Jose Quitongo has always prided himself on being one of Scottish football’s great entertainers – and the Hearts cult hero is looking forward to putting on a show this weekend as Masters football returns to Glasgow.
Representatives from each half of the Old Firm and either side of the Edinburgh divide will dust off their boots on Saturday at Braehead Arena in a mini-tournament, and Quitongo is eagerly anticipating the occasion.
The Angolan winger, who signed for over a dozen Scottish clubs during his career, always made a point of playing with a smile on his face all those years ago – and he will be doing just that come kick-off this weekend.
“I just love playing in the Masters,” Quitongo said. “I think the last time I played at Braehead was eight years ago. I keep myself fit and then [Gary] Locke texted me about these matches and asked if I wanted to play, so I said, ‘why not?’.
“I’m still fit and it’s going to be fun. It will be a great day with lots of families there, so I hope we can put on a good show.
“It will be very interesting because Hearts versus Hibs is always going to be a tough game, like Celtic versus Rangers. But it will be a good laugh. We’re now at that age where we just play the game, you know what I mean?
“We’re going to go there, have fun and entertain the crowd. I always play with a smile on my face and I think that’s what Masters football is good at.
“I’m going to do my best. I’m still in good shape because I am always at the gym or running or coaching. I’m going to do my best to help my team. I want to win but it’s going to be difficult because all the teams are very strong and everybody wants to win.”
Masters football tends to evoke feelings of nostalgia as supporters get to see their old heroes in action one last time, but Quitongo hopes that the football on offer will also be a throwback to a bygone era. The 48-year-old isn’t a fan of the modern game, which he believes takes itself a little too seriously on occasion.
Scottish football’s landscape simply isn’t what it was when Quitongo first pitched up at Hamilton almost three decades ago. Celtic and Rangers’ spending power has seen them pull away from their domestic rivals in the intervening years and the days of another club challenging Glasgow’s duopoly for the title are firmly in the past.
Quitongo feels Scottish football as a whole has suffered as a result. But he believes there is one area where our game remains peerless: when punters tell players just exactly what they think about their performance.
“Football is no fun anymore,” he said. “I remember when I first came over, all the teams were good. Dundee United, Aberdeen, Hearts, Dundee – there were a lot of good players. But now I don’t know. They get a lot of money now and some of them don’t want to play football.
“The whole time, I played because I love football, not because of money. You played to entertain the crowd. And the banter – the crowd would shout ‘you’re s****!’ and I loved that. That’s football.
“People swearing and shouting is part of it, and that’s good. I loved all that. Scotland is the best. The patter is just good. Some people can’t take the banter but I love it. Getting pelters is part of the game, and that’s great.”
Jose Quitongo was speaking ahead of the Scottish Masters Cup 2023 at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow on the 9th September. To purchase your tickets, please visit https://braeheadarena.co.uk/events/scottish-masters/.
