The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Novo says sorry after reaction to scoring
Club great admits regrets at celebrating goals on his return to Dens in 2004
Nacho Novo has apologised to Dundee fans for celebrating a double for Rangers on his return to Dens Park.
The Spaniard celebrated wildly after coming off the bench for Gers in his first game facing his old club since moving to Ibrox in the summer of 2004.
He entered the fray for Shota Arveladze in the second half before scoring twice late on, with his new employers running out 2-0 winners on September 26 the same year.
Novo, 40, revealed his mixed emotions when appearing at a Longest Forty live event in Dundee.
He said: “My first game at Dundee after signing for Rangers was at Dens
Park and I was a sub that day. It was a league game and I heard abuse from some of the fans as I was warming up to come on.
“They were booing me and I thought, ‘Why would you do that to me when I did very well for you?’
“I scored two goals and the adrenaline was flowing and I regret that I punched the grass with my fist when celebrating. But I can say that I was celebrating that goal that way because of the abuse I had taken.
“But don’t get me wrong, I still love Dundee. It’s a great club and like a family to me, I still have friends that I keep in touch with.
“Listen, I did not want to hurt anyone. But I am not going to lie, on the football park you can get carried away and that is what happened that day and I apologise to the fans now. I was also quite young.”
Novo, who scored 34 goals in 87 appearances for the Dark Blues between 2002 and 2004, also aimed a dig at city rivals Dundee United.
He said: “The Dundee fans are very friendly and I can tell you now that I would never have signed for Dundee United.
“I lived in Broughty Ferry when I was playing and it is a very nice place but I got abuse from United supporters when I was out.”
He added: “I have a few highlights from playing at Dundee.
“We reached the Scottish Cup Final in 2003 and also had a good run in Europe as well. We actually had a really goodquality team.
“We also had some great players in the team like the goalkeeper Julian Speroni and I enjoyed playing alongside Fabrizio Ravanelli, Juan Sara, Fabian Caballero, Gavin Rae and Barry Smith among others.”