Family and football unite to bid Diogo Jota farewell
GONDOMAR, PORTUGAL (AFP)Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Jota and his brother were laid to rest on Saturday in their hometown, just days after the pair died in a car crash that shocked the football world.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 Portuguese forward had gotten married.Just hours before the accident, Jota had posted a video of his June 22 wedding to Rute Cardoso, with whom he shared three children.Football stars joined family and friends at the funeral in his hometown of Gondomar, near Porto and conducted by the bishop of Porto.A number of teammates from the national side, including Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Danilo Pereira and Joao Felix, as well as coach Roberto Martinez attended, though national skipper Cristiano Ronaldo was not present.Liverpool Virgil van Dijk bore a garlanded wreath of red flowers in the form of a Liverpool shirt bearing Jota's number 20.Friday evening had seen Van Dijk, several players including Liverpool's Uruguay international Darwin Nunez and Liverpool coach Arne Slot meet with Jota's family and attend a wake for the deceased brothers.Among those who came to offer their condolences were a childhood friend, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, Jota's agent Jorge Mendes and Porto club president Andre Villas-Boas.Jota formerly played with Porto.The death of the Portugal international and his brother has triggered an outpouring of emotion in football, and beyond.
Portuguese and UK media reported Jota was driving to the northern Spanish port of Santander to take a ferry to England, where Liverpool were due to start training on Friday, avoiding a flight on medical advice after a recent lung operation.
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