Archive July 3, 2025

The football world is shocked by the death of Liverpool and Portugal’s Diogo Jota at the age of 28 in a car accident.

Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, both died in the Zamora province of Spain after their Lamborghini crashed.

The 28-year-old Jota had minor surgery and was being flown back to Liverpool for pre-season training, so doctors advised him against flying, so he had to make the trip by car and ferry instead.

Just 11 days before the fatal crash, Jota wed his long-term partner Rute Cardoso, who he had three children with.

Fans gathered outside Anfield to pay tribute to Jota, who Liverpool described as a “tragedy that transcends” the club.

Jota was “the essence of what a Liverpool player should be,” according to Reds manager Arne Slot.

After their car left the road due to a tyre blowout that occurred while overtaking another vehicle, Jota and Silva, both 25, were killed. Silva is also a professional footballer for Portuguese second-tier club Penafiel.

Both men passed away on Thursday at around 00:30 local time, according to The Guardia Civil.

Jota was supposed to be taking a ferry from Santander to Liverpool by car, but he was also supposed to be returning by boat.

In the south of England, Santander and Plymouth and Portsmouth are both connected by ferry.

Porto and Zamora, which are close to the Portuguese border, are both about 190 miles away.

Liverpool led the tributes to Jota, blaming the “unimaginable loss” the club had suffered from.

In 182 games for Liverpool, he scored 65 goals, helping them to win the FA Cup, League Cup, and title last year.

Later on Thursday, the club released additional statements, with manager Slot paying tribute to a player who had “becomed to be a loved one to everyone at the club.”

Someone who, in addition to being with others, made other people feel good about themselves. a person who gave his family a lot of love.

Slot said he last spoke with Jota to congratulate him on his victory in the Nations League and wish him luck for his wedding.

It was a dream summer for Diogo and his family in many ways, he continued, adding that it was heartbreaking that it should come to this.

According to Slot, Liverpool and its supporters “are completely in tune with” Jota’s family and “the same can be said of the wider family of football.”

It was a privilege to have played alongside Jota and to have been his friend off the field, according to Reds captain Virgil van Dijk.

The Dutchman continued, “We will miss you beyond words and never forget you.” We will ensure that your legacy endures, as they say.

Jota was “the most British foreign player” he had met, according to left-back Andy Robertson.

The Scotland international stated in a caption on Instagram that his wedding day was his most memorable day of his life. From that magical day, I long for his unflagging smile. How enthralled was he with his family and wife?

The club’s owners, Billy Hogan, John Henry, Tom Werner, and Mike Gordon, said in a statement that they had been “numb with grief” as they condolemented Jota’s family.

Beyond the player, according to them, was a truly humble person who was sincere, intelligent, funny, and tough, and he made friends wherever he went. He had a life-affirming infectious enthusiasm.

This is a tragedy that transcends the Liverpool football club, according to Fenway Sports Group CEO Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes of Liverpool’s sporting director.

Before joining Liverpool in 2020, Jota had previously scored 44 goals in 131 games for Pacos de Ferreira, Atletico Madrid, Porto, and Wolves.

His final appearance was against Spain in the Uefa Nations League final against Portugal. In 49 internationals, he scored 14 goals.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the skipper of Portugal, wrote on social media that it “makes no sense.” You just got married, and we were just now playing for the national team.

Ronaldo, a five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or, expressed his condolences to Jota’s family, wife, and children, saying, “I know you will always be with them.” Diogo and André, rest in peace. You will be missed by us.

Jurgen Klopp, the former Liverpool manager who bought Jota for the Reds, described him as “heartbroken.”

The German wrote on Instagram that “Diogo was a fantastic player, as well as a great friend, a loving and compassionate husband and father.”

On Thursday, a horde of football fans gathered at Liverpool’s home ground in Anfield to pay their respects.

A sea of flowers, football shirts, scarves, balloons, and flags were laid out outside the stadium’s Hillsborough disaster memorial.

John Barlow, a lifelong fan and a survivor of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, called the news “absolutely devastated” and had to halt his work and travel to Anfield.

Jota was a popular player with fans who admired his perseverance and reputation as a laid-back, outgoing person off the field.

Steve Rotheram, the metro mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said, “The success that he has helped bring to this city will never be forgotten.”

British Grand Prix

Dates: 4 to 6 July Race start time: 15:00 BST on Sunday

James Vowles, the Williams team’s coach, claims Alex Albon “sees it as a compliment” because he thinks his game has improved this year.

Albon is disagreeing, though. “Maybe it’s been a stronger year”, he says. “But for the most part, I still believe I plan my weekends in a similar manner.

It’s undoubtedly not just James, they say. It’s up and down the grid in the paddock. It is obvious that I now have a benchmark that many paddocks can use.

More to the identity of his team-mate than the British-Thai driver, Albon’s image is revolving.

Carlos Sainz joined Williams this season from Ferrari. Everyone is aware of Sainz’s talent; he has collaborated closely with Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, and Max Verstappen.

