As ESPN Brasil this week features an interview with Liverpool attacker Diogo Jota, they didn’t have the usual conversation about how the season has been going for the Reds.
Reporter Natali Gedra mentioned the 24-year-old’s love for Football Manager, and with the chat based on that, asked him about the impact that his hobby has on his career as a player.
“It might be a little strange obviously, but I genuinely believe so (that it helps) in terms of understanding what the game is, what changes we can make… I think that’s important,” Diogo Jota told ESPN Brasil.
Jota also claims that Football Manager isn’t the only game which gives him a better understanding of tactics in real life.
“It exists on FM and FIFA as well. When we see that something is not working and we manage to change it, in tactical terms, it ends up being important in terms of reading the game in real life.”
The Portuguese winger, however, said he hasn’t played Football Manager for a while, and named the club he’d been managing in his last campaign.
“In the last save that I made with my brother last year, he, as he played for Boavista, was Boavista and I was Paços de Ferreira. We competed against each other to see who could get better qualified.”
With three goals in eight appearances this season, Diogo Jota is in Liverpool’s squad which will face Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday. The player then joins the Portuguese national team for the international matches against Qatar and Luxembourg.
