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ITV News
2 days ago
- Sport
- ITV News
Liverpool pay emotional tribute to Diogo Jota at Preston friendly
Liverpool FC players and staff have paid an emotional tribute to Diogo Jota as they chanted his name for seven minutes following their match against Preston. The game was Liverpool's first since the Jota, and his brother Andre Silva, were killed in a car accident in Spain on 3 July. Before kick-off a rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' and Preston's club song 'Can't Help Falling In Love With You' was performed by Claudio Rose Maguire, wife of former Preston player Sean. As Maguire sang Liverpool's anthem, Preston captain Ben Whiteman laid a wreath in front of the visiting fans, with the Bill Shankly Kop dominated by banners and scarves bearing Jota's name. Liverpool supporters had sung the first of many renditions of his song 20 minutes before kick-off. There had been questions over whether the pre-season friendly at Deepdale would go ahead as Liverpool players – several of whom attended the funeral of the two brothers in Portugal – were given extra time before reporting for pre-season training, but it became an opportunity to honour their memories. Jota, 28, and Silva, 25, were killed when a tyre on the car in which they were travelling burst in Zamora, northern Spain. Jota's death came just 11 days after the father of three had married his long-time partner Rute. On the pitch Liverpool eased to a 3-1 win through goals from Conor Bradley, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo but thoughts of Jota and Silva remained at the forefront throughout the day. Fan rose again to sing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' 20 minutes into the match - marking the squad number that Liverpool have since retired - with supporters in all four stands at Deepdale rising to their feet to join the applause. 'We will always carry him with us in our hearts, in our thoughts, wherever we go,' boss Arne Slot said on the club website. 'To retire his shirt is the one thing we could, should and have done… 'I think what I take comfort in (is that) in the last month of his life he was a champion in everything. A champion for his family, which is the main and most important thing, because he got married. 'A champion for his country because he won the Nations League, (with) a country that he cared about so much, because he also wore the flag when we had celebrations. And of course a champion for us by winning the Premier League.' Mohamed Salah, captain of a young Liverpool side that started the game, looked visibly moved by the moment as an image of the brothers – together at Porto in their youth – was shown on the big screen inside the stadium. And when Nunez scored Liverpool's second early in the second half, he delivered two of Jota's celebrations – first the shark gesture Jota gave when he scored against Everton at Goodison Park, then another imitating playing video games. Asked about the decision to continue the game, Slot said: 'Nothing seems to be 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. 'It's very difficult to find the right words because we constantly debate what is appropriate. 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. And what I meant with that is that Jota was always himself, it didn't matter if he was talking to me, to his team-mates, to the staff, he was always himself. So let us try to be ourselves as well.' Bradley opened the scoring in the 34th minute, prodding in at the back post after neat work from Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa, and half-time substitute Nunez pounced on a mistake from Jordan Storey to score the second eight minutes into the second half. Eight minutes from time Preston substitute Liam Lindsay headed past his former team-mate Freddie Woodman, who joined Liverpool from North End at the start of the month, but it felt right for Liverpool to have the final say through Gakpo.


New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Liverpool salute Diogo Jota through songs, strength, solidarity
Each rendition was louder and delivered with greater feeling than the one that preceded it. For seven minutes after the final whistle at Deepdale, Liverpool players and staff stood on the edge of the penalty area applauding the 5,600 away supporters amassed in the Bill Shankly Kop as one song remained on loop. Emotion was writ large on their faces. Some wiped tears from their cheeks. 'Oh, he wears the No 20, He will take us to victory, And when he's running down the left wing, He'll cut inside and score for LFC, He's a lad from Portugal, Better than Figo don't you know, Ohhh, his name is Diogo.' Advertisement It was repeated over and over again in the late afternoon sunshine. One banner being held up read: 'Diogo Jota 1996 to 2025. Forever Red'. Eventually, the poignant and sustained vocal tribute was replaced with the booming chant of 'champions' and then, fittingly, the club's anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone' rang out. Those words ring truer than ever at times like this. Players and staff stand and applaud as the Jota chant goes on and on after the final whistle — James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) July 13, 2025 After the anguish of the previous 10 days, there was comfort to be taken from such a heartwarming show of togetherness. The road back to anything resembling normality will be long and winding for everyone associated with Liverpool, but the first tentative steps were taken at Preston North End on Sunday. Arne Slot's depleted squad kicked off their pre-season schedule with a 3-1 victory over the Championship outfit thanks to goals from