Albon has a significant advantage over the Spaniard, with the caveat that Sainz is still adapting to his new surroundings, both car and team.

He leads him by 42-13 in the championship, in which Albon is the leading driver not from a top-four team. And he has a qualifying advantage of 9-4, or 0.176 seconds on average.

It “highlights the job that I believe I can do,” says Albon.

At the same time, the 29-year-old says:” I would say that my motivation doesn’t come from that.

“I’m now in a quick car, and I’m hoping to win every race right now.” There is therefore a completely different mental shift.

” I remember the previous few years, there were maybe six races on the calendar where it was almost like, ‘ OK, here we go, this is our chance. ‘

When he joined Williams in 2022 – as a replacement for George Russell when his friend moved to Mercedes – it was something of a lifeline.

His had taken a difficult route to F1. Verstappen, Russell, and Leclerc were the children’s karting rivals of the past, and for a while F1 seemed to be a distant second.

He finally made it in 2019, offered a seat by Red Bull in their second team. After a string of impressive performances for Toro Rosso, he was promoted to the main team alongside Verstappen in just one season.

His second-half 2019 success led to the completion of the full season in 2020, but like Pierre Gasly and everyone else since, he struggled to reconcile with the Dutchman and was let go at the end of the year.

After a year on the sidelines as Red Bull’s reserve, he won the Williams seat, partly on Russell’s recommendation, but until this year he had been teamed only with second-rate drivers. Sainz has grabbed it with both hands as this is his first chance to demonstrate his abilities.

However, Albon’s interactions with Sainz raise a contentious issue. How does one explain how he can struggle against Verstappen at Red Bull, but now be ahead of Sainz?

There is no such thing as suiting a car or not suiting a car, Albon asserts. “What it means is that everyone in F1 is easy to fall into the trap of: “All the drivers are at the same level all the time.”

Don’t get me wrong, I believe that Max would still be very quick if you just changed the script and put him in a different car, which is the same reason you see so many drivers struggle up against him. But I don’t think you’re going to see the same gaps that you see that he’s putting on his team-mates now.

“And for the same reason, some drivers find it clicks, and others find it doesn’t.”

Even though I was significantly underpowered on downforce for my first time in a Williams, it still feels good.

“And don’t forget that my six-month stint in Toro Rosso at the time was strong as well. It simply swings.

MotoGP is a fantastic example of how to look at it like golf.

“These drivers, these players, they are always talking about: ‘ The bike doesn’t suit me ‘ or ‘ these golf clubs don’t suit me’. And they’re switching clubs, changing putters, changing bikes, and changing how the feel of the bike feels. They constantly try to improve their bike confidence.

When we talk about golf, Lily Muni He, a Chinese golfer, appears to be his partner.

Albon claims that having a girlfriend who is a professional sportsperson has “a significant influence on his racing career” in many ways.

” We use the same psychologist, “Albon says”. Our lines of business are very similar in our conversation. In terms of our differences and strengths, we have a lot in common.

“We try to help each other in every way we can. It is also good for you. We work on it together, so it’s really helpful to discuss what areas you’re trying to improve.

” We do group calls with our psychologist, and it’s positive.

“I don’t believe there is a sport out there that is more mental than golf, but obviously motorsport is a very mental sport,” he said.

Because they spend too much time thinking, I believe golf psychologists are actually some of the best in the world when it comes to sports performance.

“And it’s an inward game, just like I’m trying to create within my motorsport world. And yet, their processes are so crucial to stay current with.

Albon is known for its “Process.” It’s why he’s not obsessed about his performances in comparison with Sainz.

He claims that he is “very not result-driven.” It’s always process, process, process for me. And every year I validate myself. I ask myself, “Am I preparing and executing my best self?” Do I have my best interests at heart?

” So that’s why when you ask me, ‘ have I changed much? Is this an exceptional year? Have you made a game-change? I track myself and everything’s about myself. That in some ways is selfish, but it serves as my benchmark. In many ways, I use benchmarks.

“I definitely feel like I’ve been able to execute strong races. I also consider it mentally. This year, I’ve been really looking at my own mental performance. Just, you know, in terms of dealing with (stressful) situations.

The difference is that Williams and his team-mate have been able to show it to the world this year as well because of their teamwork.

On the basis of both performance and results, Williams are comfortably a fifth in the constructors’ championship despite a shaky final couple of races. The impact of Vowles has been substantial since he took over two and a half years ago, and they seem to be on track with their ambition to get back to the top.

Albon, however, how far along that path does he believe they are.

He claims that “we are a very different team at the moment from a top team.” We’re still on a journey to get there, and we talk very openly about the journey and our weaknesses as a team.

“I don’t believe we are reaching our full potential, especially in terms of car performance,” he said. That includes everything that happens in the background, including the engineering and performance.

” I don’t think next year we’re going to be in a position to fight for wins, and I think it will be very rare to get a chance at podiums, but that’s my mindset, that’s our mindset.