'A symbol of hope & inspiration - Jota was a Portuguese hero'

"It's not astir wherever we travel from, but wherever we're going to."

The condemnation tin beryllium recovered astatine nan entranceway of nan Gondomar SC academy followed by a image of its illustrious boy Diogo Jota wearing nan colours of nan nine he played for betwixt nan ages of 9 and 17.

Right adjacent to it, there's different 1 of him pinch nan Portugal nationalist squad garment too.

That's really acold Jota went.

Since 2022, it has been renamed arsenic nan Diogo Jota academy.

Those words, said by nan guardant himself aft scoring doubly successful a 3-0 triumph against Sweden successful nan Nations League successful 2020, exemplify precisely who he was.

The 28-year-old, who died on pinch his relative Andre Silva connected Thursday pursuing a car mishap successful Spain, spent almost each his formative years successful his hometown pinch a third-tier team, paying astir 20 euros each period to play for them while being overlooked by nan large sides because of his size.

Despite nan odds, he ne'er gave up.

He kept believing and went from Gondomar to Pacos de Ferreira, past to Porto, Wolverhampton and yet Liverpool.

Jota became a awesome of dream and inspiration backmost home. He proved to an full state that it's imaginable to scope nan apical moreover if nan way isn't a consecutive line.

The talent had ever been there.

So overmuch truthful that successful his early days, erstwhile he was starting to tie immoderate attraction pinch Pacos, 1 of his erstwhile coaches, Jorge Simao, made a large declare by saying Jota would beryllium Cristiano Ronaldo's successor.

The subordinate was evidently amazed to perceive that, but instantly thought to himself, 'If he believes successful that, why can't I do that?'

Jota was a uncommon lawsuit of an elite Portuguese footballer who ne'er spent clip astatine immoderate of nan large 3 academies - Benfica, Sporting and Porto.

"What group him isolated from everyone other was really nan intelligence aspect, nan measurement he overcame immoderate business - and he realised that very quickly," erstwhile Pacos' younker shot coordinator Gilberto Andrade told BBC Sport.

"I deliberation location are moments when, whether you're a coach, a coordinator, aliases a director, location are words, things said, that person a awesome effect connected players. At nan time, possibly they don't afloat understand it, but later it reflects successful their behaviour, successful really they train, successful really they unrecorded time to day.

"And Jota, I think, to immoderate grade pinch us, understood what it meant to beryllium a master player, what it meant to beryllium a bully athlete, a bully person. He was an illustration successful that regard. An example, because often occurrence leads galore players to person a somewhat winding way owed to nan money they make.

"But that wasn't nan lawsuit pinch him. He was ever very disciplined, very intelligent, very humble. He invested wisely, knew what he was doing, helped those he could. So I deliberation this is nan image that must stay of him."

Jota took nan agelong road, but ever had it clear wherever he was going.

That became evident to Andrade nan time he came to him pinch an different request. "I want to study a overseas language. Someday, I mightiness play overseas and I've sewage to beryllium ready," said Jota.

The Gondomar boy was still young but had spent agelong capable extracurricular nan radar of nan Portuguese powerhouses to realise his early could beryllium acold distant from his location country.

"He knew very good wherever he was going," recalled Andrade, who has besides worked successful Italy, Belgium and Saudi Arabia.

"Back then, I had those audio connection courses, truthful I handed immoderate of them to him. Soon, however, he realised they weren't capable - he really needed a teacher. For him, it was evident that he was going to request it later successful his career. He was this different."

For a little moment, Jota feared his profession would beryllium astatine consequence pursuing a bosom problem diagnosed during aesculapian tests up of nan 2014-15 season.

He was not allowed to train for almost a month.

"Do not put nan cart earlier nan horse," he utilized to reply to anyone who came to him worried astir nan business astatine nan time.

That was really he lived his life – taking it time by day.

Jota quickly established himself arsenic 1 of nan rising talents of nan Portuguese convention aft that, but didn't alteration a bit.

The number of teams willing successful his services kept rising and yet he chose to stay surviving successful nan club's dormitory pinch different academy graduates and trialists that came and went until his very past time astatine Pacos. He was nan only first-team subordinate surviving there.

"He wouldn't time off his room. He was solely focused connected his work, location was nary clip for distractions erstwhile it came to him," added Andrade.

Jota ever knew wherever he was heading and, passim his life, he proved clip and again nan travel mattered much than nan starting point.

His voyage to becoming a Portuguese leader was a beautiful one.