Nacho Novo

Ignacio Gómez Novo (born March 26 1979 in Ferrol, Galicia, Spain), simply known as Nacho Novo, is a professional football (soccer) player who currently plays for Rangers F.C.. He formerly played for SD Huesca, Raith Rovers F.C. and Dundee F.C..

Career

Novo joined Raith Rovers from SD Huesca in July 2001 and scored 18 goals in 33 appearances in his first season. His goalscoring record attracted the attention of Premier League club Dundee F.C. who signed him for £100,000 in July 2002.

He remained with Dundee for two seasons where his form attracted the interest of several clubs. Both Rangers and Celtic as well as Leicester City F.C. were reported to be interested in signing Novo however Celtic later dropped their interest in the player and Leicester City's interest failed to materialise.

He eventually signed for Rangers FC in July 2004 for a reported fee of £450,000.

Novo scored 25 goals in his first season at Rangers, scoring the goal at Hibernian that won Rangers the league title. 19 of these goals came in the Scottish Premier League, with three in the league cup and three in European competition, including one against eventual UEFA Cup winners PFC CSKA Moscow in the qualifying stages of the UEFA Champions League.

He wore shirt number 10 and was a regular in the Rangers side until the start of the 2005-06 in Scottish football when he broke his metatarsal, ruling him out for several months. He made his first Rangers come back against Kilmarnock F.C. in a 3-2 win. He failed to show any level of consistency for the remainder of the season and was left frustrated with limited appearances in the first team.

In early 2006-07 in Scottish football, Novo looked set to leave Rangers after limited first team opportunities under new manager Paul Le Guen. However a proposed transfer to Football League Championship club Coventry City F.C. fell through on transfer deadline day.

Novo scored his first goal in over a year for Rangers in a 3-2 UEFA Cup 2006-07 win over A.S. Livorno Calcio on October 19, 2006. In the following match Novo came off the subs bench to score a late winner against St Mirren F.C. in a 3-2 win for Rangers. He then started the next game at the expense of Dado Pršo, Motherwell F.C. held Rangers to a 1-1 draw with Novo named Man of the Match.

His rejuvenated form continued with goals against Heart of Midlothian F.C., Maccabi Haifa F.C. and AJ Auxerre. Novo has also stated his desire to play for Rangers for the rest of his career.

Rangers statistics

Correct as of September 1 2007

Honours

- Scottish Premier League: 2004-05 in Scottish football
- Scottish League Cup: 2004-05 in Scottish football