The sale of Jota to Saudi club Al-Ittihad has not only left a void on the wings that needs to be filled but also a void in the hearts of many Celtic fans who had elevated the Portuguese to hero status.
A player of great skill and talent, Jota wowed the Celtic faithful over the past seasons with an array of attacking football that endeared him to the support. With 54 goal contributions in 83 appearances, Jota had the substance to go with the style. Heck, he was even able to pull off the double denim look.
Along with being remembered for classic goals in Glasgow Derbies and in away European fixtures, Jota’s time at Celtic was also immortalised in song by Ellie Dixon and Big Bemz. You don’t get that kind of hero status for nothing.
Now that he’s gone, we need a new hero to look for moments of flair and brilliance. But fear not, as Gordon Strachan reminded us on Friday evening, “Celtic will always create new heroes.” There will always be the next superstar to idolise, because, after all, it’s the shirt we really follow, not the player.
First Heroes
Over the years of following Celtic, I’ve seen my fair share of heroes come and go. Even now, at an age where I should know better, I still can’t help fawning over certain players to the point it where it would depress me to see them leave the club.
I understand that the game has changed since I first made heroes and that players now have a shelf life of two or three seasons before moving on. But with some, it’s still hard to get emotionally attached to them.
My first Celtic hero was a left-field choice; Dariusz Dziekanowski. As a wee boy I loved ‘Jacki’, I even copied his hairstyle and goal celebration out in the back garden. I think the fascination came from him having an almost unpronounceable name, certainly to someone from Tullibody, and the four goals he scored in one game against Partizan Belgrade in the European Cup Winners’ Cup. How we did not qualify that night still rankles with me.
After Jacki, there weren’t really many options to hero-worship on a poor Celtic side. My brother’s favourite player was Paul McStay, so I plumped for John Collins. Like me, Collins is a lefty, and that’s where the similarities begin and end, but it was a reason I loved watching him play.
Heroes through the years
The point of having a footballing hero at a young age is to try and emulate them in the park with friends. Seeing John Collins dictate the midfield with that left foot of his, and score those freekicks at Ibrox, helped make him a hero in my eyes. Watching him leave for Monaco was gutting.
Post Collins, I fell big time for Cadete, Di Canio, and Van Hooijdonk, but none stayed long enough to become proper heroes. Then along came a Swede by the name of Henrik Larsson and hero-worship was taken to a new level. He wasn’t just my favourite, he was everyone’s because he had it all.
The Martin O’Neill era team was full of heroes. Larsson and Moravcik provided the goals, skill, and creativity; Lambert was everything I thought a defensive midfielder should be; and big Johan Mjallby was a defensive colossus, much like Carter-Vickers in the current team.
By the time the O’Neill/Strachan years were over I’d probably reached the age where I didn’t ‘do’ heroes anymore. However, Celtic still produced them, for the younger generation of fans.
New generation of heroes
It’s taken a while, but this current group of players is developing into one whereby even an old cynic like me who gave up on heroes years ago, is beginning to have some old feelings re-ignited.
Jota was an amazingly skilful and entertaining player, that’s why he won our hearts. Kyogo is the closest we have had to Larsson since the Swede left in 2004, having signalled his commitment to the club with a new long-term contract, he could easily become the next Celtic hero.
Captain Callum McGregor should already be there. Ever the consummate professional, he is the upgrade on one of my previous loves, Paul Lambert.
Gordon Strachan called a lot of things right during his time at Celtic and he’s still doing it now that he’s left. Celtic is a club that will always create new heroes, and I can’t wait to see who the next batch of heroes are.
Kevin McCluskie
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