When tributes and mementos were first left outside Anfield last week after the tragic passing of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva, Liverpool staff could never have quite envisaged just how rapidly it would grow.
Supporters needed an outlet, an opportunity to express their emotions, to pay tribute to brothers taken far too soon. That Jota, a fan favorite, leaves behind a grieving widow and three children makes the heartbreak even more intolerable. That parents have buried two children in their 20s makes it incomprehensible.
Liverpool, of course, is well accustomed to mourning, to dealing with the aftershocks of unthinkable catastrophes. Just meters away from the tributes to Jota that now line the entirety of the Main Stand sits the club’s Hillsborough Memorial.
Anfield, typically, is a place fans associate with laughter, cheering, hugging, perhaps a few beers. On late Tuesday morning, it had a much more somber sense. It felt almost eerie as I slowly trudged up from the Stanley Park car park, where stewards were on hand to direct visitors to sign the book of condolence.
“It’s just terribly sad,” one crestfallen wife muttered to her husband as they shuffled inside to pen their message. There was an understandable request that no photographs be taken while four open books, with lined pages, sat waiting underneath a black and white photo of Jota. Tissues were on hand, just in case.
The Anfield Road End, where the books were situated up until Tuesday night, looked almost like business as usual on a sunny summer morning. Around the corner was anything but.
Everyone has seen the photos of Jota’s overflowing memorial, but witnessing it in person highlights the scale and enormity of the tributes. There must be thousands of messages, photos, shirts, scarves, and footballs - enough game controllers to form an 11-a-side FIFA team.
Aerial view of the tributes left to Diogo Jota outside Anfield
An aerial view of the tributes left to Diogo Jota outside Anfield
There were football boots, candles, balloons, hats, flags, teddies, trading cards adorning Jota’s face, hand-drawn pictures, and even a printed selfie of one man and a beaming Jota.
The tributes are staked back; row after row. It’s truly staggering. If you plan on going at some point, bring something. You’ll want to leave a token behind.
From top to bottom, it would take around five minutes to walk the length of the makeshift memorial; that’s before stopping to read the various cards and observe the flags, drawings, and pictures.
It’s no surprise Andy Robertson, Arne Slot and Michael Edwards wanted to see it for themselves, with the club delegation arriving a few hours later to lay flowers in honor of their former colleague.
Arne Slot and his wife observe the Diogo Jota memorial outside Anfield
Arne Slot and his wife observed the Jota memorial outside Anfield
Even the trees had been commandeered as makeshift poles for scarves to be tied around or hang banners on. Every jersey you could imagine was there: Real Madrid to Shrewsbury Town.
One notable feature was the abundance of Everton shirts. The Reds’ nearest opponents may be rivals, but when it comes to big stuff, they’re always allies. That was underlined by the official tributes left by Beto, Seamus Coleman, and David Moyes.
Portugal shirts were also prevalent, as were Wolverhampton Wanderers merchandise. One fan arrived clad in his old gold jersey, explaining to an inquiring Liverpool fan that he’d driven up that morning just to see the tributes.
“When I heard, I just couldn’t believe it,” he said, stoically shaking his head at the memorial. “He was great for us,” he added, a feeling Liverpool fans can relate with only too well.
Former Liverpool player John Aldridge pays his respects to Diogo Jota outside Anfield this afternoon
John Aldridge was among those to lay a floral tribute outside Anfield (Image: Iain Watts, Liverpool ECHO)
Another, located further along the display, video-called a relative to see it firsthand. A school trip congregated near the Bill Shankly Statue while a group of emergency services workers told stewards they’d taken an early lunch to be there.
The low drum of voices generated an ambiance akin to a museum or graveyard, not where supporters usually congregate to watch their favorite players.
That will return of course, by which time the display will be rehoused. Not everything can be kept, of course, but the club plans to hold on to some of the mementos as part of its lasting tribute to Jota.
For now, staff and stewards buzz around, reorganizing the display, ensuring as many as possible remain visible. “I want to make sure the little ones can be seen,” one employee, Natalie, explained.
“We pushed the flowers to the back,” she added. Any messages alongside them were illegible given the distance.
“We’ve run out of room,” Natalie said, pointing vaguely to the myriad of trinkets left back towards the corner of Anfield Road. She indicated one small square of grass that had been cleared for new arrivals, before bustling off to try and redistribute the messages.
It's an unenviable job. People just kept showing up, eager to leave their own personal homage to Liverpool’s No. 20.