The story of Jorge Cadete, from Celtic to poverty relief

“It’s not a shame to be poor”. It is not a misfortune to be poor. She sang like this Amalia Rodrigues, in the seventies, in one of his most famous fados. It is a popular genre typical of Portugal, especially Lisbon and Coimbra. A bowl, a Portuguese guitar, a rhythm guitar and then, as desired, a bass or yet another guitar.

The name originates from the Latin “fatum”, destiny. And then he can only talk about that feeling, entirely Portuguese, which is saudade, nostalgia, melancholy, sadness. A mixture of pain and suffering, but on magical notes. A bit like the career of Jorge Cadetstar for a moment.

Jorge Cadete. Photo Source: The Scottish Sun

Jorge Cadete’s career

The story of Jorge Cadete starts from afar. From Africa, precisely from Mozambiquewhere his parents moved in the 1950s. It’s a story that goes by the wayside Sporting Lisbonawhere he made over 150 appearances and scored almost 100 goals, he moved to Italy, precisely to Bresciawhere he didn’t leave his mark (he only scored one goal, a useless one, in the 3-2 defeat against Cagliari) and then took off in Scotlandwith the shirt of Celtic Glasgow. And here, Cadete writes a piece of history: in the 96/97 season he scored 30 goals in 37 games, the national team took him to the 1996 European Championships, alongside Rui Costa and Figo. Before the descending parable: Celta Vigo, Benfica, Bradford City, slums of Portuguese and Scottish football. Until his farewell, in 2005. And a life to build from scratch.

Jorge Cadete. Photo Source: Celtic News

“I’ve lost everything”

When the spotlights go out, however, Jorge Cadete remains alone. The world of football turns its back on him, his friends disappear. “I invested a lot of money – he said – but it didn’t go well. I had people around me who didn’t act honestly. The moment you stop playing, everything changes: the agents stop calling you, you are no longer anyone. Sometimes I hear former footballers who say they have a lot of friends in football: it’s a lie, when you leave, no one wants to know about you anymore”.

Everything he had earned in his career vanishes in an instant. New ideas are needed: the path of television, participating in the edition of Portuguese Big Brother, that of nightlife, acting as PR for a club in the Algarve, finally selling coffee machines door to door. But everything goes wrong, the only solution is to return to her parents’ house, where she lived with a state poverty allowance, 180 euros per week.

The lowest point, perhaps. The point from which to start again, to be happy again. Because, as that old fado says, “In this crazy life, being happy is a small thing.”

2024-05-14 10:00:17
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