Jota’s mum and dad certainly will have not had an afternoon like they experienced at Pittodrie on Sunday in among the 1800 Celtic fans who made the noise of a crowd ten times that size and celebrated in an extravagant style when the Portuguese winger scored that late winner, chanting This is the Day That We Win Away for a around 20 minutes non stop.
“They try to get to games as much as they can. They travelled up by car from Glasgow to Aberdeen for the game and were in the middle of the Celtic fans. I was a bit worried because they have never had that experience, but I think they enjoyed themselves,” The Celtic match-winner said afterwards to Celtic TV (watch below).
“I’ve scored before, but never in this sort of atmosphere. This was another level,” he added.
Jota crashed an effort against the Aberdeen crossbar in the first half and his recent habit of hitting the woodwork has not gone unnoticed. He said: “Me and the bar is like a big relationship. I have to work on that. It was very close, but I did score in the second half and I am happy for that,” Scottish Sun reports.
Jota discussed the football philosophy that Ange Postecoglou has started to implement at the club since his arrival at the end of June and is clearly positive about playing this way. “If we can play good football, that is the most important thing. We don’t want to win playing bad football. Those are not our principles. The ideals and the process of the manager tells us we have to stick to our plans, fight for the team and believe in everyone. That is what we are trying to do.
“It is not an easy job, but difficult things in life are the best ones and we are fighting to get to the end of the championship with a lot of good things,” Jota added.
On the victory at Pittodrie, it seems significant in several ways, the first points on the road for this team and the manager, the fact that we’re still involved in the title race and going into the international break on the back of a positive result rather than another disappointment.
“I was thrilled for the goal and the most important thing was the victory because we were looking for this feeling,” Jota said. “It was a difficult pitch and we fought very hard. For sure, it is something we work at every day, to win home or away. The result speaks for itself and shows we are working hard every day to achieve. Time will tell how hard we are working every day and the things we are going to do during the season.”
🗣 'They were in the middle of the Celtic fans. I was a bit worried because they've never had this experience before'
Jota brands #CelticFC away fans 'unbelievable' after family celebrated with Hoops crowd
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The intensity of the Scottish game, with the games coming thick and fast is something that the on-loan Benfica winger has never experienced playing his football in Portugal and Spain. “Playing twice a week is something new for me. I have never done this before, it is my first time. For sure, it is an amazing feeling because you don’t get time to think about the bad things.
“You have to go to the next game with the best mentality and just to recover. We have to be mentally ready, both collectively and individually, for every challenge. There is a big responsibility for this club. We have to win every game and win every challenge.”
Over the last couple of games Jota has had the chance to begin playing alongside Kyogo after the Japanese striker returned from injury for the Europa League match against Bayer Leverkusen. And he’s certainly enjoying linking up with the Celtic fans favourite. “He was injured for a few days and I’ve only had the opportunity to play with him twice so far. But he is a great player and he understands very good football. I just want to learn with him and all my other team-mates.
“Football is a world language. It is the same everywhere, but then there are specific things in each country. Obviously, it is not the same as Portugal or Spain, where I have been in recent years.
“We have to adapt, understand the philosophy of the game and the way everyone plays. If I stick with my mentality and personality then I want to be myself.
“I’m going to do that and enjoy every single moment because football is about enjoyment. Scoring goals is one of the best feelings ever. Having the team backing me up is also a very good thing. I just have to be grateful for that.
“We were a winning team and that was the most important thing.”
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