Liverpool players joined family and friends for the funeral of their teammate Diogo Jota and his brother yesterday, two days after the siblings died in a car crash in Spain.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk arrived carrying a red floral arrangement in the shape of a soccer shirt with Jota’s No. 20 in white. Liverpool teammate Andrew Robertson carried a similar arrangement with the No. 30, the number worn by Jota’s brother, Andre Silva, who played for Portuguese club Penafiel.
The service was held at Igreja Matriz church in the Portuguese town of Gondomar, where Jota had a home.
Photo: Reuters
Church bells pealed at 11am as the funeral started. Pallbearers carried the caskets of both brothers from a chapel next door and into the church. Relatives and hundreds of friends and acquaintances, including players of the local Gondomar FC, where Jota started playing at age 9, followed.
Portugal national team coach Roberto Martinez and several top Portuguese players also attended, including Manchester City duo Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias and Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes.
Jota, 28, and the 25-year-old Silva were found dead near Zamora in northwestern Spain early on Thursday after the Lamborghini they were driving crashed on an isolated stretch of highway just after midnight on Thursday and burst into flames.
The brothers were reportedly heading to catch a boat from northern Spain to go to England, where Jota was to join up with his Liverpool teammates after a summer break.
Spanish police are investigating the cause of the crash, which did not involve another vehicle, they said, adding that it could have been caused by a blown tire.
Their bodies were repatriated to Portugal after being identified by the family. A wake was held for them on Friday.
Jota’s death occurred two weeks after he married long-time partner Rute Cardoso while on vacation from a long season where he helped Liverpool win the English Premier League. The couple had three children, the youngest born last year.
Their loss led to an outpouring of condolences from the soccer world and Portuguese officials.
Al-Hilal’s Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo broke down in tears during the minute’s silence held for their former Portugal teammate Diogo Jota before their side’s FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final against Fluminense on Friday.
Tributes have continued to pour in for Jota and Andre with soccer greats including Cristiano Ronaldo and Steven Gerrard, joining the prime ministers of Portugal and the UK in mourning the loss.
Friday’s match between Al-Hilal and Fluminense in Orlando, Florida, began with players and fans observing a minute’s silence in memory of Jota and Andre.
Neves, one of Jota’s closest friends who played with the 28-year-old during their days at English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers, issued a tribute on Instagram about an hour before kick-off.
“Wherever you are, I know you’re going to read this, we’ve never been one for this sort of thing and maybe now I’ll regret it a little, but you know what you mean to me just as much as I know what I am to you,” Neves said.
“More than a friendship, we’re family, and we’re not going to stop being family just because you’ve decided to sign a contract a little further away from us,” he said.
“When I go to the national team, you’ll still be by my side at the dinner table, on the bus, on the plane... you’ll always be there with me, as usual. We’ll keep laughing, making plans, sharing our lives with each other,” he added.
Fluminense defeated Al-Hilal 2-1 to set up a semi-final tie against Chelsea on Tuesday.
Additional reporting by Reuters and staff writer
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