Harry Novillo woke up bleary-eyed on a fine, early summer morning in Melbourne. He switched on the television, then walked into the kitchen to make his bowl of café au lait. The sounds of a football match being played half-way across the world on Monday night, in the unremarkable English city of Leicester, filled his apartment. Bowl of milky coffee in hand, he plonked himself on the couch and watched Riyad Mahrez, football’s man of the moment, receive a long diagonal pass in the penalty area. Between him and the goal stood his direct opponent, César Azpilicueta. With the ball at his feet Mahrez proceeded to dance like Fred Astaire, the left back tried to follow his twinkle toed moves, he wasn’t going to be embarrassed on the green dancefloor, but embarrass the Spanish international Mahrez did. He calmly, expertly, ended the dance as he deliciously caressed the ball past the bamboozled Azpilicueta. Despite the narrow angle, the curved trajectory of the shot was so accurate it sailed between the desperate dive of the goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, and the inside of the post. Mahrez ran off to the sideline celebrate this pearl of a goal with his adoring Leicester fans and his teammates. In the penalty box, much like the powerful, cashed up, West London club he represents, Azpilicueta dropped to his knees in despair. Unless you were a fan of the reigning English champions, the joy felt around the world was extreme in excelsis.
Meanwhile, back in Melbourne, Harry Novillo smiled wryly. He reminisced about the few games he played with a skinny little Algerian in March 2012.
In Novillo’s one season at Le Havre, the precocious big shot who was ready for big time football, who had already played for the youth teams of France, who was nurtured in the best football academy in country, crossed paths with Riyad Mahrez. It was the football equivalent of the impatient muscular young hare meeting the patient skinnier tortoise.
On August 7, 2010, Harry Novillo made his professional debut in Ligue 1 for Olympique Lyonnais at the tender age of 18, coming off the bench for seven minutes in the first game of the season against Monaco. Novillo spent the rest of the 2010/11 season playing for Olympique Lyonnais II in the Championnat de France Amateur (CFA) Group B. He made 20 appearances and scored 8 goals. The following season, on August 13, 2011, Harry Novillo made his second appearance for Olympique Lyonnais, coming off the bench for five minutes in the second game of the season against Ajaccio. On transfer deadline day August 31, 2011, Harry Novillo said goodbye to Lyon, the city of his childhood, as Olympique Lyonnais of Ligue 1, loaned him to Le Havre of Ligue 2 for the rest of the season.
On the same August weekend in 2010, at the age of 19, Riyad Mahrez made his debut for Le Havre II against Noisy-Le-Sec in CFA Group D. He played the full 90 and scored two goals in his team’s convincing 4-1 win. By the end of the 2010/11 season he had made 32 appearances for Le Havre II and scored 13 goals. He was promoted to the senior team for season 2011/12. On the opening day of the 2011/12 season, Mahrez made his first team debut for Le Havre in Ligue 2 as he came off the bench for the last 10 minutes against SCO Angers. The following week he made his second appearance as an early 20th minute substitute at home against Stade Laval. He did not see out the game. He was dragged in the 69th minute as Le Havre tried to break the 1-1 deadlock. Riyad Mahrez was sent back to Le Havre II by manager Cédric Daury.
This is how Riyad Mahrez explained his demotion and long exile in the seconds.
When I went to Le Havre I wasn’t physically ready. I was skinny and not strong enough to play in a tough league. They told me to go back to the second team. I was very disappointed but maybe that helped me to be the way I am now.
Le Havre brought in Harry Novillo, a physically ready player 12 months Mahrez’s junior, to bolster their attack. He walked straight into the first team and made his debut by playing the full 90 in Le Havre’s 2-1 home win against Tours on September 9, 2011.
By the end of February 2012, Harry Novillo had started in 8 games for Le Havre, come off the bench 6 times, did not come off the bench twice and was left off the team sheet 4 times. He had scored 1 goal, had 1 assist and had 1 big attitude problem. He was dropped to the Le Havre seconds.
It was there that the disgruntled Novillo caught up with the exiled Riyad Mahrez. The skinny Algerian had turned just 21 the month before and only had a paltry 59 minutes of first team professional football to show for it.
They appeared in three matches together for Le Havre II.
March 8, 2012
Le Havre II vs. Viry Châtillon ES 3 – 0
Mahrez scored the opener in the 22nd minute, Novillo made it 3-0 in the 65th.
March 11, 2012
Carquefou vs. Le Havre 0 – 0
March 25, 2012
Pacy Vallée-d’Eure vs. Le Havre II 0 – 3
Novillo scored the opener in the 5th minute, Mahrez quickly made it 2-0 in the 8th.
Novillo returned to the first team at the end of March, starting in a 2-1 away defeat to Clermont. He then made 3 more appearances as a late substitute, the last on April 20 against Monaco on Match Day 33 of the 2011/12 season. He didn’t make the team sheet for the remainder of the season and returned to Lyon. Le Havre were glad to see the back of him.
