Jorge Feels At Home In Paradi5e

Celtic’s former Portuguese striker was given a warm welcome as he took a bow in front of the supporters who still mean so much to him

- Tony Connelly

IT’S been almost 21-years since Jorge Cadete left Celtic but the Portuguese striker admits to being overwhelmed by the support he still receives from Hoops fans to this day. It’s this bond which led Cadete to make a pilgrimage back to Paradise where he reflected on his time as a Celt.

The 49-year-old arrived in Glasgow last week with the sole purpose of going to Celtic Park to watch Brendan Rodgers’ side edge one step closer to seven-in-arow with a 3-0 win over Ross County.

Trips to the East End of Glasgow are hard to come by for Cadete, who now works full-time as a teacher, but a rare day off afforded him some free time and, there was only one place he was going to go.

“Normally during Easter I always have games with the kids but last weekend I didn’t have any so I decided to come and see Celtic at home because I don’t usually have the chance to do that,” Cadete told the Celtic View. “I haven’t had the chance to see them in a while so I felt I had to come to Celtic Park before my 50th birthday in August.

“It felt very emotional coming back here. I played 47 games here and spent over a year of my life in Scotland. That was 22 years ago, though, and I am so amazed and grateful for the support that Celtic fans show me still. Celtic fans are unique like that. They are very special fans.

“I wasn’t here for very long, it’s not like I played over 300 games like Henrik Larsson but Celtic fans still show me so much love and I sometimes ask what I did to deserve that.”

Football may have been his first love but since retiring from playing, Cadete has pursued another passion of his, namely teaching