Emotional funeral service: Football stars say goodbye to Diogo Jota and brother André

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk wore a flower container with Diogo Jota’s rear number 20, national team colleague Ruben Neves flew directly from the Club World Cup from the USA: Family and close friends of the deadly crashed Portuguese national football player from FC Liverpool, Diogo Jota, and his brother André da Silva Fearing ceremony said goodbye.

In the small church of her hometown of Gondomar near Porto, only a few mourning guests were accommodated from the closest circle. Many other people waited in silent prayer and grief on the square in front of the church. At the end of the funeral service, the two simple wooden coffins were worn into the ringing of bells from the church. Priest led the funeral train to the cemetery right next to the church. Diogo Jota’s wife Rod Cardoso could also be seen in pictures. A larger crowd had already been waiting in the cemetery to attend the funeral at some distance.

Friend Neves flew from Club World Cup to the funeral service

Numerous teammates from Diogo Jota also came to the funeral service: In addition to the Liverpool stars van Dijk, Andy Robertson and coach Arne Slot, Diogo Jota’s friend and national team colleague Neves also came among many others. The Portuguese had played for Al-Hilal at the club World Cup the evening before and cried for his late friend during a minute’s commemoration.

The heads of the Portuguese state, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, as well as friends, neighbors, athletes and fans had already honored the brothers at the traditional dead guard the day before. The atmosphere during the mourning guard, which lasted well into the night, was traditionally quiet, the visitors condolned the relatives and some prayed together.

Diogo Jota had recently married

The 28-year-old Diogo Jota, who was called Diogo José Teixeira da Silva with a bourgeois name, died in the night of Thursday in a car accident in northwestern Spain together with his brother André da Silva (25). The accident was probably triggered by a burst tire. The car came off the road, broke through a guardrail and went up in flames.

The football world reacted shocked to death. Jota had just married his long -time girlfriend Rut Cardoso, with whom he had three children. The two have been a couple since their school days.