Liverpool club and city united in grief for Diogo Jota who became one of their own
Supporters of Liverpool — and beyond — arrived at Anfield to pay emotional tributes to Diogo Jota after the Portugal striker’s tragic death in a car accident.
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Among the first floral arrangements laid at Anfield on what became an eerily quiet morning was a wreath of red and white roses.
A red ribbon carried some gold lettering — “RIP Diogo” — but it was the message scribbled on a piece of white card that spoke to the unimaginable loss Liverpool Football Club must come to terms with.
“Ooooh he wears the number 20,” it began. It is a line borrowed from the terrace chant that immortalised Diogo Jota and billed him as one of the greats.
For those unfamiliar with the song Liverpool supporters routinely belt out with gusto and pride, it is a tune which ends: “He’s a lad from Portugal, better than Figo don’t you know, oh, his name is Diogo.”
Of course, it did not matter whether he really was better than Luis Figo or not. To Liverpool fans he was, they loved singing it and Jota loved hearing it.
When the club’s 20th league title success had been sealed with a win over Tottenham Hotspur at the end of April, he was there in front of the Kop, a scarf tied around his forehead, dancing without a care in the world.
The day after that triumph Jota had been spotted riding his bike around Crosby, which was entirely in keeping with a low-maintenance approach of someone known for steadfast dedication to Adidas tracksuits and trainers.
It is still hard to fathom that he will not grace his field of dreams again after the car accident in Spain which claimed his life and that of his brother, Andre, and has left Liverpool dealing with yet more tragedy.
The initial tributes had been placed by the Hillsborough memorial before being moved 50 yards across the stadium forecourt to a grass verge. Stewards arranged 40 black buckets in a line in which bouquets could be placed, but it quickly became clear with the size of the outpouring of emotion, the affection in which Jota was held, that such a number was insufficient.
Some supporters sat on nearby benches in tears, and those images painted a very different picture to the one when a football crowd had last been drawn to the ground. Just a matter of weeks ago, those very same benches had been used as vantage points among the thousands of fans who gathered to welcome Arne Slot’s squad on the final day of the season for the game against Crystal Palace when they were presented with the Premier League trophy.
A red fog created by the plethora of flares that had been set off in celebration threatened to obscure the arrival of the team coach. When the bus did finally become visible, there was a deafening roar and the raging of a party.
Now there was just numbed silence; those present, all in a daze, struggling to comprehend how one of their own, a newlywed father of three, had gone, and how unfair it all felt.
Memories of Jota’s goals in the title-winning campaign immediately came to mind: the opening goal of Slot’s tenure, which came against Ipswich Town and set the tone for what followed; the equaliser against Nottingham Forest with his first touch was an important signpost on the path to glory, while his winner against Everton in the Merseyside derby on April 2 proved to be his last for the club. It was a quintessential Jota goal: the bamboozling of defenders before the application of a cool finish.
Those moments which lifted you off your seat brought comfort to some as they spoke in whispers about the 28-year-old. In the next breath, there was invariably a shake of the head, the rubbing of red eyes and the realisation that there will be no more, neither for club nor country. Jota won the Nations League with Portugal only last month.
Andy Robinson, who follows Liverpool home and away, found himself singing the words to Jota’s chant after joining the throng at Anfield.
“He could have 10 players around him and he would toe-poke it in the corner,” he said. “What we loved about him was he could score from anywhere. The amount of goals he scored with his head was unbelievable because he was only a small guy.
“You could tell he felt privileged to play for us. You don’t have to be the greatest player in the world but Diogo always gave 100 per cent. He was one million per cent a team player.
“I am just devastated. It feels like a family member has died. I survived Hillsborough. I have come down to pay my respects. With the new lads coming in, [Florian] Wirtz and [Jeremie] Frimpong, he would have been ideal to play in the centre.”
As is often the case at times such as these, football found itself united in grief. Everton and Glasgow Rangers shirts, and a Manchester United scarf, lay among the tributes. Wolverhampton Wanderers season-ticket holder Steve Worley was wearing his club colours and visited with his wife, Louise, from their home in Widnes. They laid a single, yellow rose, aptly called Molineux, at what had, by now, become a shrine to their former striker, who joined Liverpool in 2020.
