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Carrying red wreath, Liverpool players join family for Diego Jota's funeral

Carrying red wreath, Liverpool players join family for Diego Jota's funeral

CNAa day ago
GONDOMAR, Portugal :Carrying a red floral wreath bearing his shirt number, Diogo Jota's Liverpool teammates joined relatives and residents in a small Portuguese town on Saturday for the funeral of the soccer star, who died with his brother in a car crash on Thursday.
Club captain Virgil Van Dijk, goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and manager Arne Slot were among Liverpool teammates past and present who attended the service in Gondomar for the striker and his brother, Andre Silva.
The English Premier League stars carried two floral tributes in the club's red colour into the chapel, each in the shape of a shirt.
The one carried by Van Dijk had the number 20 written in white flowers, which Jota wore on his Liverpool shirt.
The other bore the number 30, which was worn by Jota's brother, who played for FC Peñafiel in Portugal's second division.
Dressed in black and with their heads bowed, the teammates entered the church in silence. The only sound was the applause from the crowd outside.
Rute Cardoso, who married her childhood sweetheart Jota only weeks before the fatal crash, arrived with relatives.
Hundreds of residents of Gondomar, a small town in northern Portugal where Jota grew up, gathered outside.
The private service for family and close friends was presided over by the Bishop of Porto, Manuel Linda.
In an emotional homily addressed to Jota's parents, his wife and their three young children, Linda said "solidarity in love is always stronger than death".
Teammates from the Portugal nation squad including Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes, who both play in the English Premier League, also attended the service.
Jota's death at the age of 28 sent shock waves through the world of soccer and beyond, with messages of condolences pouring in from national leaders as well as across the sport.
The brothers were believed to have been driving to a ferry in Spain to travel to Britain when their Lamborghini veered off the road and burst into flames after midnight on Thursday. Police said they suspected a tyre had burst.
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