Liverpool fan Beryl Mealand pays tribute to Diogo Jota at the first friendly of the season against Preston North End at Deepdale today
Liverpool fan Beryl Mealand pays tribute to Diogo Jota at the first friendly of the season against Preston North End at Deepdale today
Liverpool supportersand players paid their respects to Diogo Jota in the first match the Reds have played since the death of the Portuguese striker. Fans from all over the country had bought tickets for the first pre-season friendly against Preston North End, excited to see the Premier League champions play with new signings such as Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez at Deepdale.
But Jota’s death made the football secondary. Only days ago, there were questions over whether the match would even go ahead in the wake of Diogo Jota's tragic death, but after sensitive talks between the two clubs it was decided to proceed as planned with tributes.Jota, 28, died alongside brother Andre Silva, 25, in a car accident in northern Spain in the early hours of Thursday, July 3. The siblings were laid to rest in their hometown of Gondomar two days later with many Liverpool players and staff in attendance.
Having postponed original plans to return to training, the Reds eventually began preparations on Tuesday, July 8, at the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby. On Thursday, Liverpool Football Club announced they would retire the number 20 shirt in Jota’s memory.
Conor Bradley, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo all found the target as the Premier League champions earned a 3-1 triumph. Liam Lindsay notched a late strike for the home side.
The match programme had a black and white picture of Jota holding the Premier League trophy and featured tributes to the Liverpool player and his brother. A set of flowers were also left below a picture of Jota and Silva by the Sir Tom Tinney statue.
Flowers paying tribute to Diogo Jota and Andre Silva by the Sir Tom Finney statue (Image: Liverpool Echo)
Preston brothers Jacob Nelson, 29, and Harley Nelson, 22, who run the popular restaurant SpudBros, which is the sponsor for Preston's shirts, renamed their food van outside the stadium '20' in honour of Jota.
Liverpool supporter Tom Whitestone, 27, had travelled up from Worcestershire with his daughter, Delilah Whitestone, 5, who was wearing her Jota scarf, and their friends Aaron Cale, 30, and Anne Cale, 44.
Tom told the ECHO: “We try and get tickets for whatever game we can. It’ll be different today because of Jota. It’ll be special before the game with all the tributes.”
Liverpool fans Tom Whitestone, Delilah Whitestone, Aaron Cale and Anne Cale with a Diogo Jota scarf (Image: Liverpool Echo)
In a moving tribute, Roger Wood, 70, from Leicester, said Jota was loved by every single Liverpool fan. He said: “Emotions take over. I mean, how do I put into words how I feel here? Every single Liverpool fan loved Jota. And I would want to be watching him play here today.”
Holding up a Diogo Jota shirt, Roger said: “But this number, this name, will live on - because we’re Liverpool. This will live on, forever”.
Roger was in attendance at the game with son Callum Wood, 32, and told the ECHO: “We were always coming to this game”.
Matt Hitchen, 44, and Matt Davies, 35, attended the match with their kids Jamie Hitchen, 23, Louis Davies, 13 and Jacob Davies, 10. The children came with Portugal flags draped over their backs.
Jamie Hitchen, Louis Davies and Jacob Davies paying tribute to Jota with Portuguese flags (Image: Liverpool Echo)
Explaining what the occasion meant to them, Matt said: “It feels strange. All of the kids have had Jota on the back of their shirts at some point over the years.
“He gave us so many memories - the goals against Arsenal, the penalty against Leicester. Today is not a day to move on, it’s a day to pay respects.”
The news of Jota’s death still felt raw for friends Dee Hogan, 59, and Beryl Mealand, 73, from Bootle. Dee said: “It felt like the death of a family member. It was overwhelming, everyone felt it. The day it happened, me and Beryl went to Anfield. There was a tiny patch of flowers there at first. The next day, there were flowers everywhere.”
Beryl added: “I really felt for his wife, children and all his family. As soon as it happened Dee said to me they should retire the shirt. You wouldn’t want anyone else wearing that shirt.”
As fans headed into Deepdale, Jota’s song could be heard far and wide. With the chants of players in the air and queues outside the burger vans, it almost felt like a normal game was about to begin. But the tributes beforehand served as a solemn reminder that it was anything but.
A Liverpool fan holds up a shirt commemorating Diogo Jota (Image: Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
Inside and outside the ground, fans were brought to tears after beautiful renditions of Can’t Help Falling in Love and You’ll Never Walk Alone by Claudia Rose Maguire.
During the club’s anthem, an emotional Preston captain Ben Whiteman then walked out with a wreath in honour of Jota and Silva, taking it around the Deepdale pitch before laying it down in front of the away supporters.
This was followed by a minute’s silence in memory of Jota and Silva. There were dozens of banners in the away end in honour of the Portuguese, while Jota’s chant would continue to be sung.
This afternoon showed what the coming season for Liverpool will look like - fans and players doing what they normally do every week, but this time united in grief for a beloved player and teammate.