“We brought him to England and he played in the best Wolves team I have seen,” he said. “As a player he would just give everything and be everywhere.”
When Jota moved to Anfield, eyebrows were raised at a 41-million ($85 million) price tag. Yet Liverpool had done their homework. The club’s scouts had been aware of his progress when he was at Porto, and then Wolves, between 2016 and 2018, having been loaned out in successive seasons by parent club, Atletico Madrid, for whom he never played after moving from Pacos de Ferreira.
Liverpool’s senior staff, reporting to then sporting director Michael Edwards, compiled a summary of Jota’s displays in 2018-19 but, with the player only having just made a temporary move to Wolves permanent, the decision was taken to wait.
It was early in 2020 that Jurgen Klopp was presented with a synopsis of the attacker’s capabilities from across 15 games, as part of a four-man shortlist of potential reinforcements.The other names were Timo Werner, then of RB Leipzig, Ismaila Sarr of Watford and Jonathan David, from the Belgian side Gent.
Liverpool picked the right man, and when Jota scored a hat-trick in a Champions League game against Atalanta soon after signing, Trent Alexander-Arnold wrote a personal message on the match ball. It read: “Congrats, the first of many.”
Injuries may have limited his impact at times, but his eminence as arguably the best natural finisher at the club was never downplayed, nor his team ethic.
“The essence of what a Liverpool player should be,” Slot said in a powerful and emotional statement.
His importance was never underestimated in the dressing room, where Jota was close to everyone — not just the South Americans who also spoke his native language. He has been described as “close to being British as any Portuguese could be,” and sports obsessed.
Jota loved darts (he enjoyed speaking to Stephen Bunting when he filmed at Liverpool recently), snooker (he visited the Crucible in Sheffield) and horse racing. He would settle down in front of the TV after training when the Cheltenham Festival was on, obsessing over the form, and attended one of the days at the Gloucestershire course in March, with teammates including Andrew Robertson and Caoimhin Kelleher. Gaming was another passion, and he had his own esports team.
Jota was also known for his generosity with good causes. He recorded a video for the father of one of the victims of the Southport knife attack, who was running the London Marathon in his daughter’s memory. When he was informed that his good luck message had made a difference, Jota replied: “Small gestures with a big impact.”
That very much sums up his outlook.
The sense of devastation was apparent in the words of Klopp and Cristiano Ronaldo, and among his teammates the feeling will remain one of sheer disbelief. Robertson posted on Instagram: “I can’t believe we’re saying goodbye. It’s too soon, and it hurts too much. But thank you for being in my life, mate — and for making it better.”
Thoughts had started to focus on the return to pre-season training next Tuesday, when the defence of their championship crown would begin, but now there will only be incredulity that they will not stare across the changing room and see the force of nature who always seemed to wear a smile.
The first group of players had been due to report today (Friday) but that has been cancelled as Liverpool try to come to terms with the enormity of what has happened. The club stores and museum have been closed until Monday, while flags at Anfield have been lowered to half-mast.
For Liverpool - the club and the city - to have another dark cloud hanging over everything represents another unwanted test of resolve. It is only a few weeks since scores of fans were injured after an incident during the title-winning parade through the city.
Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool City Region, viewed the tributes to Jota with Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, and said: “Unfortunately we aren’t strangers to tragedy. I wish it wasn’t so but when something happens the city comes together. Not just the football fans, or Liverpool fans, the city comes together. Whatever it is the city needs to do to support what has happened in this tragic incident, it will do.”
As a book of condolence was opened in the Anfield Road Stand, the fact that Jota’s name is etched in the club’s rich history demonstrates the indelible mark he left.
Later in the afternoon, a guitarist played You’ll Never Walk Alone and then Jota’s song, and those gathered around sang along. It was uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time.
The next time it is sung, at the friendly against Preston North End a week on Sunday, the pain will still feel raw.
Originally published as Liverpool club and city united in grief for Diogo Jota who became one of their own
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