How Jota reached the top
In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, Liverpool's Diogo Jota discusses the hunger that drives him on and that ability to finish with both feet...
When Diogo Jota signed for Liverpool he was not only joining the reigning Premier League and world champions but he was trying to break up perhaps the most celebrated forward line in football. He still remembers what Jurgen Klopp said to him.
“He was clear. I was there to challenge the front three not to be happy with being a substitute player who comes on. Playing with the best makes you better so I knew that I would increase my level as well and that would help me get into the team.
“I think that is what I did pretty much from the beginning.”
Jota scored eight minutes into his Premier League debut for Liverpool against Arsenal and that set the tone. His first international goal for Portugal had come a fortnight before his move from Wolves. Almost immediately, his game appeared to move up a notch.
Even in a team packed full of popular players, his direct approach was refreshing and helped make him an instant favourite with the Liverpool supporters. “I am always straightforward. That’s the game. The objective is to score a goal. I am there to score goals.”
Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports in adidas HQ just south of Manchester, Jota is in a relaxed mood. He has signed a new contract at Liverpool until 2027 and cannot wait to get going again after his injury. The summer has been an opportunity to spend time with family.
Among other things.
“It is really important to spend time with them and see them all, of course, that is always nice, but I am also waiting for FIFA 23 to come out because I just love that game. I love football and I love competing. With FIFA, I am able to do both."
Jota attracted much attention after winning the inaugural ePremier League tournament in 2020 when representing Wolves. Is he still the best FIFA player around? “At Liverpool, for sure.” Is there not even a rival there for his FIFA crown? “No rivals.”
Even Jota would accept that the situation is a little different on the pitch itself. Darwin Nunez has come in and repeated Jota’s feat of coming off the bench to score on his Premier League debut for the club. Luis Diaz was a relative slouch – scoring in his second game.
These swift impacts have become a symbol of Liverpool’s successful recruitment. The club is able to identify the qualities in prospective new signings that not only make them good players but more importantly make them good players for Klopp’s Liverpool.
“I don’t know but I have the feeling that it is working,” laughs Jota. “They are capturing the best young players, building and rebuilding again. I think you can notice that we have a lot of good young players now so everything seems to be in place. It is working well.”
Finding the right tactical fit is part of that success but it is also notable that Liverpool seek to recruit on character. Nunez and Diaz have their own tales of hardship and hunger in South America. Their rise hints at men driven by an innate desire to better themselves.
Jota has his story. He has not crossed the Atlantic to become a star but nor was he earmarked for greatness as a youngster. He has had to scrap for this. Astonishingly, he was still having to pay to play for local team Gondomar when he was 16 years of age.
“It was not me paying, it was my parents,” he clarifies. “In Portugal, things are different to England. I was playing for a small club and we had to pay monthly to be able to play. It was only when I was transferred to Pacos that I started to receive some money.
“This hunger has been with me ever since I can remember. In my youth, growing up, I never played for the big teams. I had a few team-mates who went to Porto or Benfica. I had trials there but I never stayed. I was one of the better ones but never the best."
When his chance did finally come, he took it. “From the moment that I had that opportunity, I never dropped it again. I think when we are young we always believe. But I probably did not believe that I could reach Liverpool. I just took it day by day.”
There was a taste of the top level with Porto. There was a move to Atletico Madrid but he did not play a game. Instead, he went to the Championship to play for Wolves. It was a gamble that paid off. “Sometimes it is one step back to take two steps forward.”
If there is one quality to Jota’s game that might help to explain his subsequent success in technical terms it is his ability to finish with both feet. That trait might not be unique but Premier League history does suggest that Jota has a rare talent.
Fifteen of his Premier League goals have come with his left foot compared to 18 with his right foot. Excluding headers that means that 45 per cent of his goals are scored with his so-called ‘weaker’ foot. No regular scorer in the competition right now can match that.
Christian Eriksen of Manchester United comes closest with 44 per cent. Tottenham’s Heung-Min Son is not far behind with 43 per cent. But of active Premier League players with 40 goals or more to their name, Jota is the most ambipedal finisher that there is.
Does he have an explanation?
“When I was young I was playing in midfield on the left for Gondomar in a 4-3-3. I was always the number eight playing to the left. So I always used my left foot because it was required. I don’t know, I just feel that I do certain things better with the left foot.”
That is what is curious about his game. It is not simply that he is almost as good with his left. In fact, he can be even more dangerous from that side if the situation calls for a certain finish. “With the right, I am more powerful. But I am more accurate with the left.”
As a result, Jota has many more options than the average Premier League forward. It might be a snap strike such as his equaliser at Brighton in 2019 or Liverpool’s first against Newcastle last year. If the ball is there he can hit it. No need to manoeuvre his body.
It is just as useful on those occasions when he finds himself in the left channel. The temptation is for the defender to show the player wide rather than allow him to come inside on his stronger foot. That is what they are trained to do.
Against Jota it is a mistake.
Everton and Leicester found that out last season. Jota was given space in the left channel and used it. There was no need to cut inside. He shot and he scored. “Sometimes they give me the opportunity to go to my left and I just go there because I know I can finish.”
On other occasions, defenders overcompensate. That allows him to dribble inside and shoot with his right. “I do not consider myself the best dribbler. You can look at that statistically. But if they do not know which foot I am going to go on that makes life easier for me.”
Include his seven headed goals in the Premier League and it is easy to understand why Klopp regards Jota as a player who can fill various roles across the Liverpool forward line. He can cut in from the wide positions or play as the striker.
It does not restrict him.
“Just the other day I was talking to Pep [Lijnders] about how I came on against Leicester in the cup game on the right wing but I scored my goal from the left. I just found myself on the opposite side. I know that as long as I am on the pitch I am able to score goals.”
There is no favoured position. “I think it is about the way we are playing. The opponent as well. Whether they are sitting back or pressing high. There are a lot of dynamics.” That flexibility could be useful in earning Jota more time on the pitch given the other options.
Sadio Mane, Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi have all departed but the January arrival of Diaz has been followed by the summer signing of Nunez. That means there is still fierce competition for places. Two years into his Liverpool career, Jota is now the old hand.
“We know how important that Divock and Taki were when they played. For this season, we want it to be the same. Especially when we want to go for everything again like we did last year. We know we will need everyone. Everyone will be important.
“We just need to be ready for our moment.”
Jota’s moment is coming soon. He is working his way back to full fitness and has a game against former club Wolves coming up at Anfield. Expect him to make a difference because when asked about his targets for the coming season the response is that of a man determined to succeed.
“The aim to fight for every trophy. For me personally it is to try to score more goals than last year. To be better. To conquer things that I have not conquered before. To reach my prime. I know that I can still be a lot better. That is what makes me willing to give more every day.
“The hard thing is not to reach the top of the mountain but to stay there. That phrase makes a lot of sense, certainly to me. It is the hardest bit because you always have people who want to reach there for the first time. You can never let them have more will than you.”
In a sense, that is the story of Diogo Jota’s rise.
Diogo Jota wears the new adidas X Speedportal boot
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