Conor Bradley, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo. Summer signings Jeremie Frimping, Milos Kerkez, Giorgi Mamardashvili and Freddie Woodman all took their bows. But this was a day when events on the field were completely inconsequential for Liverpool. You can't win when you're still grappling with such an immense feeling of loss. Just fulfilling the fixture felt like an achievement given the deaths of Jota and his brother Andre Silva in a car crash in Spain on July 3. Captain Virgil van Dijk, new boy Florian Wirtz, Ibrahima Konate, Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister and Alisson were among those not involved after all the upheaval with pre-season testing and some training sessions being shelved. It was decided they would be better off doing some individual work at Kirkby earlier in the day with no risks taken over their fitness. Understandably, Slot and his players didn't conduct any post-match media duties at Preston, but the head coach spoke openly to LFCTV prior to the game about the challenge of dealing with the fallout from such a tragedy. 'Nothing seems to be 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,' he said. Advertisement 'It's very difficult to find the right words because we constantly debate what is appropriate. Can we train again? Can we laugh again? Can we be angry if there's a wrong decision? I've said to them maybe the best thing for us to do is handle this situation like Jota. And what I meant with that is that Jota was always himself. It didn't matter if he was talking to me, to his team-mates, to the staff, he was always himself. So let us try to be ourselves as well. 'If we want to laugh we laugh, if we want to cry we're going to cry. If they want to train they can train, if they don't want to train they can not train. But be yourself, don't think you have to be different than your emotions tell you.' Slot showcased his coaching acumen to the world when he led Liverpool to Premier League title glory in his debut season at Anfield. The leadership he's shown in the face of such heartache since has arguably been even more impressive. It was there in the immediate aftermath of the shock news when players and staff descended on the small Portuguese city of Gondomar for the wake and the funeral. It was there in the first meeting back at Kirkby when most of the devastated squad reassembled last Tuesday and someone had to plot a route back to playing again. Rather than head home after such a difficult day, Slot drove to Anfield with wife Mirjam to visit the shrine created by the thousands of supporters who had descended on the stadium to pay their respects and leave flowers, cards, shirts, scarves, banners, flags, hats and even PlayStation controllers. Slot was back there again on Friday as the players and staff were joined by Jota's wife Rute and parents Joaquim Silva and Isabel Silva, who wanted to see the outpouring of love for themselves. Each Liverpool player laid a white rose and a red rose in memory of their team-mate and his brother. Rute also paid a visit to the 'Forever 20' wall on the corner of nearby Sybil Road and added a message to the hundreds which had been left on the side of a house. A short walk away a mural of Jota has already been completed outside the Halfway House pub. There are plans in place for another one too after street artist Paul Curtis set up a crowdfunding page to cover the £2,000 costs and by Sunday had received £26,000 in donations. The excess will be donated to charity. 'If you play for this club it's unbelievable when you win things, but in moments of tragedy I think it's also unbelievable what these fans are doing,' Slot added. 'The fans cannot have better players to play for them but us as players and staff can't have better fans to support us. To represent this club in this city now even means more to me and to my wife than it did before. Advertisement 'It had a lot of impact on us but nothing compared to the loss that is felt by his parents, his wife Rute and his children and his other family. The first feeling we all have is of sadness. The second feeling that comes to my mind is pride. I think his parents and Rute can be so proud of the player and the person he was.' On Friday evening, fittingly at 20:20, Liverpool announced that the No 20 shirt was being permanently retired in Jota's honour. It's a gesture unprecedented in the club's history and underlines not only the immense contribution he made to the club as a player during his five years on Merseyside, but also the personal impact he had on team-mates, staff and supporters. The decision was made after liaising with Jota's family. 'By retiring this squad number, we are making it eternal – and therefore never to be forgotten,' said Fenway Sports Group CEO of football Michael Edwards. 'Diogo joined us in 2020, he won us number 20, and he wore – with honour, distinction and affection – the number 20. As far as Liverpool Football Club is concerned, he will be forever our number 20.' Forty miles north of Anfield on Sunday, Preston proved to be the classiest of hosts. The black and white cover of the matchday programme featured Jota holding the Premier League trophy. Prior to kick-off, Preston captain Ben Whiteman laid a wreath in front of the away supporters while singer Claudia Rose Maguire performed 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. There was a minute's silence, tributes on the advertising hoardings and both sets of players wore black armbands. It was emotionally charged, not least after 20 minutes when the Jota song started and then carried on continuously for 10 minutes as a 21,289-strong crowd all stood and applauded. At one point Mohamed Salah buried his