and welcoming and is designed to be a space for players and fans alike to share a drink and celebrate all that’s good about being a Rangers fan. To Nacho this is a chance to give back to the fans that supported him through the good and bad.
Fans he even plans to join in Europe.
Sporty Novo turned down a move to Spanish giants for Scotland
Novo comes from a sporting family – his father was an ex-footballer, his mother played handball and his sister played basketball for the Spanish national team. A talented player from a young age, rather amazingly Nacho turned down a move to the Spanish coastline and the bright lights of Valencia for Raith Rovers.
As insane as it sounds, it made perfect sense at the time. And he hasn’t looked back.
“As a young player I used to be crazy, and my agent, who’s like my dad, told me no, you’re not going to Valencia, you go to Scotland.
I wanted to go to Valencia because for me being Spanish they’re a big club. My agent said well, Nacho, you’re not going to sign there. I know how you are, the sun, the women, you’ll never make it. I took his advice and I came over here. And look now.”
Nacho admits that he didn’t know much about Raith Rovers before joining, but that he did know plenty about Rangers. A former Captain at previous club Huesca had travelled to Ibrox and somehow acquired a Rangers top worn by Ally McCoist with a #9 on the back of it. He gave it to Novo who wore it religiously. It was the start of his blue tinted Scottish love-affair.
Nacho scored 22 goals in his first season at Rovers and was quickly snapped up by Dundee. From there, two successful seasons at Dens Park had him interesting both sides of the Old Firm.
He said “no thanks”
Celtic came knocking with a higher bid than Rangers, but Nacho famously said no thanks. It was after a conversation with the biggest inspiration in his career that he convinced Dundee Chairman Peter Marr to let him move to Ibrox.
“I remember my mother telling me, “Rangers have shown the greatest interest in you, you love Rangers, money doesn’t matter, you do all you can to get to Rangers”, and Rangers have always been there for me,” said Novo.
“I love the club. [before signing] I went to watch Rangers with Jimmy Bell’s son, the Scottish Cup final against Celtic. Barry Ferguson scored. The atmosphere of the fans was incredible.”
He returned to Dundee to do all he could to get to Ibrox. Then Dundee chairman Peter Marr eventually relented, allowing him to move to Rangers, even though Celtic were offering more financially to both Dundee and Nacho.
Nacho would go on to make over 250 appearances and score close to 80 goals for Rangers, winning six trophies and beginning a life-long love affair with Rangers Football Club.
Nacho’s mother tragically passed away from heart disease before he could join Rangers. She was only 43. Nacho describes this time as his lowest but also the catalyst to make the most with his career and life.
There has rarely been a Rangers player play an individual role in so many iconic moments during his tenure in the modern era
There has rarely been a Rangers player play an individual role in so many iconic moments during his tenure in the modern era. He scored the winning goal against Hibs on Helicopter Sunday, the winning penalty v Fiorentina, a stunning Scottish Cup winner v Falkirk.
Not to mention six goals against Celtic. The best one? “Now that I’m not playing, I cherish them all”, he says.
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Novo describes those three moments as his biggest in a Rangers shirt, but also some of the biggest in his personal life. No wonder he has such an infatuation with the club. The little Spaniard has not just been a part of some of our biggest moments in recent years, he’s been a major driving force.
Of course, it’s the UEFA Cup Semi Final penalty which stands out.
“It was one of the best moments of my life,” said Nacho. “I still watch it now, I see the fans watching and crying with joy, it was just the best feeling I have experienced, beyond the birth of my son, Javier.”
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Rangers time not without it’s challenges
Nacho Novo’s time at Rangers is littered with goals, trophies and iconic moments. It was a time when Nacho Novo the player was at the peak of his powers.
Not that he didn’t have his challenges at Ibrox.
“Paul le Guen actually tried to sell me but I said no,” he said. “Ian Durrant told me, ‘just keep working wee man’ and things like that, so then I went to see Paul. I told him I was going to work my bo*****s off because I wasn’t going anywhere. And that’s what I done, like I always do. I just worked hard until I got my chance.”
Nacho had a great relationship with all the managers he had at the club and keeps in touch with them all to this day. Novo also believes McLeish doesn’t get the credit he should for the work he done there.
But it’s Walter Smith who is the figure that Novo will always look up to the most.
“Walter for me will be my favourite, he was like my dad. What a manager he was,” he says.
Life never the same after leaving the club
Novo’s departure from Rangers was tough for the little striker. Nacho went on to play for Sporting de Gijon, Legia Warsaw, Huesca, Morton, Carlisle United, Carolina Railhawks and Glentoran. On reflection, he feels to some extent he was just going through the motions of being a professional after leaving Rangers.
After his playing career ended at Glentoran last year, there was only one place for him to go. Glasgow, which to Nacho is home.
As things wind down Nacho reiterates just how important the fans are to him, and what he wants to achieve with the pub. In the face of major health scares, Nacho hasn’t been able to be as close to the action football wise as he’d like to be. But he’s getting his fitness back and is driven to achieve his ambitions as a player and a coach.
An open invitation for anyone to come down to NN10
In the meantime, he has a message for anyone who wants to come to Paisley Road and share a drink with him.
“Me being here, I support the fans 100%, in good and bad times, like they did with me as a player.
When I opened the pub I felt like a player again, and that’s what I miss. Especially when you retire. As another supporter, I always have their backs and just welcome anyone into the pub to watch the games with me.”
Thank you for the memories Nacho, here’s to plenty more.
The wee man also believes the good times might not be so far away after all.
And he pours a pretty good pint too.
