Of the hundreds of tributes which have been left at Anfield in memory of Diogo Jota in recent days, one in particular has caught the attention of many Liverpool fans on social media.
Alongside the myriad flowers, shirts, banners, flags and other items, Olivia Hayes left a framed message which reads ‘How many times did we say just bring Jota on? Forever our number 20′.
Her words have struck a chord with Reds supporters everywhere, and she was invited to speak on LFCTV’s tribute to the Portuguese forward, which aired on Monday evening.
Olivia explains ‘Just bring Jota on’ tribute
Explaining her perfectly worded tribute to Jota, Olivia said (via Liverpool FC on YouTube): “I think the loss that we’re feeling as fans is nowhere near comparable to how his family and friends must be feeling, but in the conversations I’ve had with family and friends over the last few days, it does feel like a big loss to the Liverpool community.
“We were speaking about our memories inside the ground, big moments in the ground, and also times when we’ve watched them away from home, and we’ve all been sat there willing him to come on, saying ‘Just bring Jota on’. He would bring that magic to the game and turn it around.”
Jota was Liverpool’s hero from the subs’ bench on many occasions
Many of the thousands of eulogies to Diogo Jota since Thursday have indeed cited how Reds supporters would be calling for him to be sprung from the substitutes’ bench, given his knack for clinical finishing and decisive contributions.
Never was this better illustrated than in the 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest in January, when he scored within 30 seconds of his introduction to rescue a point for Liverpool. He also memorably came off the bench to provide a hat-trick of assists in the 7-1 demolition of Rangers at Ibrox in October 2022.
Even his first goal for LFC was scored as a substitute within eight minutes of coming on (in the 3-1 win over Arsenal in September 2020), and the famous stoppage time winner in the 4-3 thriller against Tottenham Hotspur two years ago was also in a match that he didn’t start.
There were many times – under both Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot – when Jota was omitted from the starting XI but could be relied upon to enter the fray and tip the result in our favour.
It’s heartbreaking that we’ll never again get to witness him on a football pitch, and we can’t imagine how difficult it’ll be for his teammates when they reconvene at the AXA Training Centre tomorrow to commence pre-season preparations.
Hopefully everyone at LFC can avail of whatever support they might need as they try to come to terms with Diogo’s tragic death.
If you missed it earlier, you can watch the full tribute show to Diogo Jota from LFCTV below, via Liverpool FC on YouTube:
