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Kuwait Times
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Kuwait Times
Liverpool players, fans pay tribute to Jota at friendly
LIVERPOOL: Liverpool boss Arne Slot said it had been difficult for the team to get back to work after the death of Diogo Jota and so he had suggested to his players that perhaps the best way forward was to follow their late teammate's shining example. Liverpool kicked off their pre-season friendlies with a 3-1 win at Preston North End on Sunday, 10 days after Jota and his brother Andre Silva died in a car crash in Spain on July 3. 'What I've said to the players, it's very difficult to find the right words because we constantly debate what is appropriate,' Slot said in an emotional interview with Liverpool's in-house media. 'What is appropriate in our actions? What is appropriate (for) what we have to say? Can we train again? Can we laugh again? Can we be angry if there's a wrong decision? And I've said to them, maybe the best thing for us to do is handle this situation like Jota was,' he added. 'And what I meant with that is that Jota was always himself, it didn't matter if he was talking to me, to his teammates, to the staff, he was always himself. 'So let us try to be ourselves as well. So, if we want to laugh we laugh; if we want to cry we're going to cry.' Flags and scarves commemorating Jota dotted Preston's Deepdale Stadium, and tears flowed when fans sang Liverpool's club anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. Preston captain Ben Whiteman solemnly laid a wreath in front of the travelling Reds supporters, while the players and fans then observed a minute's silence. At the start of the 20th minute, the crowd burst into Jota's song, set to the tune of 'Bad Moon Rising'. Darwin Nunez paid tribute to Jota after scoring Liverpool's second to make it 2-0 with Jota's goal celebration, dropping to the floor to mimic playing a video game. Conor Bradley and Cody Gakpo were also on target for Liverpool. Liverpool had delayed the return of players to pre-season training as most of them attended the funeral in Portugal last week. The club announced on Friday that they would permanently retire Jota's number 20. Slot said the 28-year-old, who played a key role in Liverpool winning the Premier League title this past season, was one player he could always count on in difficult moments. 'I always looked at him and said, 'now we need something special from you',' Slot said. 'And he delivered so many times. I can come up with all of these moments. 'So we are in a very difficult time, so let's try to do what Diogo did so many times. If it's so difficult then try a little bit harder or just keep on going and try to make it work.' Slot, who said the team would always carry Jota in their hearts, added that it was a challenge to see anything, including football, as 'important if we think of what has happened'. 'But we are a football club and we need to train and we need to play again, if we want it or not.' — Reuters
Perth Now
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Liverpool hail beloved Jota ahead of pre-season match
Liverpool boss Arne Slot said it had been difficult for the team to get back to work after the death of Diogo Jota and so he suggested to his players that perhaps the best way forward was to follow their late teammate's shining example. Liverpool kicked off their pre-season friendlies with a 3-1 win at Preston North End on Sunday, 10 days after Jota and his brother Andre Silva died in a car crash in Spain. "What I've said to the players, it's very difficult to find the right words because we constantly debate what is appropriate," Slot said in an emotional interview with Liverpool's in-house media. "What is appropriate in our actions? What is appropriate for what we have to say? Can we train again? Can we laugh again? Can we be angry if there's a wrong decision? "And I've said to them, maybe the best thing for us to do is handle this situation like Jota was," he added. "And what I meant with that is that Jota was always himself, it didn't matter if he was talking to me, to his teammates, to the staff, he was always himself. "So let us try to be ourselves as well. So, if we want to laugh we laugh; if we want to cry we're going to cry." Flags and scarves commemorating Jota dotted Preston's Deepdale Stadium, and tears flowed when fans sang Liverpool's club anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone". Preston captain Ben Whiteman solemnly laid a wreath in front of the travelling Reds supporters, while the players and fans then observed a minute's silence. At the start of the 20th minute, the crowd burst into Jota's song, set to the tune of "Bad Moon Rising". Darwin Nunez paid tribute to Jota after scoring Liverpool's second to make it 2-0 with Jota's goal celebration, dropping to the floor to mimic playing a video game. Liverpool had delayed the return of players to pre-season training as most of them attended the funeral in Portugal last week. The club announced on Friday that they would permanently retire Jota's number 20. Slot said the 28-year-old, who played a key role in Liverpool winning the Premier League title this past season, was one player he could always count on in difficult moments. "I always looked at him and said, 'now we need something special from you'," Slot said. "And he delivered so many times. I can come up with all of these moments. "So we are in a very difficult time, so let's try to do what Diogo did so many times. If it's so difficult then try a little bit harder or just keep on going and try to make it work."
