The tributes the past 96 hours or so, from not only the wider football community, but from most every walk of life and aspect of society, has been truly humbling and an awesomely beautiful thing to see in our dark sadness with the tragic passing of the Jota brothers.
I still am struggling to process and rationalise our loss personally. Going to the ground yesterday, as emotional as that was, helped enormously in just being around people sharing the same struggles with our collective grief. Coming together to honour and remember one of our own. And support each other, as families do, in their darkest hour. But it was the amount of opposition messages on flowers and cards, that has been echoed the World over, from the highest levels of Governments, through artists paying tributes at gigs; footballers, current and past; the sporting community at large; non-football fans et al, that truly blew me away and put a smile on my face through the sadness. Restoring your belief in the good in people. But within all that, as much as we are hurting as Liverpool supporters, as much as the wider football community has been so visibly touched by last Thursday’s tragedy, as much as the great Nation of Portugal is in National mourning for one of its best loved sons and his brother, it all pails when you consider the unimaginable pain Diogo’s parents must be going through having lost two sons in the blink of an eye. And his newly married wife now without her life partner. The father to their three young kids so cruelly robbed of a father ….. So I’d like to pay a special tribute to the one thing that ties us all together as family. Liverpool Football Club.
You’ll Never Walk Alone. Four little words so freely thrown around without thinking of what they stand for by many. But four little words that have always held deep meaning for many of us. Not a flippant slogan or chant. Because YNWA isn’t just a thing we say. It’s a thing we live. A way of life in taking care of your own and standing up for what you believe to be right. And rarely have they felt more pertinent than right now.
And Liverpool FC have lead the way in showing that ethos the past 4 days. They have been nothing short of sheer, utter class in stepping up to the plate with no fuss or ceremony. Doing what’s right to take care of one of our own and showing everyone how you should conduct yourselves at a time like this. With the utmost class and compassionate dignity. People are oft very quick to jump on Fenway. But they really have been exemplary in the speed of their reaction here and deserve all the respect going.
From retiring his number. Which they are effectively doing even if they haven’t used that exact terminology as yet. In fact, I couldn’t think of a more distinct way to describe that than they will be ‘immortalizing’ Diogo’s number. Ensuring his legacy here for eternity. Beautiful and fitting.
Then, with no fuss or publicity, honouring the remainder of his contract so his family is taken care of financially. And adding to that by establishing extra education funds so his kids will have the best possible opportunities in their academic life. To set them up for life.
Putting back the start of pre-season to allow the players and staff to properly grieve and be able to attend the funeral.
YNWA really does mean more and is the entire ethos of what this magnificent football club is built on. Our club, our fanbase, is built on empathy. We care, we feel, we show up. We look after our own.
God rest Diogo.
You’ll NEVER walk alone.
FOREVER our Number 20!