Liverpool coach Arne Slot is in shock at the death of Diogo Jota. The coach cannot comprehend that his attacker died in a traffic accident in Spain on Thursday morning at the age of 28.
“What to say? What can anyone say at such a moment, when the shock and pain are so incredibly intense?”, Slot writes in an open letter on the Liverpool website. “I wish I had the words, but I know I don’t.”
“All I have at the moment are the feelings that I know so many people will have, about a person and a player we loved dearly, about a family we care so much about.”
Slot writes that he is not looking at the tragedy as a football coach, in which Jota’s younger brother André also died. “My first thoughts are those of a father, a son, a brother and an uncle, who belong to the family of Diogo and André who have suffered such an unimaginable loss.”
In his letter, Slot mainly focuses on the relatives. “My message to them is very clear: you are never alone. The players, staff and supporters of Liverpool sympathize with you, as does the entire football world.”
According to Slot, the shock is great at Liverpool. “Diogo was not just a player with us. He was loved by us all. He was a teammate, a colleague, a workmate and in all those roles he was very special.”
Slot says he spoke to Jota after Portugal’s Nations League win. “I wished him good luck with his upcoming marriage. It was a dream summer for Diogo and his family in many ways, which makes it all the more heartbreaking that it had to end like this.”
Jota died eleven days after his marriage to Rute Cardoso and leaves behind three children. Slot says he has not yet gotten around to the question of how he will cope with the loss of Jota in his selection. “We must especially be there for each other now. We owe this to Diogo, André, their family and ourselves.”
“When the time is right, we will honor Diogo, we will commemorate his goals and we will sing his song. For now, we will remember him as a unique person and mourn his loss. He will never be forgotten.”
Slot concludes his letter with the title of the Liverpool supporters’ song about Jota: “His name is Diogo.”