This hits hard
I don’t know how you are managing to write/post, and search the net for clips, and posts. I’m still processing, and struggling to process. I have trouble just reading the posts (and I haven’t dared to read/listen the news), and something snaps inside me every time I see his face.
Different people cope in different ways.
Diogo’s death has really been bothering me this last day. Aside from the initial shock, seeing he pictures of him at his wedding really brings it home. He may be a famous sportsman but he was still a very down to earth man doing ordinary things. When I was driving back from Osnabrück last night, I saw an Opel Astra that had come off the road and was stuck in a ditch. The police were in attendance but it just struck me as the sort of thing that can happen to anyone. Diogo was driving cross country to catch a ferry, something that I have done many times myself. You can see that it only takes a moment for a situation to become catastrophic.
That picture of him with his children is the most tragic. My father died when I was quite young but I do have vivid memories of him. My younger sister was a similar age to Jota’s eldest child when he died, and she says that she has no direct memories of my father other than vague recollections of someone called “daddy” who was there. Most of what she knows comes from photos, old home movies, a couple of tape recordings, and the recollections and stories of family and friends.
There is a lot of footage of Jota as a footballer and I am sure that these will be important to his children in the future. However, I suspect that it is the private clips from friends and teammates, whether it is relaxing away from the pitch or playing videogames with friends, that will give them the best insight into their father. Hopefully someone at the club can collate these as it will be ten years from now when these will become the most precious memories.
Pleasure mate. Enjoyed reading all of the messages here, so wanted to contribute from the ‘other side’
A tyre burst can happen anytime. No one can predict that. Irrespective of the speed involved , a burst tire with an automatic transmission and a rwd car will be tough AF to handle for a trained rally driver , let alone a normal driver.
In my previous company ( our device was used by Michelin for accelerometer readings and impact on tirewear). The results were shocking to say the least. The higher end cars tend to wear the tyres out that much more quickly. And are more sensitive to road changes than normal cars.
As far as Diogo is concerned. We are always one.
Always had a soft spot for wolves btw. This preceded Diogo joining us. A proper club with a proper fanbase.
Watching that video the club have released hit me hard. The magnitude of the loss for us as a club and as fans is huge but incomparable to the pain and anguish his family will be feeling at losing two sons, of missing husbands and fathers from their lives.
Watching that video just showed the type of person he was and why he fit here so beautifully. The path to get here was hard earned, built on desire and determination to fulfil his dream. It took a somewhat unusual path and you can imagine times where he must have thought where he was really going to be able to leave his mark.
But given the chance he took it with both hands. The same drive and determination propelling him forward to scoring crucial goals whilst leading the line at one of the world’s biggest clubs. And all done with great humility and a sense of duty to the fans to bring smiles to their faces. Nothing was taken for granted. Everything was hard earned and every moment relished knowing all the graft that had come before.
You’d never describe him as the star. He didn’t have Firmino’s flair, Salah’s goals or Mane’s electric pace. He wasn’t flashy. There was no sense of thinking he was the main man. No hint that he thought he might be better off elsewhere. Just came in, knuckled down and fought for everything on the pitch. And we rewarded him with our adoration and a song that will live on forever in the Anfield songbook. He knew what he meant to us and we knew he loved being part of this club.
The coincidences around the number 20 are too hard to ignore. Arrived in 2020, wore the number 20, had a song sung about the number 20 and helped win us number 20. The association will be there forever. Personally I don’t want to see the shirt retired. I want to see it remain his. I want to see him listed in our squad this year. I want us to remember it as his forever rather than let it fade into our memories.
The next few months and the season as a whole will be strange without him. It’s going to hurt in that dressing room for a long time. The sad reality is time doesn’t stand still to let people mourn. They’ll still have to go back into training and see pictures of him on walls, an empty seat in the dressing room, and hear his chant echo round Anfield. How they react and cope with this will dictate how most of us experience the next nine months of our lives.
It’s all just so tragic and yet our sense of loss will be nothing compared to that of his family and friends. I can’t imagine their pain. I just hope they know how much we adored him, people from all corners of the globe taking immense joy from what he gave on our behalf.
Rest in peace, Diogo.
took me a while to come on and post on here…
what a tragic loss.
theres not much i can add to the tributes and heart felt comments made on here, i suppose the only thing i would like to add is my thoughts are with my fellow posters on here
we all rush to comfort others but maybe dont take the time to look after ourselves, so on a forum where things can get a bit petty over shite and we suspect bots infiltrate here, id like to extend my heart felt condolences to all the people at the other end of the keyboard
RIP
Reading all these messages again hurts so much, but it shows how much he was loved by everyone. We will miss you so much Diogo.
According to the WHO 1.35m people die every from car related incidents every year. That’s 3500 people a day. So, yes. It can happen to anyone, and I wish more people would remember how fragile we all are hurtling round in these metal boxes.
I got deep into work today, forgot momentarily. Then saw the front page of the Metro outside.
And it all came back.
For a moment there was the thought “naaah, can’t be…he’s gonna be in the lineup on Aug 15”
Sadly no.