Nacho Novo - I Said No Thanks: The Autobiography

I want to dedicate this book to the memory of my wonderful mother, Isabel, who left this world too early six years ago. There is not a day goes past I dont think about her.

To my sister Arantxa; to Donna, Dylan, Ross and Javier you all mean the world to me.

Nacho Novo

Id like to thank everyone at Black & White Publishing for their patience and understanding throughout this project. To the fans of Rangers Football Club for the past six years you have been Simply the Best. To Graeme Park for being a loyal friend at all times and helping us get the book off and running.

Finally, to Darrell. Thanks pal, for all the hours you put in, for being there and doing a fantastic job.

Nacho Novo

To Campbell, Alison, Janne and all the team at Black & White Publishing your support when things got tough was really appreciated. Thanks to SNS pictures, everyone at the Evening Times and to GP. A good friend, critic, and fountain of knowledge. To Shannon for keeping me going.

Finally, to Nacho I told you we would get there!

Darrell King

I have worked with some special foreign talents over my two spells as manager of Rangers Football Club, but scarcely have I come across a more passionate and infectious character than Nacho Novo.

I admit to having been a little unsure of him when I returned to Rangers in January 2007 for my second tenure but I quickly realised that there are not too many players in the game like him. One minute he can be infuriatingly erratic and the next he will produce something quite extraordinary. I am pleased to say I have experienced more of the latter than the former.

Of course, it has not been to Nachos liking that he has regularly been used as a substitute as he would like to start every game. However, there have been few players in the Scottish game more capable of changing a game when called upon.

Nacho is a one-off really; although we should actually say there are only two Nacho Novos as at times he can be brilliant, and at other times very frustrating! He is one of these boys who display such great natural enthusiasm for the game and he is a player that the Rangers supporters love for that trait. He is very much one of their favourites and that adulation is only reserved for those who earn it. Nacho has done that in their eyes.

He scores fantastic goals, he goes on fantastic runs, but on other occasions he can do something completely frustrating! But we love him for what he is, and thats why we enjoy working with him.

He is a fantastic substitute although I know he doesnt like that tag because he wants to play in the team the same as anybody else as he always has an impact on the game. Its not to his liking when he starts games on the bench but you always get a spark from him when he is introduced.

There are a number of players in the modern game who imply their affinity to a certain club when there is clearly no depth of feeling. However, when Nacho kisses the badge or salutes the Rangers fans they know he means it. Nacho really wears his heart on his sleeve, he loves his football and he is a pleasure to work with.

I used to think he was erratic in what he did, but now I just appreciate that he has his own style. He is what he is and you are never going to change him or want to change him. He always wants to play more than I have picked him and I always appreciate that and that it can affect him a bit.

Nacho is one of these lads who get a wee bit downhearted when he is not picked but as soon as he gets onto that pitch you would never know that. Its simply because he cares, which is a trait very welcome in the modern game.

Nacho has also been at the heart of Rangers greatest triumphs since I returned and I will always be indebted to him for his contributions and his role in helping the club win trophies over the recent period.

He has scored vital goals at home and in Europe, goals that no Rangers fan will ever forget. That is something not too many players can say. He should be proud of that, of what he has done and the place he has written for himself in the Rangers history books.

He has been terrific for us on the big stage and he has scored some really important goals none more so than the penalty in Florence that took us to the UEFA Cup Final in 2008 in Manchester.

It was an incredible moment when he stepped up to take that last spot kick against Fiorentina in the second leg of the semi-final and it is one none of us are liable to forget. I was quite content when it was Nacho going up to take the decisive kick. I knew the stage was set for him.

It was the same in the Scottish Cup Final last season against Falkirk when we introduced him at half-time from the bench and he produced one of the great Hampden Park winning goals from forty-five yards with his first kick to help the team clinch the domestic double. That is Nacho Novo. He will always have a place in the heart of every Rangers fan.

The voice on the other end of the phone delivered the statement that was about to send my already turbulent summer into a complete head-spin.

He said: Hi Nacho, its Peter Lawwell here. We would like to talk to you about joining Celtic

You could have knocked me over with a feather. I muttered a reply about him having to speak to my agent first and then ended the conversation. I sat there in my house in Broughty Ferry and stared into space. Where was this situation going now?

I had clung on for weeks to my dream of leaving Dundee for Glasgow but to sign for Rangers, not their arch-rivals.

Now, as Rangers and Dundee failed to strike a deal, my agent, Jorge Leira, was taking a call from the club just minutes after the one I had from Peter Lawwell to say that Dundee had agreed a fee for me with Celtic and I was free to talk to them. I could hardly take in what I was hearing.

There have been many theories about my huge desire to sign for Rangers and before I go into what happened with the whole Celtic situation, I think its important to clear up exactly where the roots of that came from.

When I moved to Huesca in the summer of 2000, I shared a flat with the captain of the team, Guillermo Mingarro. He was a really good guy who liked to travel around Europe on holiday in the close season. Everywhere he went, he would pick up a football strip from whatever team, or teams, were based in the city he was staying in. Mingarro had visited Scotland and had bought a Rangers top a few years before. It was the blue Adidas one with the three stripes worn in the mid-90s by top players like Paul Gascoigne and Brian Laudrup. The one he had had a number nine on the back no name as that wasnt the done thing back then although I was to discover later that this was the strip made famous by Ally McCoist, Rangers finest ever striker.

One day in the flat Mingarro gave the strip to me. I had no idea who Rangers were; in fact I thought it was an American Ice Hockey or baseball top because of the name Rangers.

Mingarro told me they were a famous team in Scotland and from there the name just stuck in my mind. A year or so later, I was watching TV when some highlights came on of Henrik Larsson. He had just finished an amazing season at Celtic, scoring well over forty goals. They had an interview with him and they cut into it with some goals against Rangers. The blue strip caught my eye and that was basically how it all started.

Of course, when I was offered the chance to move to Scotland, to Raith Rovers, I knew all about Rangers and Celtic as I had followed the league for a while since becoming an unofficial fan with my blue strip!