"It's brutal": Bayern's Diaz on his emotional Jota celebration | OneFootball

With a touching gesture, Luis Diaz made his first Bayern goal a special moment. The Colombian honored his deceased friend Diogo Jota – and let emotions speak.

The summer new signing of FC Bayern used his competitive debut to not only make a sporting statement, but also a human one. In the 2:1 victory in the Franz-Beckenbauer-Supercup against VfB Stuttgart, Diaz scored the decisive goal in the 77th minute – and dedicated it to his recently deceased companion from Liverpool, Diogo Jota.

After the goal, the 28-year-old sat down on the pitch in a cross-legged position, raised both hands in the air – a pose that many football fans immediately recognized. It was the typical celebration gesture of Diogo Jota, who was known as a passionate gamer and had made this posture his trademark. The Portuguese tragically lost his life in an accident this summer, a deep loss for Diaz. Several teammates also shared the moment directly with him on the pitch.

“No one is prepared for such news”

Speaking to ESPN, the offensive player openly discussed his feelings following the unexpected death of the Liverpool striker: “It's brutal. The fact that he is no longer with us and we have lost an incredible teammate is unbelievable. No one is prepared for such news. He was a great teammate to me. We will remember him fondly. He will live on in our thoughts, and being able to dedicate this goal to him means a lot to me. I had planned it that way.”

In the weeks before, fans of Liverpool and Wolverhampton had already honored their former player Jota with choreographies and banners. Now it was Diaz, wearing the Bayern jersey, who sent his personal message.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.