Diogo Jota won it all with Liverpool but he was not only a highly gifted footballer – he was also one of the good guys
But the pain of Jota's death will also be felt particularly hard at Wolves, where he played a key role in the club's transformation, as well as in his native
Portugal
.
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Diogo Jota tragically died alongside his brother in a car crash in Spain
Credit: Rex
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Jota married long-term partner Rute Cardoso on June 22
Credit: fk.felippekatia
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Jota and Rute have three young children
Credit: fk.felippekatia
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Jota's brother Andre, pictured together in their younger days at Porto, also died in the crash
Credit: FC Porto
The versatile forward was part of the squad that won a second Nations League title last month.
And in the last fortnight,
They were heartbreakingly pictured with their two sons, Dinis and Duarte, and baby daughter, whose name is unknown, at the wedding.
Jota's sudden death at the age of 28, along with brother and fellow footballer Andre in an horrific accident, is heartbreaking.
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Because Jota was not only a highly gifted footballer, he was also one of the good guys.
An intelligent, thoughtful man, who spoke English better than some natives and who dedicated himself to his career and family.
By helping Liverpool win the Premier League title last season, Jota completed the full set of domestic trophies after the Reds lifted the FA Cup and League Cup in 2021/22.
Although injury and competition for places restricted Jota's contribution, he still scored key goals as Arne Slot's side claimed a record-equalling 20th English championship.
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What turned out to be the last of his 65 strikes for the Reds was the only goal in the Merseyside derby at Anfield in February.
It was typical Jota. While
Jota had bumps in the road before reaching the top of the game with Liverpool and
Portugal
.
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After making his debut for Pacos de Ferreira at the age of 17, he moved to Atletico Madrid at 19.
But he soon went on loan to
In his first season in
England
, he scored 17 league goals to fire the club back into the Premier League as champions.
Jota was a popular member of the dressing room which featured a strong Portuguese contingent.
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Jota won the Premier League with Liverpool last season
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Jota also recently won the Uefa Nations League with Portugal
Credit: Getty
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Team-mates and fans have been left devastated by the news
Credit: PA
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He held his own in the top flight, but there was some surprise when Liverpool signed him in a deal worth up to £45m.
Yet in his five seasons at Anfield, he played an important role in the Reds' potent front four as the club claimed English honours and went close to European glory.
Jota scored 21 times as Jurgen Klopp's side hunted down a Quadruple in 2021/22, winning the domestic cups, taking the title race to the final day and losing the Champions League final to Real Madrid.
His total of 65 goals in 182 appearances does not tell the full story of his contribution on and off the field. After coming close more than once, it was special for Jota finally to lift the Premier League trophy in May.
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Jota was not only a highly gifted footballer, he was also one of the good guys. An intelligent, thoughtful man, who spoke English better than some natives and who dedicated himself to his career and family.
For Portugal, Jota was part of a generation that delivered glory.
He was uncapped when selected in the squad for the Nations League final stages on home soil in 2019 and did not feature, making his debut later in the year.
Jota would go on to score 14 in 49 appearances for his country. His last was as an extra-time substitute in last month's Nations League final against
Spain
, which Portugal won on penalties.
That triumph was part of what was surely the best year of Jota's life.
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For it to have ended, in such terrible circumstances, is incomprehensible.
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Jota's heartbreaking final post before the accident that took his life was a scene from his wedding
Credit: fk.felippekatia
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Jota will also be fondly remembered at Wolves where he helped transform the club before joining Liverpool in 2020
Credit: Reuters
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RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Family and football unite to bid Diogo Jota farewell
Close family and friends and stars of the world of football will gather for the funeral of Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota and his brother 48 hours after the siblings' car crash. Mr Jota, 28, and Andre Silva, 25, were killed on Thursday after their vehicle veered off a motorway in northwestern Spain and became engulfed in flames, a week after the Portugal forward had gotten married. The funeral, which begins at 9am local time (10am Irish time), is being held in his hometown of Gondomar, near Porto. The service will be conducted by the bishop of Porto, local media report. Yesterday, hundreds attended a wake for the brothers. Among those who came to offer their condolences were a childhood friend, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, Mr Jota's agent Jorge Mendes and Porto club president Andre Villas-Boas. "Football is truly in mourning. Diogo was an icon of the talent Portuguese football represents," said football federation chief Pedro Proenca. 'Rest in peace' Mourners arrived carrying wreaths of flowers, some sobbing audibly, before the wake was opened to members of the public. The death of the Portugal international and his brother has triggered an outpouring of emotion in football, and beyond. Liverpool opened a book of condolences and lowered flags to half-mast, with dozens of supporters laying a sea of flowers, balloons, Mr Jota shirts, and scarves with the message "Rest in peace Diogo Jota", outside Anfield. At the Diogo Jota football academy, close to Gondomar SC where the ex-Porto and Atletico Madrid player took his first steps in the game, well-wishers created a memorial with flowers, scarves, candles and shirts. "Thank you, Diogo Jota," read a child's handwritten message. Pedro Neves, who was friends with Mr Jota at school in Gondomar, said he "will remember him as someone who was very friendly, very courteous, who loved everyone, who always had a smile on his face". "He left us too young, it's not fair. But that's how life is sometimes," Mr Neves, 31, told AFP. Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who brought Mr Jota to the Reds in 2020, has said he was "heartbroken" while the club spoke of an "unimaginable loss". Mr Klopp's successor at Anfield, Arne Slot, said everyone associated with the club owed it to Mr Jota to "stand together and be there for one another". Mr Jota was remembered at the Club World Cup in the United States, with a one-minute silence held at the quarter-final between Brazil's Fluminense and Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal in Orlando. Portuguese and UK media reported Mr Jota was driving to the northern Spanish port of Santander to take a ferry to England where Liverpool were due to start training, avoiding a flight on medical advice after a recent lung operation. Liverpool's Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah said the death of his teammate had left him "frightened" to return to the club as the Premier League champions postponed the return of some players for pre-season training. Mr Jota had married his partner Rute Cardoso on 22 June, posting a video of their wedding on Instagram just hours before the accident. They had three children.
