Why Hearts are going gaga for Claudio Braga and all you'll hear about Portuguese star is one unanimous verdict

All you heard at Tynecastle on Saturday was Claudio Braga - and he’s got the whole of Gorgie going gaga.

The Portuguese striker is one of several stars brought in this summer, in a Jamestown Analytics-backed recruitment drive. He’s signed from Norwegian side Aalesunds FK and his impact has been instant. Three goals in the Premier Sports Cup group stage matches helped him get off the mark quick, but then there was a bump in the road.

A missed penalty against St Mirren in a shootout that ultimately knocked Hearts out the cup competition was a stinging blow for the forward, but performances had been good and his place on the bench against Motherwell still split opinion. With his side 3-0 down, he played a key role in one goal, scored the other two and hit the post in an enthralling 3-3 Premiership draw.

What Hearts dressing room thinks about Claudio Braga

His name and more has been adopted into Queen’s iconic ‘Radio Ga Ga’ and this match won’t be the last time you hear it at Tynecastle or as Hearts go on the road. Inside the dressing room, his impact is clear.

“He's a really fit guy, and he's got a lot of energy,” said Milne. “He's a very bubbly personality and that's reflected on the pitch as well. He's just kind of all or nothing, he's in the game. Obviously a bit disappointed last week, but anyone can miss a penalty and that's just life. That's football. I thought obviously when he came on he was different class and his reaction to being left out of the team, he wasn't sulking or anything like that. He was just ready to make an impact when he was called upon and he obviously did that.”

His manager is full of praise for him also. Like Milne’s verdict, Head coach Derek McInnes knows Hearts have got someone who’s all in when it comes to giving their all on the pitch. To get him starting alongside leader and fellow striker Lawrence Shankland, there are lessons to be ironed out.

"Well, sometimes when you play Braga and Shankland together, you feel sometimes they both come towards the ball too much,” McInnes said. “I spoke to Claudio time and time about this, that he has the ability and the capacity to run into spaces and run down the sides of centre backs. You see that on Saturday . And sometimes, like a lot of the foreign lads, sometimes their best impact has come from the bench. So Scottish football is unlike any other. It can catch you out with the speed and the intensity of it, the physicality of it. So when there was a wee bit more space afforded, as it's been with Claudio when he's come on, and a wee bit more space afforded in the latter stages of the game there, you see the influence of more of these types of players.

Claudio Braga verdict on Hearts

“Of course he can play from the start, of course he can. We don't spend the money we spent on him to sit on the bench. There's an understanding for me and the staff that we're bringing a lot of players in at the minute and it's that integration and that kind of, that's good for them. But three-nil down in seeing Tynecastle the way it was, how kind of tough it can be to play there. You don't want to be three-nil down to find out about your players. But having come through that, then it will serve us well going forward, that I'm sure. And the thing for the supporters is, they now know they've got a team that's not going to give up. They're not going to give up on them. They're going to just keep going and get something for it.”

The search for his next start will continue this weekend at Livingston. For Braga, all he can do is work as diligently as he has to this point, and hope that’s enough to afford him opportunities from the off.

“I know since the time that I signed in this club, of course, if you ask me, you want to start? Of course, I want to start,” added Braga. “But it's 30 guys with a lot of quality squad. And I know since the moment that I came to this club that I need to work a lot to get my spot. I get used to that in life. So for me, just in a good way, sometimes to keep my foot on the floor. I'm not the best when I start and I'm not the worst when I don't start.

“So I need to keep working and prove to the coach that I deserve to be the first choice. And yeah, it's just that. If he chooses like that, I respect it. Of course, I would prefer other way. But it's his choice and he has all the right to do it. Because he sees the trainings, he sees the teams that we're going to play. And of course, like I told you, there's some things that I need to improve when it comes to playing with two strikers. And I know that. So it's maybe kind of a warning of like, yeah, wake up and do this. Because if you do this, you will start. So I just take it in a good way instead of getting in a bad way.”