Diogo Jota’s former clubs will face each other for the first time since his tragic death at Anfield today
In polar opposite ways, Liverpool and Wolves have had their issues in this Premier League season.
The champions have supposedly been in some sort of crisis because they lost a few games in a sticky few weeks and Wolves are definitely in a crisis, having developed a habit of not winning matches.
Liverpool’s marquee player caused a bit of a stir because he objected to being left out of the starting line-up, the Wolves chairman felt obliged to step down after bearing the brunt of supporter dissatisfaction.
Staple stuff. Liverpool have rediscovered a bit of form and Mo Salah is away for a while on international duty, so that storyline has taken a breather.
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Wolves, even under newish manager Rob Edwards, are so bad that thoughts are already turning to a Championship campaign.
And that is no bad thing. Winning games, having the football, it’s what the game is all about in the end, no matter what level you are at.
Now and again, football – and following football – needs a dose of perspective.
And there will be no stronger dose than the one taken by everyone at Anfield today.
There will be no stronger dose than the one taken by the men, women and children who are there to see Dinis and Duarte, two of the three children of Diogo Jota and Ruth Cardoso, join the mascots on the Anfield pitch ahead of Liverpool’s game against Wolves.
“It is not my place to tell them where they should look for comfort – even if that is possible,” says Arne Slot. “But I can only hope that the feeling of love and affection that Diogo still generates brings them some solace.”
As usual, a manager of Liverpool Football Club finds the right words.
And the love and affection will be shared, in equal measure, by home fans and visiting fans. That is the measure of the unassuming, humble footballer that was Diogo Jota.
That IS Diogo Jota. Because Liverpool and Wolves will keep his memory alive.
The clubs will keep his memory alive but, more importantly, the fans will keep his memory alive. And the fans ARE the clubs.
The death of Jota and his brother Andre Silva was a reminder that professional footballers – professional sportsmen and women – are not immune from tragedy, not immune from the painful vagaries of life.
And the meeting of his two English clubs should be a reminder of what is important, should be a reminder that football is not the be-all and end-all.
But here’s a guess. Jota would not have wanted perspective. He would have wanted everyone to be as passionate about their team winning or losing as they always are.
And when his two sons walk out with their dad’s teammates just before three o-clock this afternoon, they will feel the passion that Diogo Jota stirred amongst fans of both teams.
As Slot intimates, comfort can be impossible to find, but it will remind the two boys and their family of the special role their father had in people’s lives.
And if that provides even the tiniest bit of solace, the football community has done a lovely thing.
