With the funeral of late footballer Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva taking only 48 hours since their tragic death in a car accident, emotional scenes emerged out of the same on July 5, Saturday. Family members were inevitably seen crying as both their coffins were being carried out to the cemetery.
Jota's sudden death aged 28 and his brother's demise at 26 has left the entire sporting fraternity in a state of shock. The two died due to a car accident in Spain on July 3 at 12:30 am as the car tyre burst, resulting in catching fire while seemingly trying to overtake another vehicle.
Hence, tributes have been pouring from sporting personalities over the world.
With Jota plying his trade for Liverpool since 2020, manager Arne Slot, his former skipper Jordan Henderson, current skipper Virgil Van Dijk and teammate Andy Robertson made it to the funeral. Van Djik, who is serving as the skipper of Liverpool currently, was seen carrying a wreath with Jota's jersey number of 20. Jota's wife Rute Cardoso, who got married to him, only ten days before the accident, grew highly emotional before heading to the chapel.
"The essence of what a Liverpool player should be" - Arne Slot
In his tribute statement for Jota, Slot said he has been left in complete shock and that his commitment towards the game and club was there for everyone to see. Slot stated, as quoted by independent.co.uk:
"For us as a club, the sense of shock is absolute. Diogo was not just our player. He was a loved one to all of us. He was a teammate, a colleague, a workmate and in all of those roles he was very special. I could say so much about what he brought to our team but the truth is everyone who watched Diogo play could see it. Hard work, desire, commitment, great quality, goals. The essence of what a Liverpool player should be."
