Glasgow Rangers manager Philippe Clement recently announced his squad for the Europa League, which gets underway following the international break, and there were a few notable exclusions.
Winger Rabbi Matondo – who scored twice in the 6-0 thrashing of Ross County recently – wasn’t named in the squad, but perhaps the biggest name to miss out was Danilo.
The Brazilian has struggled with injuries since joining the Ibrox side last summer, reducing his impact on the pitch. Despite scoring against Ross County a couple of weeks ago, the former Ajax starlet has suffered a setback with his knee injury, ruling him out for another 3-4 weeks according to the manager.
The striker has showcased only brief moments of his qualities due to these injury problems. If they continue to persist, the signing could go down as one of the more costly ones in the club’s history.
He isn’t the first striker to move to the club from the Netherlands and struggled with injury, however, as Michael Mols endured an even tougher start to life in Scotland yet became a cult hero.
Michael Mols’ Rangers statistics
After leading the Light Blues to the treble during the 1998/99 campaign, Dick Advocaat sought to bolster his side that summer, which saw a move for Mols materialise.
The Dutchman cost the club £4m from FC Utrecht, enjoying a stellar start to his career with the club, scoring four goals against Motherwell in the league, before adding another nine goals to his tally in both the league and Champions League.
This electric start had many of the supporters wondering just how far they could go in the latter competition, especially as Mols – who ex-Celtic boss Martin O'Neill recently described as a "magnificent footballer" – scored twice in a win against PSV Eindhoven in the group stages.
A draw against Bayern Munich in Glasgow meant the club travelled to Germany knowing a victory could seal progress to the next stage. Instead, it was a night on which Mols’ career took a devastating turn.
With Rangers dominating after 30 minutes, Giovanni Van Bronckhorst played a ball through the middle, which Oliver Kahn came out to clear. The German failed to knock it out for a throw in, so he began to chase the ball down. Mols sprinted to try and win the ball and score into the empty net, but the collision with the goalkeeper saw the Dutch striker suffer a cruciate ligament injury.
It was clear he would never be the same player again. Mols did make a comeback after nine months, scoring nine goals over the next two seasons, before making a crucial impact during the 2002/03 season.
Now in the twilight of his career, Mols netted 14 times in 35 matches as the Light Blues won the treble under Alex McLeish, with the Dutchman even scoring a sublime winner against Celtic in a 3-2 victory.
He signed a one-year extension in the summer of 2003, going on to add another 12 goals to his collection, ending his spell in Glasgow with 48 goals in 146 appearances.
How good could he have been if it weren’t for that fateful night in Munich? Who knows, but McLeish signed a striker in the summer that Mols left for a tenth of the fee the club shelled out for the Dutchman, and he went on to score more goals for Rangers.
Rangers hit the jackpot with Nacho Novo
The 2003/04 season was one to forget. No trophies were won as the Light Blues finished way off the pace in the title race, failing to even win an Old Firm match.
McLeish underwent somewhat of a rebuild that summer, moving on no fewer than 12 players, while signing ten players in the process, with Nacho Novo being one of the new arrivals.
The striker cost just £450k from Dundee, where he had scored 22 goals the season before, clearly putting himself in the shop window. Indeed, the player even turned down an approach from Celtic to move to Ibrox, endearing himself to the supporters.
Novo would form a deadly partnership with Dado Prso during the 2004/05 season, scoring 25 goals in all competitions as the ‘little and large’ duo terrorised defences up and down the country during their double-winning season.
Date and Venue
Goals scored
Result
20/11/2004 – Ibrox
One
2–0 Rangers
20/02/2005 – Parkhead
One
2–0 Rangers
20/08/2005 – Ibrox
One
3–1 Rangers
20/10/2007 – Ibrox
Two
3–0 Rangers
16/04/2008 – Parkhead
One
2-1 Celtic
He would never be as prolific for the club as he was during his debut season, but Novo’s never-say-die attitude and relentless work rate made him a firm favourite among the support.
The Spaniard was usually limited to substitute appearances from the bench under Walter Smith between 2007 and 2010, but the centre-forward still won six trophies under him while netting some vital goals.
None more so than his effort during the 2009 Scottish Cup final. The heat at Hampden that day was clearly having a debilitating effect on both sets of players, as the game wasn’t of the highest quality.
Novo came on for Kris Boyd as the second half started, making an immediate impression. From a throw in, the ball bounced Novo’s way, and he struck a dipping strike into the Falkirk goal.
This proved to be the only goal of the game and secured a domestic double for Smith, who was full of praise for the diminutive striker after the game, saying: "A goal from Nacho Novo just after half-time was terrific for us – I always say to people, if I was that inspired, I would have had him on at the start."
Novo left a year later, finishing his spell at Rangers with 72 goals in 255 matches, winning a total of eight trophies and reaching the UEFA Cup final with the Gers in 2008.
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For just £450k, it was evident the Light Blues got their money's worth out of the former Raith Rovers striker as he proved to be exactly what they needed at the time.
McLeish didn’t hit the jackpot on many signings during his tenure at the club, but Novo was certainly one.