How will the players cope with the loss of Diogo Jota? | OneFootball

If you have ever experienced personal loss before then you will know how unique a feeling it is.

At first you're going about your daily routine, without a care in the world. You might watch the news and feel distressed at times by upsetting things that are going on, but they are often unfolding in a country other than your own. Unknowingly, it's easy to get distracted living in your own bubble.

This isn't to mean that the world's evils are irrelevant to you, but they are unlikely to directly affect you, instead stresses like what you're having for tea that night control your mood - minor things.

Even though Diogo Jota was merely a football player that you watched and supported over the years, be it on television or in-person at stadiums, you felt connected to him. His actions at Liverpool mattered to you and you grew to care for him. That impersonal relationship became personal.

His passing on a basic human level is upsetting. Through no fault of his own, Jota and his brother Andre Silva are no longer with us, and for some his absence will be felt like a family member.

It will take time for us to 'get over' his passing, and understand that it has happened, that he is gone, and to begin to cherish the memories we had of him for his contributions to football and life itself.

But with that context in mind, lets consider how the players' family, friends and his teammates will be feeling, given they will be charged with a far more devastating reality of not seeing him ever again.

Right now, Jota's loved ones will be reeling from hearing the news, attending his vigil on Friday night and then attending a funeral on Saturday morning, both taking place in Gondomar, Portugal.

Against my best wishes, I saw Jota's parents pictured in what appeared to be local news footage, attempting to cope with what will have been the most sombre day of their lives. Furthermore, ex-club captain Jordan Henderson was pictured in tears outside Anfield paying his respects and the entire Liverpool squad was photographed making their way to the funeral venue.

I won't embed those photos here, but if you feel the need to want to see them, then you will know that everyone who was able to attend did so, including Ruben Neves who chartered a flight from the Club World Cup straight there, which just showcases how important it is for people to say goodbye.

Without speculating too much, as it is irrelevant for now, the players will eventually have to begin the Premier League season on August 15, although they'll also play Community Shield on August 10.

More pressingly however, will be the club's pre-season campaign, which will start on Tuesday, where everyone will see each other in the same environment and the focus will start to return back to football.

Arne Slot will no doubt have been racking his brain as to how he can motivate his players, given their minds are likely to be elsewhere for the foreseeable. If we're honest, sport isn't really important right now, but as footballers, the players all have jobs to do and their families' livelihoods to support.

Eventually, the unimportant stuff becomes important again, because we have to find a way to returning to some form or normality, even if Jota's absence makes that hard to imagine right now.

The road ahead will be fraught with difficulty. Players walking past their former teammates' locker in the changing room will be an emotional experience, every single time it happens. But while initially it will make them sad, those thoughts will eventually be replaced with memories.

As a football club, it will take time to grieve Jota's loss. We all get through things in different ways and it will take differing amounts of time until things start to feel okay again. The highs and lows of football will matter again, and your perspective on sporting failures and successes will matter.

But perhaps not quite yet. When the players do return to training next week, there will be a wave of emotions and speculation or intrusive questions regarding their mental health will not be welcomed.

While these circumstances are deeply unfortunate and no one's fault, it would be great if we could all take a little bit of extra awareness from this situation. Be kind and consider how people might be feeling. Everyone needs looking out for and supporting, not least the players when we see them in the spotlight once again, and Diogo and Andre's families' privacy while they get to grips with things.