Diogo Jota is sat a short walk away from Philadelphia’s iconic Rocky Steps.
In the defining scene from the 1976 movie, fictional heavyweight boxer Rocky Balboa runs up the 72 stone steps leading to the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art as part of his training regimen to fight Apollo Creed.
Tourists mimic the climb and queue to have their picture taken with the bronze Rocky statue close to the bottom — a symbol of an underdog who defied the odds to achieve his dreams.
Jota is here as Philadelphia is the latest stop of Liverpool’s United States tour — they play Arsenal at Lincoln Financial Field tonight — but it seems an apt setting. Jota knows all about having to pick himself up off the canvas: three times last season the Portugal international suffered agonising injury setbacks that meant he featured in just 32 of Liverpool’s 58 matches.
“When you know you are injured and you are going to be out for a while, it’s like a knockout,” Jota says. “But you need to get up again. You need to get ready to be able to run again. We’re playing in the best competitions in the world, so it’s not so easy to get into form and make the difference. But I did that last season every single time I was on the pitch.
“When I’ve been on the pitch, I’ve always performed. If I can stay fit, my numbers will be good and I can help the team.”
Diogo Jota is put through his paces in the U.S (Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
His strike rate was certainly impressive in the 2023-24 season, with 15 goals in all competitions for Liverpool, one every 114 minutes he was on the field. It was form that persuaded former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher to describe him as the club’s best finisher in the Premier League era, but there was also plenty of misfortune.
A hamstring strain in November kept him out for a month and then, in February, he suffered knee ligament damage against Brentford when Christian Norgaard landed on him.
Initially, Jota feared he would miss Euro 2024 but he returned in April, only to pick up a hip problem that put him back on the sidelines as Liverpool’s title challenge wilted.
“It was really frustrating because I had three injuries in three good moments,” he adds. “I worked so hard to get into those good moments with my form. Each time my momentum was stopped. Mentally, it was tough.
“The one at Brentford was especially bad. I felt straightaway that something was wrong in my knee. Thankfully, it didn’t take me out for the rest of the season. That would have been the second time in a row in terms of missing major tournaments after what happened with the World Cup (he missed Qatar 2022 with a torn calf).
Diogo Jota is taken off after a challenge with Christian Norgaard at Brentford (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
“I came back and had an impact before I got injured again with a different problem. It was a tough week because then we lost points to Everton and West Ham. It is not easy to find a reason (we dropped out of the title race) but we all failed as a team.
“It feels worse when the team isn’t doing so well and you can’t help. That feeling isn’t nice at all.”
There was more frustration this summer, as Jota found his opportunities limited at the Euros. He made just three substitute appearances off the bench in Germany and did not feature in Portugal’s quarter-final against France. After 120 minutes had failed to yield a goal, Roberto Martinez’s side were eliminated on penalties.
It marked the end of a disappointing tournament in which Martinez was criticised for keeping faith with an ineffective Cristiano Ronaldo when he had other more dynamic attacking options at his disposal, although Jota has opted to not dwell on it.
“I don’t have much to say about the Euros. We could have gone all the way but we lost in the quarters,” Jota says. “I’m always ready to help my country. It wasn’t required so you get that frustration from feeling that you could have helped.”
It remains to be seen if Ronaldo extends his international career to the 2026 World Cup. He failed to score during the Euros, and missed an extra-time penalty against Slovenia in the last 16 — won by Jota — when the score was still tied at 0-0. That prompted Ronaldo to break down in tears at the end of the game, although Portugal did win the shootout as Ronaldo atoned for his earlier miss.
Does Jota think the 39-year-old will carry on?
“I’m not sure (whether the Euros was his last tournament). He’s been an inspiration since my early days. I’m a big fan of football and Ronaldo is an icon.
“I’m glad I could share the dressing room with him and learn the most that I could from him. I’ll thank him for that.”
Ronaldo is consoled by Jota against Slovenia (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
A family holiday in Italy helped flush the Euros disappointment out of Jota’s system, and he then travelled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the eSports World Cup. Jota, who has been ranked among the top FIFA video game players in the world, has his own esports team.
“It’s my passion. It’s the first time the event has ever been held and it’s big,” he said. “I have a team competing but I’m not playing myself.”
Since returning to club duty, there has been plenty to occupy Jota’s thoughts, chiefly getting to grips with the change of playing style under new head coach Arne Slot since joining the U.S. tour last Thursday.
There have been punishing double sessions during their stay in Philadelphia. The wait for new signings goes on but Jota has been impressed by what he’s seen on the training pitch.
“I’m happy to be back and I’m trying to catch the new manager’s ideas as soon as possible,” he says. “Already, I can tell that he’s really precise in what he wants. He goes into a lot of detail on a lot of things.
“We don’t have a No 9 (with Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo still on holiday) so I assume that for the foreseeable future that’s where I am going to play. But he knows and I know that I can play a part in the attack on the left or in the centre. Wherever I play, I will do my best.
“Some players left, some came back from loan. The young players that went on loan are now capable of staying and helping us. We have a lot of potential as well with a new manager and new ideas.
“It is hard, there are so many big teams with a lot of money trying to be up there, so it is not easy. We try to have a togetherness. We won a trophy last year so it wasn’t that bad and we want to go for more this season.”
Key to achieving that will be keeping Jota fit and firing as he looks to add to his record of 56 goals in 145 appearances (92 starts) since his £45million ($58m) move from Wolves in 2020.
Liverpool’s lead physical performance coach Ruben Peeters, who Slot brought with him from Feyenoord, had a reputation in the Netherlands as an injury prevention specialist.
“We haven’t spoken about that aspect yet,” Jota says. “Whatever he’s getting the team to do, I’m doing it at the moment. There’s a lot of time to talk.
“In football sometimes there are things you can control but other things are hard to predict and avoid, especially with the way I play. I do my best to avoid what I can avoid. But like when someone fell on my knee (against Brentford), sometimes there’s nothing you can do.
“Hopefully people haven’t seen the best of me yet. I know what I’m capable of.”
(Top photo: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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