How Diogo Jota made me rediscover my love for Liverpool Football Club
Liverpool's Portuguese striker Diogo Jota lifts the Premier League trophy at the end of the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Crystal Palace at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on May 25, 2025. Liverpool striker Diogo Jota died along with his brother early July 3, 2025 in a road accident in northwest Spain, the Spanish Civil Guard said. The accident occurred around 12:30 a.m. on a highway in the province of Zamora. The vehicle "left the road" before bursting into flames, the Civil Guard said, adding that the two passengers, Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Felipe, also a professional footballer, were deceased. Picture: Paul ELLIS/AFP
Image: Paul ELLIS/AFP
I began supporting Liverpool Football Club at four years old way back in 1990, and it was an easy choice since they were the defending First Division champions.
To be honest, at the time I was more interested in He-Man and his adventures in the mystical world of Eternia, taking in the comfort of Castle Grayskull and learning to hate Skeletor.
As I grew out of cartoons and began to follow football more seriously and learn the rules of the game, my hate of Skeletor was replaced by an intense dislike of Manchester United.
My journey as a football supporter, of course, began with one of the most dominant periods by a football club in English football, and it was by my team’s fiercest rival led by the genius that is Alex Ferguson.
It would be 30 years of frustration, jealousy, and despair as a Liverpool supporter before I could witness them win the league again.
Liverpool's Premier League Triumph Amidst Pandemic Restrictions
Their league triumph, however, was soured for me as Liverpool won the Premier League in the 2019/2020 season at the height of Covid-19, which meant the games were played in empty stadiums and large gatherings were still prohibited.
If felt like a farce as the players had to celebrate in front of cardboard cut-outs of their fans. The long-awaited Premier League triumph came with no physical interaction with the fans, and that took a lot of the joy out of that celebration.
One player that joined a few months after Liverpool won the league that year was Diogo Jota from Wolves. I knew of him, but at the time it didn’t seem like a great signing in my opinion. It would be some time before he would even start for Liverpool, if indeed he would be able to find a starting place in a powerful Reds side I thought.
Then came that fateful day, October 24, 2021, now etched in my memory forever. The opposition? Manchester United at their home ground, Old Trafford. Their coach was none other than one of the stars of their heyday - Ole Gunnar Solskjær.
After years of trauma dished out by United, it was always an especially tense fixture for me - even with Liverpool on their way to becoming a powerhouse in world football again.
After a tight opening 10 minutes, a certain Jota found himself in the perfect position to convert a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold. 1-0. The small group of Liverpool fans erupted on away turf as their players, led by Jota, celebrated. In my lounge, I screamed as the ball smashed into the back of the net, the disturbance causing my dogs to wake from their slumber and wonder if I had indeed finally lost my mind.
Mo Salah would go on to steal the headlines that day with a hat-trick as Liverpool romped to a 5-0 win, a first for my side at Old Trafford, in what Solskjær would describe as his ‘darkest day’ in his time leading United.
The Unforgettable Legacy of Diogo Jota: A Liverpool Icon
But it showed me this was a Liverpool side at the peak of their powers, as they humiliated United on their home ground. It was then I knew Liverpool would win the league again, although the four-year wait would turn out to be longer than I expected.
That day, Jota was the catalyst that awakened the Liverpool phoenix, and gave me the belief again in my team that I first had as a wide-eyed young Reds fan.
He would grow into a vital cog of the Liverpool side in the years to come, and their Premier League triumph this past season was the final exclamation mark of everything that had led to that point.
I shed a tear that day, and on Thursday, I shed another as a Liverpool legend and his sibling were taken far too soon.
Diogo Jota. 04/12/1996 - 03/07/2025.
Gone, but never forgotten. You will never walk alone, Diogo.
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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