JORGE CADETE became an instant hit with the Celtic fans when he scored within two minutes of making his debut in a 5-0 win over Aberdeen at Parkhead on April 1 1996.
The Portuguese striker’s first appearance had been delayed five weeks due to registration problems, but he proved to be worth the wait as he came off the substitutes’ bench in the 75th minute and thumped in a quickfire goal to mark the occasion.
Cadete joined Tommy Burn’s side after a fall-out with Sporting Lisbon for whom he had collected 81 strikes in 203 games.
Despite playing in the league against the Dons, the international frontman was forced to miss the Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers six days later. The SFA claimed his paperwork had not been finalised to appear in the national competition.
ROARING SUCCESS…Jorge Cadete celebrates a Celtic goal.
Hoops chairman Fergus McCann took legal action and SFA chief Jim Farry was eventually sacked after being found guilty of deliberately holding back the player’s registration.
Cadete’s only full season at Celtic saw him score 38 goals in 49 outings to become Scotland’s top marksman.
Along with Pierre van Hooijdonk and Paolo Di Canio, Cadete was termed as one of ‘Three Amigos’ by supremo McCann and became embroiled in contractual disputes with the club.
He left in June 1997 in a deal reported to be around £3.5million to La Liga outfit Celta Vigo.
In January 1999, Cadete moved to Benfica and a year later he returned to the UK in a loan deal with newly-promoted Premier League side Bradford City.
He was on his travels again in another temporary transfer in the summer to Lisbon-based Estrela da Amadora. Twelve months later, the pacy attack-leader saw out his Benfica contract.
After failing to find a new team, Cadete announced his retirement, going on to make an appearance on the celebrity version of the Big Brother reality TV show in his homeland.
ON THE RUN…Jorge Cadete races between two Kilmarnock defenders.
At the start of 2003/04 season, Cadete, now 35, decided to return to football and invited Martin O’Neill to give him a trial for the Hoops. The Irishman declined the offer.
However, Partick Thistle, with former Celts Derek Whyte and Gerry Britton as co-managers, signed the 66 times-capped forward on a short-term contract in January 2004, ending his 18-month exile from the game.
Cadete made his debut for the Firhill side against Celtic, six years after leaving Parkhead. He fired blanks as O’Neill’s men swept to a 4-1 win with doubles from Chris Sutton and Stan Varga.
He failed to score a solitary goal for the Maryhill club and was not offered an extension.
Cadete then returned to Portugal after signing a deal with third-tier side Pinhalnovense. He wound down his playing career at amateur side FC São Marcos.
* TOMORROW: Don’t miss the adventures of another former Celt in CQN’s EXCLUSIVE series.
