Diogo Jota has come a long way from his early days as a Pacos de Ferreira youth player - back then, he could only dream of competing in a Champions League final.
Jota joined Pacos’ youth set up at the age of 16 after first coming through the ranks at Portuguese minnows Gondomar. While Pacos average just a few thousand fans at home games, the Liverpool hero is set to play in front of millions of fans worldwide when the Reds face Real Madrid in Paris this weekend.
Since the start of last season, only three strikers have scored more Premier League goals than Jota; namely Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, Leicester ’s Jamie Vardy and Tottenham ’s Harry Kane. The Portugal international is leading the line for one of the best teams in world football and has taken every opportunity in his stride since first breaking onto the scene in his homeland.
However, his former youth and first-team manager at Pacos, Vasco Seabra, admitted he never thought he would make it to the panicle of European football. “I would be lying if I thought he would make it to Liverpool and be part of a Champions League final,” he exclusively told Mirror Sport.
“I thought Jota would become a first division player, and thought he had all the attributes to make it to the biggest clubs but didn’t think he would be playing at the highest level he currently is.” Jota joined the Premier League at the age of 20 in 2017, signing for Wolves from Atletico Madrid in a transfer worth £12million, before establishing his place at the Merseyside club three years later.
“He is the regular starter for Liverpool and has the full potential to be able to play in an extraordinary league that is the Premier League and the Champions League final - the biggest stage in European football,” Seabra added. “Also being a key player for the Portugal national team, he’s reached stratospheric levels and he has certainly surpassed all the expectations.”
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But his journey was not so straightforward and Seabra played a significant role in his development as a teenager. Despite thriving as a centre-forward, he had to learn to adapt to the role. “Jota played as an attacking midfielder, as a number 10,” the Maritimo boss, Seabra said. “He had an interesting journey during that time because here [in Portugal], the youth league has two halves.
“The first half we played 22 games and in the second half, there were an additional 14 games. In those 22 games he played as an attacking midfielder and scored five goals. During the transition between the first and the second half of the season, I spoke to him and said that due to our style of play, playing with high ball possession and with everybody attacking higher up the pitch, we were thinking of transitioning him into a centre-forward, to become a number nine.
“In that moment, he was a little unsure and uncomfortable, ‘no mister, I don’t really like playing as a winger, I might become more distant from the game’, '' Jota said. “And I said, ‘we’ll experiment it and then you can tell me whether you prefer playing in that position or not.’
“This was because we felt Jota had an immense quality to finish, to score goals and get into the opposition’s box with ease. In his first game we won 2-0 and he scored two goals. In those 14 games, he scored 17 goals so he went from five goals to 17 goals that same season.
“So then after the game I asked him ‘what are we going to do, did you want to swap back to a number 10 or continue playing as a nine?’ And straight away he said ‘no, no, no, I’ll always play in this position now.’ That was a huge advantage to him because he showed the talent he had, his capability to finish, attacking from behind, scoring headers, and with both his right and left foot was all really important for him, beginning to play in those positions higher up the pitch.”
Seabra is proud that Jota continues to thrive playing in the position that he first introduced him to. “Yes, a proud moment but also a challenge,” he recalled.
“It was the experiment of something new that fortunately turned out to be great. I’m also proud that Jota, to this day, has remained the same boy [he coached years ago.] Even with all the success he has conquered, he is still the same person, always with the same ambition and willing to listen to others, accepting and acting upon constructive criticisms.”
While Jota’s talent was never in doubt, Seabra described what he believed was a key factor for him to get to where he is now.
“He is someone who lives in his own little bubble but is an extraordinary person, very humble,” Seabra continued. Jota is very, very competitive, for him, every exercise in training was to win, he did not accept not giving his all in everything that he did, I think that shows a lot of maturity, he was quite young when he joined Pacos at 16 but was very mature for his age and knew exactly what he wanted, he worked hard to achieve those things.
“But he was also aware of his weaknesses, the things he was less good at and I think that self-knowledge of knowing what he wasn’t too good at and was good at, helped his growth. His winning and competitive personality, being very ambitious in the way he tries to perfect and achieve things, has allowed him to reach this level in his career that many wouldn’t have thought he would achieve.
“I believe he has only achieved that due to the facet he has - the never giving up and always ambition to becoming better and doing what is essential to get better, and that, he already showed at 16.”
Seabra has no doubt that Jota will give his all to help the Reds to their sixth Champions League title against heavyweight 13-time Champions League winners Madrid.
“Jurgen Klopp’s exciting and enthralling game fits what Jota is - a team that likes to constantly attack their opponents. The competitiveness is everything to do with him, he likes to run and get to the opposition box, doesn’t like to do things slowly and always leaves everything on the pitch.”
On how much of an important role fans will have in the final, he added: “The energy from fans, the full stadiums, a great passion amongst everyone, I think that all ties in with his character and makes his connection with the fans stronger because they like a player who is like this and that will be important.”
Jota has certainly made a connection with the fans; much of that is thanks to his immediate impact at Anfield. And while some may not have predicted that he'd be taking part in the 2022 Champions League final, it's an occasion he will certainly savour.
