Liverpool teammates gather in Portugal for Jota funeral
GONDOMAR, Portugal -(Reuters) -Liverpool players were gathering in the small Portuguese town of Gondomar on Saturday for the funeral of their English Premier League soccer teammate Diogo Jota, who died with his younger brother in a car crash in Spain on Thursday.
Club captain Virgil Van Dijk, goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and manager Arne Slot were among teammates past and present who arrived in Portugal late on Friday to pay their respects to the striker and his brother, Andre Silva.
They are expected to join the grieving family and hundreds of residents of Gondomar, a small town in northern Portugal where Jota grew up, for the funeral at the Igreja Matriz church.
Rute Cardoso, who married Jota just weeks ago, is expected to be accompanied by the couple's three young children.
Jota's death at the age of 28 sent shock waves through the world of football 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.
(Reporting by Graham Keeley and Sergio Gonclaves. Editing by Mark Potter)
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