Novo to boost Rangers Legends defence of the Hong Kong Masters Rangers Legends have confirmed Spanish striker Nacho Novo for the defence of their Masters title at next month’s HKFC Citibank Soccer Sevens, which will be held at Hong Kong Football Club from May 23-25. Peter Beardsley will return to the Masters competition, but this time will play for debutants Wallsend Boys Club, the historic Newcastle-based youth club that has groomed over 60 professional players including Beardsley and fellow England internationals Alan Shearer and Michael Carrick. Aegon Ajax All Stars, the 2012 champions and last year’s runners-up, Citibank All Stars and Nottingham Forest Mobsters will join Rangers among the top four seeds. Wallsend are in the second four-team tier of seeds for next week’s draw along with 2010 champions KFC Tokyo of Japan and local clubs Eastern Salon and USRC (United Services Recreation Club). Two Hong Kong Football Club teams, Kowloon Cricket Club and Singapore Cricket Club round out the 12-team draw, which will be split into four three-team groups. Rangers, who won their first Masters title in 2008, are already forming a formidable and familiar squad in their bid to win the Cup for a third time. Former Netherlands striker Michael Mols, Trinidadian centre-back Marvin Andrews and Scottish stars Alex Rae, Charlie Miller, Derek Ferguson, Scott Nisbet and goalkeeper Andy Goram are all set to return from last year’s winning squad. Novo, who turned 35 last Wednesday, is the only new addition so far. Midfielder Rae believes Novo could form a fearsome partnership with Mols, the Spaniard having taken over the Dutchman’s number 10 shirt when he joined Rangers in July 2004. “Up front, Mikey’s technically very good and little Nacho will provide the legs this year. It’s always good to get one or two younger ones into the squad,” said Rae, who helped Rangers win the 2004/05 Scottish Premier League in the first of his two seasons as teammates with Novo. “Nacho’s a terrific little player. He scored the winning goal in the last game of the 2004/05 season which secured the title, so I have fond memories of the little man.” Rae, who played for Sunderland and Wolves in the English Premier League before moving back to Scotland in 2004, said Rangers Legends are determined to retain their Masters title in Hong Kong. “To be fair, the boys always take it very seriously. I think that’s reflected by the fact we’ve won it twice. We take it seriously and I think that’s the way to approach it,” Rae said. “We won it on my first visit to Hong Kong. There’s one or two of us still remaining from that team, including Andy [Goram], who was sensational that first year. He tore his hamstring, but continued playing and if he hadn’t, we wouldn’t have won it. That’s a fact.” Weber Lo, Citi Country Officer and Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong and Macau, welcomed back the defending Masters champions. “Rangers Legends are a credit to the HKFC Citibank Soccer Sevens and were deserving winners last year after an excellent final against the Aegon Ajax All Stars, who themselves were great champions in 2012,” Lo said. “It’s a pleasure to welcome back the defending champions for the Masters competition and it looks like Rangers have already organised a very strong squad to defend their title. And of course, I also look forward to receiving our own Citibank All Stars who reached the final in 2011.” In the Main competition, Leicester City will defend their title, while English Premier League clubs Chelsea, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Sunderland, Scottish giants Rangers and Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande are also among the top eight seeds in the 16-team competition. Chelsea last played two years ago, while the six other British clubs competed last May, when Leicester beat 2012 champions Newcastle 2-0 in the Cup final. Guangzhou Evergrande, whose first team won last year’s AFC Champions League, are making their tournament debut under experienced coach Zhou Suian. The tournament will start with the opening round of Masters pool games on Friday evening, May 23. All the Main group matches and the remaining Masters pool games are held on the Saturday before the knockout stages for both competitions take place on Sunday. Future stars who have competed in the Main competition include Gabriel Agbonlahor, Glen Johnson, Marc Albrighton, David Bentley, Anton Ferdinand, Sammy Ameobi and Shaun Maloney. The Masters tournament has featured former England internationals Peter Beardsley, John Barnes, Chris Waddle, Teddy Sheringham, Des Walker, Andy Cole and Matt Le Tissier, German legends Jurgen Klinsmann and Pierre Littbarski, former France winger Didier Six and Finnish icon Jari Litmanen. Citibank has title sponsored the event since 2011 and other sponsors this year include British Airways, Nike, Aegon, The Excelsior and Boase Cohen & Collins.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 11:54:46 +0000
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