**Clark** For Fernando: by Seventy2 magazine Editor Mal Robinson Written by Mal Robinson, Editor of Seventy2 magazine As the Editor of a fanzine, you find producing an issue can throw up some quirky acts of fate, as can football in general. For example, former players scoring against their old clubs, or an ex-manager being sent to the stands on his maiden homecoming in the opposition dug out probably being the most common. Consider then, Issue 8 of Seventy2 magazine. It was in the planning for a while and as many of you know, each issue of the retro Rangers magazine is themed. We have covered topics like “Legends”, weve had a “Captains” and a “Champions” special in previous editions and so, with a few Dutch contacts on our list, we thought why not cover a Dutch special? The focus on everything Oranje and Blue was penciled in for a slot earlier this year, but as in life things get in the way and it was put on the back burner as something else cropped up – such as a champions special for the Rangers winning the Division 3 title. When arranging interviews for Seventy2 magazine, feelers are generally put out with the former players a month or so in advance, in a bid to get timings for interviews and the like sorted. And so it was in January of this year I contacted Fernando Ricksen to see if he would be able to feature in our proposed Dutch Special. After a few missed calls and messages we finally made contact and Fernando was only too delighted to come on board for the issue on his homeland. When the time came for his interview via telephone (not all are glamorous and in person) we struggled to get in touch as he had a few physio appointments at the time and as other events took over back at home for Seventy2, we agreed to do an interview at a later date, as the Dutch issue was swapped for other themes. Cometh September 2013 and it was agreed it was time for the Dutch special to come to life on the pages of Seventy2 and again contact was made with an array of former stars and writers with the theme in mind. For some reason though we had no answer from Fernando, but there was still time until the November release of the issue and we would get back to him. Still no contact was had by October, which was strange, with Fernando being the perfect gentleman on the phone, serving up a bit of banter in the process. Then came the stunning announcement by Fernando on Dutch TV about being diagnosed with ALS (or Motor Neurone Disease) and we were all in shock. Within an instant it became clear the guy needed his privacy at this time, yet we vowed his face should appear on the front of the magazine in a show of support for a player who wore his heart on the sleeve for the Rangers…it was the least we could do. We were blown away with the worldwide message of support for Fernando and got in touch with the Facebook page “Pray for Fernando’ who had amassed an amazing 74,000 followers and well wishers inside a week. They kindly agreed to offer a selection of the tributes to feature in the magazine. As issue 8 became more established, former players also joined in the tributes and these have been included, as has an interview with Fernando’s biographer - Vincent de Vries, shedding light on the making of the book and Fernando’s state of mind in his battle ahead. To complete the picture we decided this awful illness needed some backing in Scotland and so the Motor Neurone Disease association were contacted and it was agreed that 10p from every sale of issue 8 would go to MND Scotland as well as raise awareness for them inside the magazine and hopefully find a cure one day for this disease. It is safe to say then that the Dutch Special out next week has been one of the most fascinating and rewarding to put together and kind of puts life in perspective at times. And so the headline reads on the front cover “For Fernando”. He will be getting a copy and with it the love and support of every bluenose inside and outside of the magazine. WATP Mal Robinson.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 12:38:29 +0000
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