It’s hard to imagine a more difficult return to preseason for Liverpool’s players than the one facing Arne Slot’s squad on Tuesday
This ought to have been a joyful day, one marking the arrivals of three high-profile summer signings, as preparations for an exciting new season begin. Instead, it’s the thought of someone missing that will define the mood at Liverpool’s AXA Training Ground.
Diogo Jota should have been returning for his sixth campaign at Liverpool, his first as a title-winner. Yet his sad passing has left a hole in the squad that cannot be filled. Even for a club whose history is so imbued with tragedy and processing grief, the magnitude of this loss is simply unimaginable.
Anyone associated with Liverpool will feel it, but perhaps none more so than the players, those who knew Jota best, who saw him every day, counted him as a friend and stood shoulder to shoulder with the talented Portuguese forward on a weekly basis.
It would be understandable if the return to preseason feels redundant. Why does this matter any more? How can players begin to worry about fitness, tactics and the irrelevance of a 90-minute match when life has been put into such clear perspective?
We all know soccer, or football to those in the UK, doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of life. But we get wrapped up in the emotion of it nonetheless, in the passion and the feeling it gives us. Somehow that all feels very far away now.
In the media we can relate to a small degree. I never met Jota, had no real connection to him and only once was even in the same room as him, and yet in the days since the death of the 28-year-old and his brother Andre Silva it has been impossible to think of little else.
The bodies of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva are carried into the Mother Church of Gondomar
Diogo Jota and Andre Silva were laid to rest on Saturday in Gondomar (Image: AFP or licensors)
Perhaps it’s the uniquely heartbreaking details of this devastating story, that he leaves behind three children and a wife whom he married less than two weeks prior. The thought of two parents burying their sons in their 20s is an incomprehensible loss.
Writing about transfer speculation, minor club news or even matches just feels so futile at the moment, so irrelevant, so undeserving of our time.
That will change, of course. Sadly, it has to.
Trent Alexander-Arnold spoke about Diogo Jota's death
Trent Alexander-Arnold emotionally spoke about Diogo Jota's death (Image: DAZN)
That was a message conveyed by Trent Alexander-Arnold, who played for Real Madrid just over 48 hours after the news of his former teammates’ death surfaced.
“I had five years sharing a dressing room with him and it goes without saying that he will never be forgotten by anyone. He will live long in our memories,” said the former Liverpool right-back after Saturday’s win over Borussia Dortmund.
"But at the end of the day, I still had a job to do today. I had to go out there and perform for the team, help us win the game, no matter how difficult it was and how difficult it is.
"As hard as it was, I had to push it to the back of my mind and focus on my job and my role. I tried to do as best as I could. It was difficult, I'm not going to lie about that, but I have done it in honor of my close friend.”
Tributes are laid for Diogo Jota at Anfield
Tributes continue to flood in for Diogo Jota at Anfield following his tragic death on Thursday. (Image: Getty Images)
Given the eulogies about Jota’s apathy towards the media spotlight, his selfless nature and will to win, playing a vital role in Real’s victory may have been Alexander-Arnold’s most fitting tribute.
Crass as it may seem, the news cycle will eventually move on. Jota’s death is tragically not the first premature departure of a Premier League figure. At some point, Gary Speed, Marc Viven Foe and Matija Sarkic no longer dominated headlines.
That doesn’t mean they were forgotten, nor does it mean fans have to start consuming non-Jota news. There is no right or wrong way to grieve, and supporters can continue to ignore reports and articles as they see fit.
Likewise, the players must be allowed to grieve in their own time too. “This has to be portrayed to the boys, there is no problem feeling emotional or grief. If you want to shed a tear, we’re there,” former captain Phil Thompson perfectly articulated during LFCTV’s excellent tribute to Jota on Monday.
That Mohamed Salah described the thought of returning to Liverpool as “frightening” underlines how deep those feelings run.
This was supposed to be a summer of celebration for Liverpool, but now it’s a club in mourning. Yet, more than any side in the country, Liverpool knows how to overcome adversity, how to face up to a challenge and continue walking on with pride and dignity.
Of course, it pales into insignificance when considering the emotions felt by Jota’s heartbroken family. That the club can begin returning to some semblance of normality should be seen as a blessing in comparison to their unimaginable grief.
After all, the club’s TV channel is broadcasting again and staff continue to work. On Tuesday, the book of condolence will close and Liverpool’s players will return to preseason.
Some may find solace in kicking a ball around with their peers, or even discover it’s cathartic in some way. For Slot, offering adequate support to his players takes on an inconceivable notion from now.
Liverpool will endure, but Jota’s devastating loss will leave a fresh and deep scar on this embattled club.