When asked who his toughest opponent is on the Nottingham Forest training ground, Brazilian defender Murillo did not need much time to think: Jota Silva.
When asked what he likes about winger — and Portuguese countryman — Jota, Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo was also immediate in his response: “Energy, energy, energy.”
Jota Pedro Ferreira da Silva is a force of nature; a constant whirlwind.
“He brings energy. Pure energy in every moment, in training sessions and games. I think ‘energy’ is entirely the right word to describe him,” Nuno said in a recent press conference.
When he sits down to talk to The Athletic and another reporter at the club’s Nigel Doughty Academy, Jota is calm, composed and friendly. But his story underlines how much he has needed that determined, driven attitude — and, yes, energy — to get to where he is today.
Just over four years ago, Jota was playing back home for Espinho in the third division. Amid modest surroundings and often on muddy, patchy pitches, the then 20-year-old had a simple dream: he wanted to watch his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo, play live.
He had hoped to play in the Premier League, as Ronaldo emerged from humble beginnings on the holiday island of Madeira to do so himself two decades earlier, but the moments where he dared to believe it might become reality were few and far between.
By that stage, Jota had already overcome a broken leg so serious it prompted him to ponder giving up football completely, while with another third-division side in the area, Sousense.
“It was a really difficult period for me and it did cross my mind that I might not turn professional,” he says. “But after the operation and all the support I had from my family and friends… it gave me a strong belief that my dreams could still come true. The people around me got me through that.”
After finally earning a professional contract, with Leixoes, in 2020, he was released within a year but then joined another second-division side, Casa Pia, and helped them to promotion with 11 goals in 2021-22 — their first time in the top flight of Portuguese football in over 80 years.
A contract dispute took him to Vitoria Guimaraes in summer 2022 and he made his Primeira Liga debut that August, a few days after his 23rd birthday. Following a modest debut campaign at that level, Jota exploded into life last season — scoring 15 goals and assisting seven in all competitions, helping Vitoria finish fifth and qualify for the Conference League.
Jota was popular among Vitoria fans (Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)
And in March this year, he not only got to watch Ronaldo play, he got to play alongside him, after being called up by Roberto Martinez to the Portugal squad for the first time, for friendlies against Sweden and Slovenia. Ronaldo was rested for the first game but they were on the pitch together for a few minutes at the end of the latter, with Jota coming on as a substitute.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is my absolute idol, because of everything he did and everything he is still doing now,” Jota says. “There are no adjectives left to properly describe him. It was a dream for me to be called up for the Portuguese team and to get to work with him and the other great Portuguese players. It was not just Cristiano, it was Bernardo (Silva), Bruno Fernandes, (Joao) Felix, (Joao) Cancelo, Ruben Dias… it was amazing.
“They are some of the best players in the world and, as a child, my dream was just to have a chance to watch them play. It did not occur to me that I might one day be able to play with them.
“I will work hard every day to try to earn the opportunity to get back in that company. Portugal has so many talented players. But I will give my all for Forest and, if the national-team coach believes it is right, hopefully he will give me another chance to play for Portugal.”
Jota’s English has improved in the four months since he was signed from Vitoria for what already looks to be a modest initial fee of £5.9million ($7.5m at the current exchange rate) on his 25th birthday. While he can converse in English, he prefers to talk via an interpreter, as it allows him to get his point across more comfortably.
This interview took place before he made his first league start for Forest in Saturday’s 1-0 home win against Ipswich Town.
He won the decisive penalty — converted by Chris Wood — but gave the ball away more often than Nuno would have liked, though it was often because he was trying to make something happen.
During 11 substitute appearances in the top flight before this past weekend, Jota had already become a cult figure among Forest fans. His high-tempo approach and desire to run with the ball — coupled with the rolled-down socks and a hairstyle that gives him more than a passing resemblance to Manchester City’s England winger Jack Grealish — immediately made him a popular figure.
Tomorrow (Wednesday), he could find himself face-to-face with Grealish — as well as Dias, Bernardo and another countryman, Matheus Nunes — when Forest visit a previously dominant City side who are now struggling for form. Their 2-0 defeat against Liverpool on Sunday made it six losses and a draw in seven matches for Pep Guardiola’s reigning Premier League champions.
Jota’s style and haircut give him a passing resemblance to Grealish (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
During that international camp with Portugal in March, Bernardo even jokingly suggested a plan to smuggle Jota into the City training ground, to see if anyone spotted that he wasn’t Grealish.
Jota hopes to prove he can make a name for himself in his own right, if given another opportunity to start by Nuno.
“I have achieved many dreams,” he says. “But I still have plenty of them left. I set myself new objectives every day. When I was young, I said to my parents I wanted to play in the Premier League. So it is great to be here now. It is about working hard and trying to improve; to add to the positive start we have made to the season.
“I have had a quick development, but I have taken the steps forward at the right time. I really wanted to come to England. Forest are a historic club and I could not turn this down. It has been great so far.”
The journey Jota has been on to bring him to the most-watched domestic league in world football has not gone unnoticed.
“He has had an unbelievable rise,” Nuno said before the Ipswich match. “It has not been easy for him. He has taken the hard path and conquered everything due to his hard work. He deserves credit for what he has done.”
Nuno is a former Vitoria player himself, starting his goalkeeping career with the club in the early 1990s — and Jota says having a fellow Portuguese as his boss at Forest has helped him.
“It is always important and great to work with a coach like Nuno. He is a fantastic coach and it is also my first time outside of Portugal. It is great to have a Portuguese coach to help with that,” said Jota. “He has helped me to improve already.”
Jota sought the advice of fellow players from his country about the mooted move to the City Ground, speaking to Forest old boys Tiago Silva, Nelson Oliveira (both team-mates at Vitoria last season) and Cafu before agreeing to sign. “I had a great relationship with the players you mention. I spoke to them when the chance came up and they said a lot of positive things about the club. They told me to come here; they told me I would not regret it.”
Jota was a popular figure at Vitoria. Having completed his transfer to Forest in August, he immediately flew back to Portugal in the hope of being able to say goodbye at a game — but ultimately had to make do with a video message played over the big screens at their 30,000-capacity Estadio D Afonso Henriques home.
“My relationship with the Vitoria fans was really special, and the club will always be close to my heart. I want the relationship here to be equal — or even better,” Jota said. “On a professional and personal level, I want things to be special here.
“The fans can expect certain things from me. Regardless of whether I am playing for a short amount of time or starting matches, you will see the same thing. I want to forge a strong relationship with Forest and the fans by showing them how hard I can work for the club.”
Hard work has got Jota this far. But you suspect his journey has a way to go yet.
(Top photo: MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
