THERE isn’t much that Jota hasn’t enjoyed about his adventure in Scottish football so far, and his eagerness to get back out in front of the Celtic fans after finally competing his permanent move to the club on Friday was clearly evident.
One thing he is not looking forward to next season though is the adoption of VAR in the Premiership, with his expression changing markedly at the mere mention of its introduction.
As a winger, it is easy to deduce his reasoning, with marginal offside calls likely to prove a point of frustration as he looks to get in behind defences. But his objection to the technology comes from his wider love of the game, and a belief that VAR diminishes the sport for both players and fans.
He has a few months to enjoy before video assistant referees are deployed after the World Cup in December, but he is far from looking forward to playing under their watchful gaze on a weekly basis.
“I have heard about that,” Jota said.
“I am against VAR. I don’t like it. I think it is ruining football and I am totally against it. That’s my personal opinion. I think football is much more than that.
“Nowadays we try to complicate what is simple but I guess it is not up to me to make those decisions.
“It’s everything. Football is about mistakes, it’s about errors. Everyone will make mistakes, I will make mistakes, the referees will make mistakes and the coaches too.
“That’s the beauty of it. Because if there is a mistake then someone is going to take an opportunity.
“The delay is something I really don’t like. But I guess this is what we have now.”
Jota has already chalked up a couple of iconic moments celebrating with the Celtic supporters during his loan spell at the club last season, and he worries that such scenes will be curtailed by the worry that VAR may intervene when a goal is scored.
“Of course,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense.
“I am evaluating it from every angle. As a fan, as a footballer, everything.
“I just don’t think it makes sense. That’s my opinion.”
The season was underway when Jota became the latest of a raft of players brought to Celtic by Ange Postecoglou last summer during his squad rebuild. Supporters have been anxiously awaiting the news of his permanent signing all summer, but it is worth noting just how early in the window he has come to Glasgow this time around.
The more settled look about the squad should in theory give Celtic a better chance of hitting the ground running after a shaky start to the last campaign, and Jota is hoping a proper pre-season can allow him to improve further on his impressive showings last term.
“That’s something that was important to me because in the last few years I have not had the chance to do the full pre-season with the club I am playing for,” he said.
“Now I have the opportunity and I am just happy that I can be with all the lads and enjoy it. I can be happy on the pitch and deliver results.
“Every training and every game is a step we make towards our goal. We do not want to stop, we know we can be much better than this.
“We just have to believe in the ideas of the coach and to go as strong as we can because we do not stop.”
So, Celtic should be prepared for a decent tilt at the Champions League group stage according to Jota, and he is excited to see who he might come up against at the top level when the draw is made next month.
He is hoping though not to come up against former club Benfica, admitting it was a wrench to leave the place he has called home for so many years.
He likened the situation to Kieran Tierney leaving his own boyhood heroes Celtic, and while he is consoled by the challenge that lies ahead of him, he admits it would be strange to come up against the team he has supported all of his life.
“I don’t want to think about that,” he said. “If I scored I would definitely not celebrate, no chance!
“Benfica is a really special place for me and, whatever happens, it will always remain in my heart.
It’s quite a nostalgic moment for me because I have just left home.
“It was not one year, it was 15 years which is a lifetime. I think in those moment of my career this was the best step for me.
“I am 100 per cent here and focused on doing the job.”
If he does manage to improve upon the level he showed last season, and manages to impress in the Champions League, it follows that international recognition with Portugal may follow. Albeit, head coach Fernando Santos has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal.
It is an ambition of the player, but he knows that such an honour will only come if he continues to focus on bettering himself every day at Celtic.
“I don’t think like that,” he said. “I concentrate on every game and every training session.
“If things need to happen then they will happen. If not they won’t. I need to stay grounded and humble.
“For sure it is a dream and it would be a big moment in my life.
“But right now I am just think about the present.”
