Tributes pour in for Diogo Jota: 'He was what we'd all like to be'

SBS Australia

12 hours ago

"As we prepare for a moment of silence, let's remember Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva." It's left the football world in a state of shock. Portugal and Spain observed a minute's silence at the UEFA Women's EURO 2025, as they paid tribute to Liverpool's forward star Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva. The Portuguese player and his brother - who is also a professional footballer for Portuguese second-tier club Penafiel - both died in a car crash near Zamora in northwestern Spain, aged 28 and 26 respectively. According to local authorities, Jota and his brother died when the car they were in veered off the road and burst into flames. Spanish police say evidence at the scene of the crash suggests Jota's car suffered a burst tyre while overtaking. Just ten days before his death on the 28th of June, Jota got married to his long term partner of 13 years, Rute Cardoso, who is also the mother of his three children. "I'm devastated. Devastated. It's like unless you are part of the football family, people probably won't get it, but it's like you knew him. And he was so young. Kids and just can't believe it." Thousands of Liverpool fans have turned out to pay their respects and honour Jota in Anfield, leaving cards and flowers in his memory. Jota helped Liverpool win the Premier League last season and also won the F-A Cup and League Cup with the team. In a statement, Liverpool Football Club said they're devastated by the death of Jota and his brother. Former Manager Jurgen Klopp says he's heartbroken. On an Instagram post, he wrote: "This is a moment where I struggle! There must be a bigger purpose! But I can't see it." The Portuguese Football Federation has also paid tribute to the brothers, saying their deaths are an irreparable loss for Portuguese football. Pedro Proença is the Portuguese Football Federation President. "I'd like to say that Portuguese football is absolutely devastated today. We're all in mourning; the (Portuguese) Football Federation, this generation of players, over everything surrounding Diogo today, and if I may, Andre too. Diogo was what we'd all like to be. He was a benchmark for Portuguese soccer. He was a talent of his generation." Portugal's Prime Minister Luís Montenegro echoed similar sentiments, saying the deaths were "unexpected and tragic". Jota, who yielded five major honours for his club and country was meant to return to Liverpool next week for the start of pre-season training. The highly skilled player was nicknamed 'Jota The Slotter' by his Liverpool fans. "The way he played football with a smile on his face all the time. He was the epitome of enjoying what you do. Every time he went out on the pitch he gave his all. You don't know these people personally, but when you do lose somebody in this fashion, it's devastating. It's going to affect everyone. It's like losing someone really, really close to you." In a 2021 interview with BBC Sport, he spoke about paying to play football when he was 16. "It's hard because firstly I wasn't paying, my parents were. That was I remember the hardest thing for me because I could see their struggle to get the money in the club and I think that caused me the debt that I could never pay them back. Obviously I try to do that and I just remember that was one of my things to keep going and to never give up because I trusted myself but obviously back then I never thought that this was possible." His career began at Gondomar, which is a small club in the Portuguese city of Porto. Anselmo Serra is the Gondomar SC Director. "He never forgot his roots, nor his friends, because he had a group of friends who were with him in the training here in Gondomar and who he even invited from time to time to go and watch Liverpool games in England. And they were like a group of friends that he never forgot over the years and that, therefore, proves the humility of the person that he is (was)." Jota had previously played for Pacos de Ferreira, Atletico Madrid, Porto and Wolves - before joining Liverpool in 2020. His final match was for Portugal in their UEFA Nations League final win against Spain on the 8th of June, winning 5-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in regular and extra time. In a social media post, Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo said Jota's death "doesn't make sense", as he goes on to send his condolences to Jota's family. In the 2021 BBC Sport interview, this was Jota's advice to 16-year-old's potentially wanting to be a professional like him. "Mainly not to give up, I think even when we are - like I was playing in very low divisions, not just me they can find loads of examples is always possible to reach the top I think, and never give up is the main idea." Former Liverpool player. and now football analyst for Sky Sports. Jamie Carragher says off the pitch, Jota was known as someone with a great sense of humility, and revered as a family man.
"He came across as probably not the typical way that maybe some people portray a Premier League footballer as he seems very quiet, very humble, real family man. And went about his business, did his business on the pitch very quiet and humble off the pitch, and just seemed like a really great guy off the pitch, but at the moment it's not really about that."