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07/05 05:22 CDT Liverpool players join family of Diogo Jota and his brother for
funeral held in Portugal
Liverpool players join family of Diogo Jota and his brother for funeral held in
Portugal
By JOSEPH WILSON and MANU FERNANDEZ
Associated Press
GONDOMAR, Portugal (AP) --- Liverpool players joined family and friends for the
funeral of their teammate Diogo Jota and his brother on Saturday, two days
after the siblings died in a car crash in Spain.
Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk arrived carrying a red floral arrangement in
the shape of a soccer shirt with Jota's No. 20 in white. Liverpool teammate
Andrew Robertson carried a similar arrangement with the No. 30, the number worn
by Jota's brother, Andr Silva, who played for Portuguese club Penafiel.
The service was held at Igreja Matriz church in the Portuguese town of
Gondomar, where Jota had a home.
Church bells pealed at 11:00 a.m. local time as the funeral started.
Pallbearers carried the caskets of both brothers from a chapel next door and
into the church.
Relatives and hundreds of friends and acquaintances, including players of the
local Gondomar FC where Jota started playing at age 9, then followed.
Portugal's national team coach Roberto Martnez and several top Portuguese
players also attended, including Manchester City duo Bernardo Silva and Rben
Dias and Manchester United's Bruno Fernndes.
The bishop of Porto, Manuel Linda, led the funeral mass. The church was filled
to capacity and a couple of dozen people followed the service via loudspeaker
from outside. Afterwards, the coffins were carried to the cemetery next to the
church.
Jota, 28, and the 25-year-old Silva were found dead near Zamora in northwestern
Spain early Thursday after the Lamborghini they were driving crashed on an
isolated stretch of highway just after midnight on Thursday and burst into
flames.
The brothers were reportedly heading to catch a boat from northern Spain to go
to England where Jota was to rejoin with Liverpool after a summer break.
Spanish police are investigating the cause of the crash, which did not involve
another vehicle, they said. They said they believe it could have been caused by
a blown tire.
Their bodies were repatriated to Portugal after being identified by the family.
A wake was held for them on Friday.
Jota's death occurred two weeks after he married long-time partner Rute Cardoso
while on vacation from a long season where he helped Liverpool win the Premier
League. The couple had three children, the youngest born last year.
Their loss led to an outpouring of condolences from the soccer world and
Portuguese officials.
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Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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