“After Jota’s Passing, I Try to Be the Best Version of Myself”
Van Dijk:Diogo means a lot to me, to the team, and to the club. First of all, as a person, that’s obvious. He was an amazing guy. The way he carried himself, you wouldn’t think he was Portuguese. The lads all said he was more Scottish—McJota!
He was hardworking, team-first, always giving his all whether he was playing or not. I told him many times that he could dribble past defenses just like Luis Suárez.
I remember his goal against Arsenal. He beat his man, the ball bounced to his feet, and he finished it easily. I think Luis had the same ability. Diogo always inspired everyone, set an example, and was always willing to listen. So, as a member of the team, he played an important role.
I had just returned to the UK from a family trip when I got that call. Unfortunately, it’s terrible news I’ll never forget. It was really tough, really hard to accept. The whole world was shocked.
In the following months, as captain, I tried to be the best I could be—supporting the players, the team, the staff, and especially looking after Rute (Jota’s widow).
You want to make sure everyone is taken care of—her, the kids, André, and Diogo’s parents—and the club has done an incredible job so far. But I’m not surprised by that, because the club is an amazing one, a caring one. The most important thing is his family—and that’s still the case now.
The entire football world has shown him great support, especially to him, André, and his family. Everton Football Club has also done a fantastic job, especially Seamus (Coleman).
It’s true that you’re reminded of everything every day, because he’s part of us, part of the club, part of our brotherhood.
Personally, my responsibility is to observe, to see how everyone is coping and dealing with it. Listen to everyone’s thoughts, talk to the players, talk to some of the staff.
We had a team meeting and told everyone that if anyone wants to talk about their feelings, we’re here anytime, and we’ll always be here.
There are really tough moments, like I said—no matter if you’re prepared or not, no matter if you can bear it or not, you think about Diogo. The key is how you deal with it, and the lads have been amazing.
The senior players have discussed this, and we certainly want to honor his spirit—not just in the next year, two years, three years. He deserves to be remembered forever, and we’ll talk to the club about how to do that.
We’ve set aside spaces at the training ground and the stadium, and his locker is permanently kept. A monument at the stadium is also soon to be completed. But I think we can do more to honor him, and the senior players and I will take charge of that. I also feel responsible to make that happen.
Obviously, the fans will sing Diogo’s song during the game (in the 20th minute). We’ve discussed this, and it doesn’t affect us at all now. It’s clearly a way for the fans to show their respect. So the final result depends on the fans, but we want them to know that it doesn’t affect us in any way.
I remember that friendly match against Preston—it was really, really tough, but it was only two weeks after the accident. The one-minute silence in the home game against Bournemouth was also really, really hard.
But I think we’re now at a stage where we need to turn this experience into strength. Diogo would want us to succeed, he would want us to perform well—and that’s the most important thing. I think the fans sing just out of respect for Diogo, because he deserves it.