Scottish Sun
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Liverpool FC will retire Diogo Jota's No20 out of respect and his song will echo on Kop into eternity
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IT'S always a great sadness to lose a football legend, and truly devastating to see one cut down in their prime. Diogo Jota's untimely death is an incomprehensible shock to the global army of Reds fans who worshipped him. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Diogo Jota's untimely death is an incomprehensible shock to the global army of Reds fans who worshipped him Credit: EPA 3 Jota's final goal for Liverpool confirmed his legendary status: a late winner to push his team closer to that 20th league title We see our heroes as indestructible, and the striker Jota was no exception. He regularly worked miracles. His final goal for Liverpool confirmed his legendary status: a late winner to push his team closer to that 20th league title. At the Kop end. In a Merseyside derby. Goals don't come much bigger than that. Jota the Slotter's crucial strikes earned him the ultimate badge of honour — his own song from adoring Kopites. Even when on the bench, the crowd would bellow it out to the tune of Creedence Clearwater Revival's hit Bad Moon Rising. 'He's a lad from Portugal; better than Figo, don't you know; Oh, his name is Diogo.' Barely a month ago, I was among a record 1.5million who saw him and his teammates parade the Premier League trophy through Liverpool on an open-top bus. It turned into a harrowing day when a motorist drove into a crowd, injuring 109. 'Profound loss and shock' - Martin Lipton on death of Liverpool star Diogo Jota dies aged 28 in tragic car crash Two weeks after that day of triumph and horror, Jota lifted the UEFA Nations League trophy with Portugal. And only ten days ago he married his sweetheart Rute, mother of his three young children. Our grief as fans cannot begin to compare with the pain felt by the Jota family, who have lost not only Diogo but his younger brother, Andre. We see our heroes as indestructible, and the striker Jota was no exception I'm sure the club and its supporters will ensure they never walk alone. Over decades as a Liverpool fan, I've stood many times in silent tribute to Kop legends - from Bill Shankly and Ron Yeats to Gerard Houllier and Ray Kennedy. No crowd does it better than Anfield. But there will be an added poignancy when Diogo is honoured as he enters the pantheon of lost legends at the age of just 28. I suspect the club will retire the Number 20 he wore as a mark of respect. But his song will echo on the Kop into eternity.
The Irish Sun
03-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Liverpool FC will retire Diogo Jota's No20 out of respect and his song will echo on Kop into eternity
IT'S always a great sadness to lose a football legend, and truly devastating to see one cut down in their prime. 3 Diogo Jota's untimely death is an incomprehensible shock to the global army of Reds fans who worshipped him Credit: EPA 3 Jota's final goal for Liverpool confirmed his legendary status: a late winner to push his team closer to that 20th league title We see our heroes as indestructible, and the striker Jota was no exception. He regularly worked miracles. His final goal for Liverpool confirmed his legendary status: a late winner to push his team closer to that 20th league title. At the Kop end. READ MORE ON DIOGO JOTA In a Goals don't come much bigger than that. Jota the Slotter's crucial strikes earned him the ultimate badge of honour — his own song from adoring Kopites. Even when on the bench, the crowd would bellow it out to the tune of Creedence Clearwater Revival's hit Bad Moon Rising. 'He's a lad from Portugal; better than Most read in Football Barely a month ago, I was among a record 1.5million who saw him and his teammates parade the Premier League trophy through Liverpool on an open-top bus. It turned into a harrowing day when a 'Profound loss and shock' - Martin Lipton on death of Liverpool star Diogo Jota dies aged 28 in tragic car crash Two weeks after that day of triumph and horror, Jota lifted the UEFA Nations League trophy with Portugal. And only ten days ago he married his sweetheart Rute, mother of his three young children. Our grief as fans cannot begin to compare with the pain felt by the Jota family, who have lost not only Diogo but his younger brother, Andre. We see our heroes as indestructible, and the striker Jota was no exception I'm sure the club and its supporters will ensure they never walk alone. Over decades as a Liverpool fan, I've stood many times in silent tribute to Kop legends - from No crowd does it better than Anfield. But there will be an added poignancy when Diogo is honoured as he enters the pantheon of lost legends at the age of just 28. I suspect the club will retire the Number 20 he wore as a mark of respect. But his song will echo on the Kop into eternity. 3 Jota the Slotter's crucial strikes earned him the ultimate badge of honour — his own song from adoring Kopites Credit: Alamy
Irish Examiner
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Senseless death of Diogo Jota will not stop us celebrating what he brought life
Bad moon, bad times and a river that will be overflowing for some time yet. It is impossible not to feel a deep sense of pain, sadness and shared heartbreak at news of the sudden death of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva in a car crash in Spain. Jota was 28, father to three young children and a husband to his long-term partner, whom he married 10 days before his death. Things that happen in sport are often described, with due dramatic licence, as tragedies. This is not a sports story. But it is the most terrible human tragedy. Those who have suffered similarly can empathise. But it is above all a private horror, an event that will alter the lives of family and friends for ever. And yet it is of course a sport story too, and for good, warm, vital reasons, because Jota was blessed with the talent, heart and will that qualified him to live the extraordinary public life of a modern-day elite footballer. Within that nexus he was able to do so with the grace, humour and commitment that made him a