GONDOMAR, Portugal (AP) — Family and friends of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother gathered Friday at a church where their bodies have been brought for a wake and funeral, after the Portuguese soccer players were killed in a car crash in Spain.
Some hugged and wept before entering the Capela da Ressurreição São Cosme, where the funeral for the siblings is planned for Saturday. Mourners left flowers and candles next to a tree outside the chapel were visitation was held.
The brothers’ parents were in attendance, as well as Jota’s agent, Jorge Mendes.
Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the head of state, also visited to pay his respects.
Gondomar resident Ricardo Alves lamented the loss of the local star as he passed by the chapel.
“It is a great sadness, although I did not know him personally, he was from here and I knew many of his friends from the region where he lived,” Alves said. “It is a great loss, he is a young man, with a lot still to give and he had a somewhat tragic fate.”
Jota, 28, and his 25-year-old brother, André Silva, were found dead near Zamora in northwestern Spain after the Lamborghini they were driving crashed on an isolated stretch of highway just after midnight on Thursday and burst into flames.
Their bodies were repatriated to Portugal after being identified by the family, Spanish government officials said.
Jota and his parents both have homes in Gondomar, where he started his playing career as a child. Gondomar is a working-class town next to Porto, where Jota was born.
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 title. The couple had three children, the youngest born last year.
Spanish police are investigating the cause of the crash, which did not involve another vehicle, they said. They said they believe it could have caused by a blown tire.
Jota’s brother Silva played with Portuguese club Penafiel in the lower divisions.
from Portuguese officials and the world of soccer as news of the accident spread.
Liverpool fans laid flower wreaths and team scarves outside Anfield stadium, while a moment of silence was held before Portugal played Spain at the Women’s European Championship in Switzerland.
The loss was felt sharply in his hometown, especially at his first soccer club, where Jota started playing at age 9.
“He never forgot his roots, nor his friends, because he had a group of friends who were with him in the training here in Gondomar and who he even invited from time to time to go and watch Liverpool games in England,” Gondomar SC director Anselmo Serra told The Associated Press. “They were like a group of friends that he never forgot over the years.”
Heading to England via boat
Jota and his brother were driving overnight to catch a boat from Santander, on Spain’s northern coast, to go to England to rejoin Liverpool, when they crashed, according to Portuguese media.
Portuguese sports website Record published a video interview with Miguel Gonçalves, who said he worked as a physical therapist for Jota. Gonçalves told Record that Jota was avoiding flying due to a lung condition that he had recently treated.
“I was in his house at night for a last treatment,” Gonçalves said. “He was proud to have recovered from his pulmonary problem. He was happy to be with his brother. They were excited to spend some time together on the trip.”
Spanish police have yet to say which brother was driving at the time of the accident.
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Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain. David Biller in Rome and photojournalist Manu Fernández in Gondomar contributed.
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