head in his hands. Bradley pointed to the heavens after opening the scoring at the far post following good work from Federico Chiesa before the break. In the second half, Slot fielded a completely changed line up. Nunez pounced on a slack backpass and went around the goalkeeper to make it 2-0. Much to the delight of the away end, the Uruguayan frontman did both the baby shark and PlayStation celebrations so closely associated with Jota. After Liam Lindsay had halved the decifit, Gakpo had the final word late on with a cool finish from Ben Doak's cross and then held up '20' with his fingers. This is a group mourning a much loved team-mate and friend. In those touching scenes after the final whistle they felt the collective arm of the fanbase around them. Advertisement 'We will always carry him with us in our hearts, in our thoughts, wherever we go,' Slot said. 'I think what I take comfort in is that in the last month of his life he was a champion in everything. 'A champion for his family, which is the main and most important thing, because he got married. A champion for his country because he won the Nations League, with a country that he cared about so much And of course a champion for us by winning the Premier League.' (Top photos: Getty Images)


Qatar Tribune
3 days ago
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Liverpool pay emotional tribute to Diogo Jota at Preston friendly
PA Media/dpa London For seven minutes after the final whistle, Liverpool players and staff stood in front of their supporters at Preston as they chanted Diogo Jota's name. Sunday's pre-season friendly at Deepdale was originally envisaged as a day to kick-start preparations for Liverpool's Premier League title defence, but it played out as a memorial service for Jota and his brother Andre Silva, 10 days after they died in a car accident in Spain. On the pitch Liverpool eased to a 3-1 win through goals from Conor Bradley, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo but thoughts of Jota and Silva remained at the forefront throughout the day. It began with a beautiful performance of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' by Claudia Rose Maguire, wife of former Preston player Sean, before kick-off. As Maguire sang Liverpool's anthem, Preston captain Ben Whiteman walked the length of the pitch to lay a wreath in front of the visiting fans, with the Bill Shankly Kop dominated by banners and scarves bearing Jota's name. Liverpool supporters sung the first of many renditions of their Jota chant 20 minutes before kick-off. When they rose to sing it again 20 minutes into the match, marking the squad number that Liverpool retired this week, supporters in all four stands at Deepdale rose to their feet to join the applause. Mohamed Salah, captain of a young Liverpool side that started the game, looked visibly moved by the moment as an image of the brothers - together at Porto in their youth - was shown on the big screen inside the stadium. And when Nunez scored Liverpool's second early in the second half, he delivered two of Jota's celebrations - first the shark gesture Jota gave when he scored against Everton at Goodison Park, then another imitating playing video games. Liverpool have been in mourning since the news of Jota's death came early on the morning of July 3, only 11 days after the 28-year-old father of three had married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso. Several Liverpool players attended his funeral in Portugal last Saturday, with others at a memorial that took place in midweek. Players were allowed extra time to report back for pre-season as a result. There had been question marks over whether this fixture would go ahead, but in an interview published on Liverpool's website on Sunday morning, Arne Slot said: 'We are a football club and we need to train and we need to play again, if we want it or not.' The grieving process will continue, but this felt an important step as a match that might otherwise have been about their new signings - Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong came off the bench after Giorgi Mamardashvili started in goal - became a moment to play in honour of the memory of Jota and Silva. Bradley opened the scoring in the 34th minute, prodding in at the back post after neat work from Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa, and half-time substitute Nunez pounced on a mistake from Jordan Storey to score the second eight minutes into the second half. Eight minutes from time Preston substitute Liam Lindsay headed past his former team-mate Freddie Woodman, who joined Liverpool from North End at the start of the month, but it felt right for Liverpool to have the final say through Gakpo.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Liverpool players pay emotional tribute to Diogo Jota as fans left in tears
Liverpool have paid a touching tribute to Diogo Jota at their first time back on the field since his tragic death. Supporters had been asked to be in their seats by 2.45pm, but the travelling Reds filled the Bill Shankly Kop at Deepdale long before. And 10 minutes before the pre-planned tributes were officially set to get underway, they made sure to kick things off themselves with a rendition of the Portuguese's chant. 