By Chris De Silva
It’s a cold night and inside arguably the most iconic stadium in English football, Liverpool’s Anfield, more than 60,000 fans belt out a chant that echoes around the stadium as the Reds search for a winner.
“Oh! He wears the number 20. He will take us to victory,” the Liverpool fans sing in unison to the tune of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Bad Moon Rising.
“And when he’s running down the left wing, he’ll cut inside and score for LFC.”
The song is for Diogo Jota. Not the best player on the team. Not the most famous. But so loved by the fans that his tune hums around the crowd in a way that makes Anfield one of the most intimidating stadiums for rival teams to play at.
Liverpool fans are known for coming up with creative songs to honour their beloved players during games, and Jota’s song is one of the catchiest tunes of them all.
The Kop end of Anfield, where Liverpool’s most rabid and loyal supporters are stationed, often sing Jota’s song for minutes on end along with the others. When Liverpool is trailing in a game or needs a winner, the Kop seemingly sucks the ball into the back of the goal with its variety of songs.
There are so many iconic songs that the club should probably release an album at some point.
The thing about the songs is not every single Liverpool player gets one.
Sure, stars such as captain Virgil van Dijk and leading goalscorer Mohamed Salah have their own ones, but to get a song as a player who isn’t one of the very best at the club means you are absolutely adored. And my goodness, was Jota adored.
Whether you’re a fan or not, it is indisputable that Liverpool is a club that is quite unlike the other powerful clubs across Europe.
Not every single million-dollar megastar footballer fits into Liverpool, even if your on-pitch product is excellent.
To really fit into Liverpool, the team, you need to absorb yourself into Liverpool, the city. Jota did this as well as any player to have ever worn the famous Liver bird on his chest.
The Portuguese forward was a lethal finisher on the real-life pitch, but he became just as well known among Liverpool fans for his exploits on the virtual pitch.
Jota, an avid gamer, emerged as one of the world’s best FIFA video players during the COVID-19 lockdown. He famously beat future Liverpool teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold in the FIFA ePremier League Invitational final in April 2020, just months before he signed with the Reds.
Jota eventually rose to claim the world-number-one position on the FIFA 21 Champions Leaderboard for PlayStation in February 2021, with an incredible 30-0 record for the month.
Hilariously, Liverpool fans up late playing a game of FIFA the night before one of Liverpool’s actual matches would sometimes find themselves playing against, and getting pummelled online, by Jota himself.
More often than not, Jota would usually follow this up with a goal or two playing for Liverpool the following day on the actual pitch as well.
Jota’s gaming exploits made him infinitely more accessible and relatable to Liverpool’s adoring fans than many of the team’s other players.
One of the best parts about big sporting organisations such as Liverpool is the charitable work they can do as a club to help those less fortunate.
Players are often encouraged by their media teams to partake in various events. Usually they do what they’re asked and no more. But the rare athlete goes above and beyond when not asked, and this was Jota.
After his death, Her Sport, an Irish platform that shines light on women and girls in sport, touched on the tremendous work Jota did during his time at Liverpool.
“At Liverpool FC, whenever there was a campaign about women or keeping girls in the game, Diogo Jota showed up,” the statement read, in part.
“Not because he had to. Because he understood WHY it mattered.”
“We believe everyone has a duty to care about equality and equity. Jota understood that and acted on it.”
Jota, in his own words, didn’t consider himself a role model, such was his humility, but he absolutely carried himself like one.
He arrived at Liverpool a time that would have been difficult for many other players.
When Jota signed with the Reds, he joined a core group of players who had won a Premier League and a Champions League in the 18 months preceding his arrival.
Fitting into a team that is essentially a galaxy of stars is extremely difficult, but Jota did it seamlessly.
The Portuguese was the glue in a powerful Liverpool team both on and off the pitch.
Off the pitch, he provided endless laughter with his antics.
“He was such a good guy. The best. So genuine. Just normal and real,” wrote Jota’s teammate Andy Robertson.
“Full of love for the people he cared about. Full of fun.
“He was the most British foreign player I’ve ever met. We used to joke he was really Irish … I’d try to claim him as Scottish, obviously. I even called him Diogo MacJota.”
On the pitch, he slotted in brilliantly whenever and wherever he was required.
Jota came to Liverpool as a left-sided attacker and joined a team that boasted one of the best forward trios in the world at the time in Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino and Salah, and somehow managed to hold his own.
In 182 games for Liverpool, Jota would either start on the left, or sometimes as the central striker, and sometimes as a spark plug off the bench to launch a rescue mission. Whatever position he played in, he scored goals that just mattered. Of the 65 goals he scored, somehow all of them now feel like winners. He was equally adept and lethal on either foot.
There were Derby goals home and away against Everton, a crucial strike away at Manchester City when the 2022 title race went down to the final day of the season, a famous FA Cup goal away at Arsenal, and an iconic winner at the Kop end against Tottenham barely seconds after the kick off following a Spurs goal in injury time.
It is fitting that Jota scored the first goal of Liverpool’s Premier League-winning campaign in 2024-25.
The final goal of his life summed up Jota, the footballer, in a nutshell. He combined brilliantly with Luis Diaz on the edge of the box and dribbled past multiple Everton defenders to net the second-half winner at the Kop end to give Liverpool a 1-0 Derby win.
The win over Everton on April 3 virtually sealed the title and Jota wheeled away in celebration after the goal, pointing to the Liver bird on his chest.
He was signed in 2020, wore number 20 and played a crucial role in Liverpool winning Premier League number 20. It is likely that the club will retire the number in honour of Jota.
It is so devastatingly sad that there will be no more Jota goals at Anfield, no more Jota goals anywhere. When the Reds are searching for a late winner, there will be no more number 20 rising up off the bench to come on to supply it.
But his song will be sung for generations and generations to come.
“He’s a lad from Portugal, better than Figo don’t you know?”
“Oh, his name is Diogo!”
Rest in Peace, Diogo Jota. You’ll Never Walk Alone.