Jota provided the blueprint for the modern football forward
LONDON - A tireless bundle of energy with an eye for goal and priceless ability to find the net when it mattered most, Liverpool's Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash along with his brother on Thursday, was in many ways the perfect modern forward.
In an era of the game that often shuns the towering target man striker in favour of false nines and inverted wide men, Jota was the blueprint for the high-pressing, high-energy goal-getter beloved by modern coaches.
He ran himself ragged in pursuit of the ball, harrying defenders with boundless enthusiasm and seemed to love every moment of it, always playing the game with a broad smile that endeared him to fans for club and country.
He was the perfect fit for former Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp's ultra-high-intensity pressing game and when the German stepped aside at Anfield last year, Jota symbolically grabbed the first goal of new boss Arne Slot's Premier League title-winning campaign.
In his five years at Liverpool, he won every piece of domestic silverware available, adding last season's league title to a trophy cabinet that already included the League Cup and FA Cups he won in 2022.
While for Portugal, he missed out on the biggest prizes the game has to offer, but still lifted two Nations League titles.
Tributes poured in for Jota, with footballing greats including Cristiano Ronaldo and Steven Gerrard, joining the Prime Ministers of Portugal and Britain in mourning his loss while former manager Klopp said he was heartbroken after hearing the news.
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Born in the Portuguese city of Porto in December 1996, Jota joined Pacos de Ferreira's youth outfit in 2013, before making his senior debut the following year.
Signed by Atletico Madrid in 2016, he was immediately loaned back to Portugal with Porto where he bagged eight goals in 27 league games before following a number of Portuguese players to Wolverhampton Wanderers in England.
He spent three seasons at Wolves, scoring 33 league goals in 111 games, with 17 of those coming in the second-tier Championship.
Eyebrows were certainly raised in some quarters when Liverpool agreed to pay upwards of 41 million pounds ($56 million) for a player who could hardly be described as prolific.
But Liverpool's recruitment team had clearly done their homework and knew exactly what they were getting.
He scored on his league debut for the club, bagged a hat-trick in the Champions League against Atalanta soon after and then became the first Liverpool player to find the net in his first four home matches in the Premier League.
KEY GOALS
His ability to sniff out key goals and last-gasp winners became Jota's trademark.
A stoppage-time winner in a 4-3 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in 2023, that came seconds after Spurs had equalised, was typical of his impact off the bench, while the club's 2022 League Cup success owed more to Jota than any other player.
A double against Arsenal in the semi-final sent them on their way to Wembley, while he had pulled them away from the brink of a shock exit against Leicester City in the previous round.
Introduced off the bench with Liverpool trailing 3-1, he scored as they fought back to level in regular time before netting the winning penalty in the shootout.
Speaking after Jota bagged another two goals in a Premier League win over Nottingham Forest in 2023, Klopp described exactly what Jota offered his team.
"As an offensive player, to be involved in absolutely each defensive situation and still be a threat offensively. There's no if, or, you can do both. Diogo is doing that. That makes him so valuable for us," he said.
Jota scored 47 league goals for Liverpool in 123 appearances, a remarkable return considering he only started 79 of those matches.
For both club and country, Jota went about his business in the shadow of brighter stars, with Cristiano Ronaldo captaining his Portugal side and Mohamed Salah often claiming the spotlight for Liverpool.
Yet in a sport that so often celebrates the spectacular rather than the routine, Jota showed that a tireless determination to change games and stick the ball in the back of the net are perhaps the most valuable qualities in football. REUTERS
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