When cult star Jorge Cadete was netting goals for Tommy Burns’ side in 1996-97, no Portuguese player had played for Celtic.
Jota states that he cannot wait to experience the atmosphere at Celtic since he was intrigued by many games that aired on television while he was growing up.
When Jorge Cadete was at Celtic, Jota hadn’t even been born yet.
In an interview after his loan move, he said:
“Ah Jorge Cadete .. 30 goals in 37 games!
“Of course he is a big hero back home.
“He did very well at Celtic, his statistics are amazing. I know that Celtic fans always remember him for that.
“But I don’t think about trying to be someone else.
“Every player has his past and I’m working every day to have my time.
“I want to make my own story at Celtic and be a success here myself.
“There’s healthy competition for places and it’s good to have such talented, competitive players. We learn every single day and get better every day. That’s the aim of football players to get better.
“I’m confident that I will learn with them. I can help them and they will help me.
“At the end of the day the most important thing is to win games as a group and to win titles.”
Regarding Celtic Park, he noted:
“Paradise isn’t it? Welcome to Paradise!
“I’m really looking forward to playing here. I have seen a lot of Celtic matches in the last few years against big European clubs.
“I have seen PSG, Barcelona and these type of teams play at Celtic Park.
“I always thought there was something special about that place. Like a different atmosphere.
“I might not be able to predict the future but watching those games I wanted to feel that atmosphere.
“It’s the best thing that could happen at this stage of my career.
“There’s a funny story, actually. When I was younger at Benfica, I think I was 11 or 12 years old, I went to watch Benfica play in the Champions League and I changed scarves with a Celtic fan.
“I still have it at home – green and white – and since then I have always remembered the club and paid attention to what they are doing.”
The wide winger dismissed the claim that things have not worked out at Benfica — instead favoring to emphasize his efforts to start the week at home against Ross County to push for a place in Postecoglou’s team.
He said: “Things worked fine. I am here at Celtic. Things are better than perfect.
“Once I knew about (Celtic’s interest) I just wanted to come. I knew it was the right place to be. I’m so happy everything got solved and now I’m here I just want to play.
“It’s the right place because of the name, the history and the things Celtic have achieved in the past and the type of football the club is playing right now.
“It’s suits me and I just want to learn as much as possible off the coach and my team mates. To develop new skills and new ways of playing.
“The way the manager wants to play, the way the team is set up, it’s an aggressive, dynamic mentality and he wants the team to attack and score as many goals as we can. That was a big trigger for me to come here.
“I knew the manager had a story with the national team in Australia. I had heard good things about him. I want to be ready for everything as soon as I can.
“I’m not thinking about Europe yet. There’s a match before then against Ross County. I will be ready whenever the coach says so.
“I just want to play as soon as possible but not look too far ahead. Everything will work out.
“My experiences in the Champions League and Europa League with Benfica will help, for sure.
“But things will be different at Celtic, we will play another type of game and I need to adapt as quickly as I can and work hard with the guys, win as much as we can.”
