Death/Diogo Jota: “Portugal will miss one of its heroes” – Martínez

Portuguese football coach Roberto Martínez today lamented the loss of international Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva, highlighting the qualities of the Liverpool forward, who died in a car accident in the early hours of last night.

“We have all been affected by this tragedy. We are all devastated. Our thoughts go to his wife Rute, their three children and the rest of Diogo Jota and André Silva’s family and friends,” the Spanish coach told Channel 11, part of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF).

The person in charge highlighted that Diogo Jota was part of the “family” of the 'quinas' team, praising his behavior on a personal and professional level.

“We created a family in the national team that goes far beyond football and Diogo is an important part of that, on and off the field. His professionalism and belief were both contagious and exemplary,” he stressed.

He concluded: “On the pitch, Diogo wore the shirt with pride and his work in the area was world class. We feel the family’s pain and, in this tragedy, we have to question life in general. Portugal will miss one of its heroes.”

Diogo Jota, 28, and his brother André Silva, 25, died early this morning in a traffic accident on the A52, in Cernadilla, Zamora, Spain.

Diogo Jota was a Liverpool player, having represented the club for five seasons and with whom he won an English League, an FA Cup and two League Cups.

In the Portuguese national team, Diogo Jota won 49 'AA' caps, scoring 14 goals, having won two Nations Leagues, the last of which was last month.

After training at Gondomar and Paços de Ferreira, where he stood out, the forward played for FC Porto for a season, on loan from Atlético de Madrid, and was then loaned by the Spanish side to Wolverhampton, where he spent three seasons, before signing for the 'reds'.