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Irish Independent
8 hours ago
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Joey O'Brien era begins with a win for Shelbourne but they need bizarre JJ Lunney goal to clinch points
The Joey O'Brien era started off for real in this tie at home to the league's bottom side, his first game in charge as the permanent successor to Damien Duff after two previous matches - both draws - as the Reds' interim head coach, and O'Brien certainly has food for thought over the weekend before Linfield come to town for the first leg of their Champions League battle. Shels were 2-0 up after six minutes and won by a two-goal margin but they did let the game get away from them for spells in the second half as Cork side, reduced to 10 men after a red card early in the second half for Charlie Lyons, recovered from an utterly dismal start to take the game to the champions. Shels needed a late - and bizarre - goal from JJ Lunney seven minutes from time to make sure. Shels are unlikely to have the gifts presented to them by Cork, in the form of soft goals and a red card, when they face the Blues in that European tie with a prize of €2m at the end. With just six minutes gone, it looked as if the game was already dead as far as City were concerned, with perhaps the temptation from some of the travelling support to make an early exit and beat the traffic. Cork were wide open, incredibly so, in that opening spell, both goals gifted to the champions. Only 90 seconds had elapsed when Shels were ahead. Lyons was far too lax in possession and he allowed Harry Wood to win the ball and Wood bounded forward to bundle the ball over the line. Cork barely had time to draw breath when they were 2-0 down. City as a unit were guilty of standing off and allowing Shels to play a series of passes across the field without a tackle to be seen, before Evan Caffrey picked out Wood. He played a short ball into the waiting Mipo Odubeko and he had time and space to fire past the unfortunate Conor Brann, making his debut in the City goal. It could have been 4-0 by the 20-minute mark, Brann saving from Ali Coote before Odubeko fired wide and there was a real concern for how much damage Shels could do. But City did find their feet, eventually, sparked on 36 minutes when Freddie Anderson got a header which was wide but still a threat. And on 42 minutes they were back in the game. Shels didn't deal with a corner from Alex Nolan, Anderson and Lyons combined to set up Kitt Nelson and came up with a nice finish, his third goal of the season. Cork boss Ger Nash made changes at the break, Seáni Maguire and veteran Seán Murray sacrificed as Evan McLaughlin and Malik Dijksteel came into the fray but they were then forced into a reshuffle five minutes after the restart when defender Lyons was dismissed, a straight red card for a challenge on Kerr McInroy. The arrival off the bench of another new face, defender Fiacre Kelleher, did add some steel and Cork will clearly benefit from the leadership of the vocal Kelleher in times ahead but this tie was always going to be a struggle. To their credit, Cork were a much better unit in the second half, even with that one-man deficit, as they frustrated the home side, without much of a threat of their own as front man Dijksteel was starved of any service. Shels looked unconvincing for long spells, coming close on 63 minutes when Wood - their best player on the night - fired wide before James Norris also went close. On 76 minutes Cork had Matthew Kiernan to thank for blocking a shot from Wood, a concern for home fans when Wood appeared to pull up with an injury in that goal attempt. Even though City did not look likely to score again, Shels still needed an insurance policy and Lunney delivered on 83 minutes as he whipped into the box a ball which was more of a cross than a shot and it caught Brann off guard, a third goal for the Reds and a first win in four games. Shelbourne: Kearns; Coyle, Ledwidge, Barrett; Caffrey (Boyd 60), Lunney, McInroy (Kelly 60), Norris, Coote (Chapman 60), Wood (O'Sullivan 77); Odubeko (Martin 71). Cork City: Brann; Mbeng, Crowley, Anderson (Lutz 76), Lyons, Kiernan; Bolger, Murray (McLaughlin 46); Nolan (Kelleher 53), Murray, Nelson (O'Sullivan 53); Maguire (Dijksteel 46).
