Jota - Welcome Home!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cpwxnwr4wngo

 

See from the absolute jubilation when he scored,I think there was a wee penny drop moment when he stopped and stood there with his head bowed,fist raised,and with the noise in front of him.It must have been a flood of thoughts racing through his head.

Delighted for him.

 

Brendan Rodgers predicted that Jota will be even better second time around after the Portuguese marked his Celtic return with the clinching goal at Fir Park.

Sold to Al-Ittihad for £25million in 2023 after two hugely successful years in Glasgow, the winger picked up where he left off by climbing off the bench at Motherwell to seal his side’s 3-1 win


The player was reduced to tears at full-time as he took the acclaim of the visiting support.

While Rodgers warned that the 25-year-old has some way to go before he’s up to speed, he believes he can eventually perform at an even higher level than before.

‘He was a superstar when he was here the first time and it’s been a challenge for him leaving obviously — but he couldn’t have written that any better,’ said Rodgers.

‘He’s a wonderful player. He obviously has a way to go in terms of his fitness, but he’s someone who can beat a man. He doesn’t just look like a good player, he is a good player


Once he gets up to fitness in terms of how I want him to press the game, he’s going to be a fantastic player again.

‘He’s had the sample now of two moves that haven’t quite worked out (at Al-Ittihad and Rennes). He also has probably a more realistic feeling of the actual size of the club, and what Celtic can give him.

‘So, my feeling is that he’ll come back even hungrier and be even better than he was the first time. Why? Because he knows what the other side looks like. And he probably will recognise and realise how lucky he is (to be) at a club like this.’

Asked about the emotion he felt after scoring in stoppage time, Jota said: ‘It’s such a happy moment for me to come back to, for the team to deliver as well. And to celebrate with these amazing fans because they really deserve it.


Yeah, there’s been some difficult moments. Ups and downs. And I just feel like I’m back home and I couldn’t be happier than this.’











One question that lingered after Jota traded Rennes for Celtic and Kyogo Furuhashi went in the other direction last week, was whether the talismanic Portuguese winger could recapture the form and impact he had during his first spell at the Scottish club.

His half-hour cameo in Celtic's 3-1 win at Motherwell went some way to answering that and his recruitment would seem fantastic business, assuming the Jota of old is back.

He's not match fit. He endured a fairly torrid 18 months after leaving Glasgow, first at Al-Ittihad after his £25m move, then France where he, again, struggled for game time.

But Celtic seems to be the place where he thrives, and he's coming into what should be the start of his prime, aged just 25.

"It's a huge moment for Jota," manager Brendan Rodgers told BBC Scotland shortly after watching his new recruit settle the outcome with an added-time strike at Fir Park.

"That's the very reason he's come back. It's important for creative players to feel wanted and appreciated. The environment has to be right for them. Celtic is the perfect environment for him.

"He's going to be a big asset for us





The tears he shed just as he celebrated in front of the Celtic fans after his goal demonstrated just how "right" that environment must seem in his eyes. Pure joy and a sense of relief, rolled into one.

The grass is always greener they say but, in Jota's case, that proved badly wrong, potentially damaging to his career and, no doubt, his confidence.

One wonders with hindsight if he would have made the same move, despite the substantial financial gain he made?

He undoubtedly felt wanted during his first spell at the club. In the Premiership alone, he scored 21 goals and provided 21 assists in just 62 games.

His status soared toward the end of season 2022-23, when he scored the winner in a 3-2 victory over Rangers, then did the same in the Scottish Cup semi-final win over the same opposition a few weeks later. Then came a last-minute third as that trophy was won in what would be his last hurrah.

He left, and it seemed the end of a what was a two-way love-in between him and the Celtic support, until now.

"That was always the question - are you going to get the same Jota back again after he's probably gone through a period where his confidence has been shattered?" asked former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner on BBC Scotland's Sportsound.

"He's got the ability, you could see it when he came on the pitch, he's sharp enough, he looks quick enough.

"Why did that not come to the fore in his other clubs? That would be the question most of us would probably be asking - is he going to be the same Jota?

"He did well when he came on, we saw glimpses of his old self and getting the goal will give him confidence."

What will give him even more was the reception he received after delivering that moment that seemed as though he'd written the script himself.

A clinching goal announced the Jota of old may just be back indeed.

 

That was him half fit, and yet to develop an understanding with Engels, Idah, Kuhn and Bernardo. Daizen knew he would be there once he got the ball. Reo will also improve with more movement in front of him.

 

Set phasers to staun