Ten days later, on April 30, on Match Day 35 of the 2011/12 season, at the ripe old age of 21 years, 2 months and 9 days, the day Riyad Mahrez had been patiently waiting for finally arrived. During his lenghthy exile Le Havre had changed manger. The new boss, Erick Mombaerts, selected Mahrez in the starting eleven. Le Havre lost 2-0 away to Lens, Mahrez played the full 90.
He was ready.
Mahrez started in the remaining three games of the 2011/12 season, all victories, he even managed to notch up his first assist.
One year older, one year stronger, the 2012/13 season saw Mahrez establish himself as a mainstay for Le Havre in Ligue 2 with 38 appearances, 27 in the starting eleven, 5 goals and 6 assists.
Mahrez made a further 19 appearances (5 goals, 5 assist) for Le Havre in the first half of the 2013/14 season. Steve Walsh, Leicester City’s head of recruitment, was present at a few of those games.
According to London’s Telegraph.
Walsh actually went to watch a Le Havre winger called Ryan Mendes – now at Nottingham Forest – but was blown away by the player on the other flank. After two more trips he convinced Leicester to buy him, with the £350,000 fee surely confirming him as one of the shrewdest signings of the decade.
On the January 25, 2014, Mahrez made his first appearance in England’s Football League Championship for promotion chasing Leicester City, as a late 79th minute substitute against Middlesborough.
On March 1, 2014, a week after his 23rd birthday, Mahrez made Leicester City’s starting eleven.
To describe what has happened to Mahrez as a fairy tale since that day would be an understatement. Champion of the Championship, his team avoiding relegation from the Premier League, after being anchored to the bottom of the table for most of the season, by miraculously winning 7 of their last 9 games, and now having a break out season as a leading figure in one of the most unlikely feelgood football stories of the current season as his club insolently takes down and looks down on the cashed-up mega-clubs from the lofty heights of the Premier League summit. Breathless stuff.
Mahrez the skinny tortoise had made it. He got there slowly, he got there steadily, but he persevered. With his light frame it took him longer to mature. He will turn 25 in two months time, an age when footballers are close to the finished article and truly find out whether they have fulfilled their potential.
What about the muscular young hare? What happened to Harry Novillo after he bid adieu to Mahrez and the port of Le Havre and returned to the big smoke of Lyon.
At the start of the 2012/13 season he found himself back at Olympique Lyonnais II. He made 11 appearances, scored 3 goals and even made 2 appearances in the big time, as a sub for an already qualified Lyon in the group stages of the Europa League. He needed first team football. Lyon loaned Novillo out to Ajaccio in Ligue 2.
Here he is in his own words from a remarkably frank interview he gave in November 2014.
Le Havre was my first loan spell, and it is there where I really got to play my first full professional matches. It was there where I got a taste of professional football for the first time. Unfortunately, it ended badly. At Ajaccio, it was a very nice experience. I found a familial football club there, one that was full of life and generosity. I was also able to express myself there, but it ended badly because I injured my shoulder and I was forced to return to Lyon. At Mons, I did not play due to certain people who had problems with those who had slightly darker skin than others…
Personally, I know that I have the qualities to progress at all three of those clubs. At Le Havre, maybe I did not have the right attitude. But at Mons…
Mons was a disaster. A wasted season. Novillo played only 22 minutes of first team football for the worst team team in Belgium’s Jupiler League for the entire 2013/14 campaign.
When he gave the interview, Novillo was playing for Clermont in Ligue 2, when asked about why he decided to join Clermont, he answered.
A lot of great players passed through here, like Benatia, Brahimi or Alessandrini. It is a springboard club for young players who have the qualities that match their ambitions. Above all, it is a club that had good discussions with me and that knew how to seduce me by telling me the things that I wanted to here. For the moment, everything is coming together, so I can say that it is a club that stays true to its word, its values. I am truly very happy to be at Clermont right now. We will work to be higher (up the table), God willing.
Two months later in January 13, 2015, after a massive bust up involving the manager and members of the playing group, Novillo’s contract with Clermont was terminated. He made 12 first team appearances for the club and scored 2 goals.
On Feb 11, 2015, Novillo celebrated his 23rd birthday. But there wasn’t much to celebrate. He was clubless. Sixteen years of his life devoted to football and his career was careening off the rails. In comparison, Riyad Mahrez was playing in the EPL
A few weeks later Novillo jumped on a plane to, of all places, Melbourne, Australia.
Melbourne City needed an injury replacement for veteran Irishman, Damien Duff, for the tail end of the A-League season. Novillo made 8 appearances, scored 2 goals, and quickly became a fan favourite with his shoot on sight, direct attacking style. He liked it here, he needed stability and regular first team football, he needed to get his career back on track. Novillo signed a 2 year contract.
When his contract with Melbourne City expires in 2017 Harry Novillo will be 25 years of age. Where he will be, where he will go, we don’t know, but everyone including Harry Novillo will have a better idea as to whether he truly fulfilled his potential. It might not be the stratospheric heights of the exiled skinny Algerian that he met in the Le Havre, but at least now he has a shot.
Harry Novillo switched off the television. He had training to attend and an upcoming Melbourne derby to win.