'He's a lad from Portugal, better than Figo, don't you know? Oh, his name is Diogo!' READ MORE: Small plane crashes at UK airport with 'huge fireball' seen after take off READ MORE: ''It's very, very sad what's happened, my heart goes out to Blackpool... it's a real shame' Jota's chant was always going to be ringing in ears at Deepdale. That rendition might have been the first from the entire stand, but it was not the last, writes the ECHO. Never miss a story with the MEN's daily Catch Up newsletter - get it in your inbox by signing up here Singing on loop, Liverpool's travelling support started chanting in honour of Jota again before the official tributes at 2.50pm. Claudia Rose Maguire – wife of former Preston player Sean - kicked things off with a rendition of Can't Help Falling In Love, briefly stopping the Jota chants in the process. The Liverpool supporters would join in with the line itself, 'can't help falling in love with you,' as the emotions took hold at Deepdale. The Jota chants then briefly resumed before Maguire started singing a hugely emotional rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone. Supporters were left shedding tears during the club's anthem as an emotional Preston captain Ben Whiteman then walked out with a wreath in honour of Jota, and his brother, Andre Silva, walked the length of the Deepdale pitch to lay it in front of the away supporters. The sight of that alone was greeted with thunderous applause, never mind the completion of the gesture as Whiteman bowed his head to the wreath before rejoining his team-mates at the other end coming out the Deepdale tunnel. Further applause followed once Maguire had finished the song, before Jota's chant again took over as the players walked out. With both sides then taking part in a minute's silence, Liverpool players couldn't hide their emotions, along with head coach Arne Slot, as the Reds and Preston paid tribute to the Portuguese brothers. The ECHO was in attendance at Deepdale on what was always going to be a highly emotional occasion. And it's fair to say there were goosebumps during the aforementioned tributes as the Reds were joined by the Lilywhites in honouring one of their own. There were dozens of banners in the away end in honour of the Portuguese, while Jota's chant would continue to be sung. Forever Liverpool's number 20, after the Reds announced their decision to retire his shirt number on Friday, he will never be forgotten. This was a fitting and moving first public way to honour Jota and Silva. But it will not be the last.


Glasgow Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Liverpool pay emotional tribute to Diogo Jota at Preston friendly
Sunday's pre-season friendly at Deepdale was originally envisaged as a day to kick-start preparations for Liverpool's Premier League title defence, but it played out as a memorial service for Jota and his brother Andre Silva, 10 days after they died in a car accident in Spain. On the pitch Liverpool eased to a 3-1 win through goals from Conor Bradley, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo but thoughts of Jota and Silva remained at the forefront throughout the day. Liverpool players stand for a minute's silence in memory of Diogo Jota at Preston (Martin Rickett/PA) It began with a beautiful performance of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' by Claudia Rose Maguire, wife of former Preston player Sean, before kick-off. As Maguire sang Liverpool's anthem, Preston captain Ben Whiteman walked the length of the pitch to lay a wreath in front of the visiting fans, with the Bill Shankly Kop dominated by banners and scarves bearing Jota's name. Liverpool supporters sung the first of many renditions of their Jota chant 20 minutes before kick-off. When they rose to sing it again 20 minutes into the match, marking the squad number that Liverpool retired this week, supporters in all four stands at Deepdale rose to their feet to join the applause. Mohamed Salah, captain of a young Liverpool side that started the game, looked visibly moved by the moment as an image of the brothers – together at Porto in their youth – was shown on the big screen inside the stadium. Darwin Nunez (right) delivered one of Diogo Jota's celebrations after scoring Liverpool's second goal (Martin Rickett/PA) And when Nunez scored Liverpool's second early in the second half, he delivered two of Jota's celebrations – first the shark gesture Jota gave when he scored against Everton at Goodison Park, then another imitating playing video games. Liverpool have been in mourning since the news of Jota's death came early on the morning of July 3, only 11 days after the 28-year-old father of three had married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso. Several Liverpool players attended his funeral in Portugal last Saturday, with others at a memorial that took place in midweek. Players were allowed extra time to report back for pre-season as a result. There had been question marks over whether this fixture would go ahead, but in an interview published on Liverpool's website on Sunday morning, Arne Slot said: 'We are a football club and we need to train and we need to play again, if we want it or not.' 'We'll always carry him with us" ❤️ Arne Slot with a heartfelt tribute to Diogo Jota. — Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 13, 2025 The grieving process will continue, but this felt an important step as a match that might otherwise have been about their new signings – Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong came off the bench after Giorgi Mamardashvili started in goal – became a moment to play in honour of the memory of Jota and Silva. Bradley opened the scoring in the 34th minute, prodding in at the back post after neat work from Rio Ngumoha and Federico Chiesa, and half-time substitute Nunez pounced on a mistake from Jordan Storey to score the second eight minutes into the second half. Eight minutes from time Preston substitute Liam Lindsay headed past his former team-mate Freddie Woodman, who joined Liverpool from North End at the start of the month, but it felt right for Liverpool to have the final say through Gakpo.