Sabah Kerjota will step back to his childhood in Albania when he walks out for the biggest match of his career. The Tynecastle winger is determined to take advantage of a fresh opportunity from new boss Wouter Vrancken, having been a season-long substitute for former gaffer Derek McInnes.
Europa League Showdown
Kerjota is savouring a shot at Benfica in the Europa League. The Portuguese giants are an elite name in this continent, and the 24-year-old can barely contain his excitement at the prospect of striding out into a packed Estadio Da Luz.
Kerjota says it will be as huge an occasion as he has faced, saying: "Probably, yeah. The game against Celtic in May was one of the biggest, but this one is different because we are playing Benfica. They are a team that always plays in the Champions League and competes with great teams in Europe. It will be one of the best matches. I know some of the players because they are big names. Playing against them makes you feel proud."
He added: "I will be thinking about the young guy who was training in Albania 10 or 11 years ago. I never thought I would one day go to play against Benfica in Lisbon with 60,000 fans in the stadium. I will feel like I did it, like I achieved something, but this is just the first game like this. I want much more of them, and why not with Hearts?"
High Stakes for Hearts
Facing such a huge tie speaks to Hearts' rapid recent progress, and Kerjota perhaps didn't even expect it when he signed. He said: "No, to be fair. Every game that we play now, sometimes you feel weird. When I came here last year, people knew the story of Hearts, but before the club had some years which were not great. Now, everyone knows us. We need to do our best. Why not go forward in the Europa League? If not, we have the Conference League. It's a great competition for us players and for the club."
Kerjota signed just over a year ago, yet despite making 19 appearances for McInnes, none of them were from the start of a match. Finally, at Aberdeen last weekend, the winger got the nod from kick-off, and he believes he can build on it under Vrancken's approach.
Fresh Start Under New Coach
Kerjota said: "Yeah, it was my first start but I was waiting for it. My performance was okay. I think I can do much better. I can do more one-against-ones, create more chances and get more assists. I feel I can do it and the team can do better, for sure. When the team plays better, then you play better so I am confident of that."
He continued: "These are the first games so it's normal to not be at the top right now. The team was named the day before and I was so happy to be in the team because it's the first time. I have been working hard. Last year, I always showed that I can be something more than a substitute. I was waiting for my chance. Now, with the new coach, everyone has the chance to show himself."
Kerjota acknowledged the challenge of breaking into a winning side: "It was hard for me [last season], but when you are in a team that keeps winning every week then it's difficult to say something. The team was really tough to play against. The difference this year is that we try to play more. The new coach is more for me because he likes to play football. I prefer to play more this year. It's very different and it's difficult to do this in Scotland, but we saw Motherwell did it really well last year. Why can we not do the same?"
Looking Ahead
Hearts have lost three matches out of three in competitive action heading into Lisbon, with the latest being a bitter 2-1 setback in the Granite City. But Kerjota said: "I think we had a good match for 75 or 80 minutes. We were in control and after I don't know what happened. I'm sure that we will get back to winning. I know Benfica and we will talk more about them this week because we only had a couple of days since Aberdeen. It's not a lot, but this is what the best teams do."