beloved teammate and fan favourite, and also a fine public sporting figure, an athlete who poured energy, life and love into providing moments of uplift and connection in the shirts of Liverpool, Wolves, Porto, Portugal and his first club, Paços De Ferreira. There is no sensible response when someone dies so young, with an entire second human life as father and husband still to be lived. But at a time when footballers are present constantly in our lives, when to exist in that form is to carry a distinct kind of responsibility – one players such as Jota gladly assume – his death will be a source of much public grief too. DEVASTATED: The Portuguese Football Federation has announced it is devastated by the death of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva in Spain this morning. Everybody liked Diogo Jota. Those who saw him progress from his Porto neighbourhood of Gondomar felt a huge sense of pride. Liverpool supporters cherished his presence, his intelligence and his hunger for the team. Three years ago he got the song his contributions deserved: He's a lad from Portugal/Better than Figo don't you know, to the tune of Argentina's 2014 World Cup final hymn, which is in turn derived and football-ised from Creedence Clearwater Revival's Bad Moon Rising. And even in the immediate shock there is a huge amount to remember and be glad of in the life of Diogo José Teixeira da Silva, the Portuguese word for the letter J added early on as a footballing nickname. He came through at Paços De Ferreira to the north-east of his home city. Atlético Madrid signed him and loaned him to Porto and then Wolves, which became permanent in 2018. He settled instantly in Wolverhampton, hanging out at the Aromas De Portugal cafe in the city centre, welcoming his first child, playing a bit of training-ground cricket, always ready to meet local people, and even revealing at one point that he'd grown up with a soft spot for Everton in the David Moyes years, because they were 'relentless'. Nobody was ever going to hold that against Jota at Anfield. Have you met this guy? Too nice, too smart, too much of an all-round mensch. He signed in September 2020 and set off like a train, scoring seven goals in his first 10 games and adding speed, drive and expert finishing to that mid-Klopp team. Overall, and we must now say finally, Jota played 182 matches for Liverpool in a revolving folk-hero frontline that also featured Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino, Divock Origi, Luis Díaz, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Núñez. Even within that extended cast he was distinct, notable for his intelligence, movement and commitment to the team cause. He made 49 appearances for Portugal and played the last 15 minutes of the Nations League final victory four weeks ago, which would turn out to be his last game of football. And now we have this, a full stop. Why does it seem quite so shocking, even from a distance, even beyond the fans who watched him in the flesh or on some fast-cut remote stream? Perhaps because Jota had that lightness about him, the kind of footballer who barely seems to leave a dent in the grass, who, for all the tactical match-smarts seems still to be playing the same endless teenage game, just in the way he moved and twirled into space. Liverpool star Diogo Jota married Rute Cardoso on June 22, 2025, just 10 days before his death. Perhaps because he was a notably intelligent forward, one of those players where you feel you know them just by watching them, every run and pass part of some high-speed internal monologue. Probably it has something to do with the way we observe sports people now generally, something to do with the way the game has become more remote, the connection coming in other ways, through the figures on the screen, the way they move and react, a strange kind of public-private intimacy. Plus, of course, this is just such a violent interruption. It makes no sense. Youth is a finite quality. But young, smart, beautiful, nice people are supposed to live for ever. Whereas in reality it is perhaps a blessing this doesn't happen more often. Professional athletes live hugely intense, fast-paced lives of constant travel and change. Rishabh Pant, who batted on Wednesday for India at Edgbaston, was lucky to escape with his life after a horrific car crash in Uttarakhand in December 2022, and is additionally cherished for every day he gets to keep on doing this. Jota will now be cherished instead as a vivid and indelible memory. He always spoke really well, which was part of that feeling of intimacy. After scoring a late winner against Tottenham two years ago there was a notably lucid TV interview in which he gave an insight into his own connection to the moment after Liverpool had been pegged back late on. 'I remember Robbo [Andy Robertson] telling me to go on because we normally play that long ball – to go on and believe, and you could feel that was already a good sign. We did that, we won the second ball, we played back, we played again in behind and I could intercept a pass and score the winner. It was amazing. 'It doesn't require too much thinking. I think the moment there that I believed I could intercept was key because I started running in behind and I saw their full-back could pass the ball back. That was the key moment for me and then it was just: 'Make sure you control it right and you hit the target,' and hopefully it's in – and it was!' Jota also mentioned his song that day, which was sung relentlessly around Anfield at full-time, a coronational moment in a career that had begun in the hush of covid. 'In my first season I scored a few winners as well, late, but there was no crowd and everybody was telling me: 'You should see it if this was full,' the feeling, and I could feel that tonight. It was something special that I will remember for ever.' The reverse is of course now true. Anfield will remember Diogo Jota for ever. Nothing will ease the private grief. There is no script for moments like these. But for what it's worth that song and the feeling behind it will provide its own fond, rolling Viking funeral in the years to come. Arne Slot statement: — Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 3, 2025 Guardian
