On Saturday, Diogo Jota’s two former clubs, Liverpool and Wolves, will meet for the first time since his tragic death earlier this year.
Arne Slott says he hopes the overwhelming support from across the Liverpool Football Club community will bring comfort to Diogo Jota’s family during what is expected to be a deeply emotional afternoon at Anfield this Saturday.
The Reds will face Jota’s other former Premier League team, Wolverhampton Wanderers. It will be the first meeting between the two clubs since the beloved Portuguese forward tragically lost his life in a car accident along with his brother Andre Silva in early July.
Jota was traveling through northern Spain on his way back to Merseyside for pre-season preparations in the early hours of Thursday, July 3, when his car suffered a puncture. Jota’s widow Ruthe will also attend the match, and Jota’s sons Dinis and Duarte will serve as mascots.
Jota moved to English football in 2017 when Wolves were in the Championship. He quickly helped the team win the Second Division title and went on to become part of the most successful Wolves team in a generation.
The 28-year-old then moved to Liverpool in September 2020, winning the Premier League title, the FA Cup and two League Cups in his five years at Anfield.
The Liverpool Echo reports that Slott dedicated part of his pre-match program notes to the number 20 ahead of the side’s clash with bottom-placed Wolves.
“Our ability to come together has been one of our most important qualities all year long, and it has brought us both the highs and the lows,” Slott wrote. “Reflecting on everything that has happened over the past 12 months has been a roller coaster of emotions, but it is normal to reflect on everything that has happened during this time.
“In doing so, I think of Diogo Jota’s family, especially as they face their first Christmas without Diogo Jota. It is not my place to tell them where they should seek solace, if that is possible, but I can only hope that the feelings of love and affection that Diogo is still generating will bring them some comfort.
“Saturday will of course be a particularly strong loss as it will be the first time Diogo’s two England teams have played each other since Diogo’s tragic death.
“My thoughts remain with them as Wolves, like all of us, have obviously been affected greatly by the loss of such a special player and person.”
Slott said: “I would like to welcome Rob Edwards, the players, staff and the Wolves supporters and manager to Anfield for the game.
“They have come fighting for their future, but regardless of where they are in the Premier League, they will expect challenges like we faced them twice last season, when we managed to come out on top after two very difficult games.
“That’s the way the Premier League works and it’s very important to be on the right side of the margin. We’ve been able to do that more often than last week recently, so we need to continue to do this.”
Ideally, we start to put ourselves in a position where we can be a little more comfortable, but as I said earlier in this note, there’s a lot of work to do if we want to get to this stage. ”.
The forward played a key role in Slot’s side winning the Premier League title last season. And in a touching tribute to Jota, Liverpool have decided to remove the number 20 jersey following his death.
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