Liverpool start their pre-season friendlies with a match against English second-tier side Preston North End on Sunday, 10 days after the death of forward Diogo Jota. Manager Arne Slot told the club’s in-house media that he struggled to find the right words to tell the players before what will be the first match they play since the shock passing of their teammate.
Jota and his brother Andre Silva died in a car crash in Spain on July 3. “What I’ve said to the players, it’s very difficult to find the right words because we constantly debate what is appropriate,” said Slot in an emotional interview.
“What is appropriate in our actions? What is appropriate (for) what we have to say? Can we train again? Can we laugh again? Can we be angry if there’s a wrong decision?
“And I’ve said to them, maybe the best thing for us to do is handle this situation like Jota was. And what I meant with that is that Jota was always himself, it didn’t matter if he was talking to me, to his teammates, to the staff, he was always himself.
“So let us try to be ourselves as well. So, if we want to laugh we laugh; if we want to cry we’re going to cry,” he said.
Liverpool had delayed the return of their players for pre-season training as most of them had attended Jota’s funeral in Portugal last week. Slot said that the Portuguese forward was someone he used to turn to whenever he needed “something special” during games. “I always looked at him and said, ‘now we need something special from you’,” Slot said. “And he delivered so many times. I can come up with all of these moments.
“So we are in a very difficult time, so let’s try to do what Diogo did so many times. If it’s so difficult then try a little bit harder or just keep on going and try to make it work.”
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