jurnalistik.co.id – Setahun sudah berlalu sejak dunia sepak bola dibuat terdiam oleh kabar wafatnya Diogo Jota dan sang adik, Andre Silva, dalam sebuah kecelakaan mobil. Di momen peringatannya, kenangan tentang sosok penyerang Liverpool itu dibuka kembali—bukan hanya dari torehan di lapangan, melainkan juga cara ia memperlakukan orang-orang di sekitarnya.
Jota, yang saat itu berusia 28 tahun, baru saja meraih titel Premier League bersama The Reds hanya beberapa pekan sebelum kepergiannya. Ia juga menikah dengan pasangan jangka panjangnya, Rute Cardoso, 11 hari sebelum peristiwa tragis tersebut, dan dari pernikahan itu mereka memiliki tiga anak.
Diogo Jota mengemas 65 gol dari 182 penampilan bersama Liverpool. Ia berperan saat klub meraih FA Cup dan League Cup pada 2022, serta menuntaskan perjalanan di kompetisi kasta tertinggi pada musim 2024-25.
Sebelum menjadi bagian dari Liverpool, Jota memulai kariernya di Pacos de Ferreira, lalu bergabung dengan Atletico Madrid pada 2016. Namun, ia tidak pernah menjalani laga resmi untuk Atletico karena masa peminjamannya berlanjut ke Porto untuk satu musim, kemudian ke Wolves, sebelum akhirnya kesepakatan permanennya rampung pada 2018.
Di Wolves, selama tiga musim ia mencetak 44 gol dalam 131 pertandingan. Ketika namanya mulai melekat kuat di level klub, ia juga membangun karier bersama tim nasional Portugal. Ia menjalani debut internasional pada 2019—menggantikan Cristiano Ronaldo dalam kemenangan 6-0 atas Lithuania—dan kemudian mengumpulkan 49 caps dengan 14 gol.
Langkah terakhir Jota bersama Portugal tercatat pada 8 Juni 2025, ketika mereka mengalahkan Spanyol di final UEFA Nations League lewat drama adu penalti. Setelah pencapaian itu, yang paling lama tersisa justru bukan sekadar statistik, melainkan karakter yang diingat para koleganya.
Kenangan dari rekan-rekan di Liverpool
Caoimhin Kelleher, mantan kiper Liverpool yang bermain bersama Jota mulai 2020 hingga 2025, menyampaikan kenangan yang berulang-ulang ia simpan di kepalanya. Ia menuturkan, “I think about Jots (Jota) often. He was a wonderful guy and definitely one of a kind. He was always himself and stayed true to himself. He didn’t care that he was a super famous footballer. He saw himself as a normal guy and stuck to his morals and that’s why he mixed with everyone and why everyone at the club got on with him.”
Kelleher juga mengingat pertemuan pertama mereka di Melwood. Ia menjelaskan, “The first time that I met him was actually at the old training ground in Melwood. Due to the pandemic, we were all split into different changing rooms into fives and he was part of our five. Our friendship started there and developed over time, especially off the pitch.”
Menurut Kelleher, minat Jota di luar sepak bola justru terasa luas dan tidak terduga. Ia mengutip, “He was into a lot of sports, like myself. And into things that I wouldn’t expect a Portuguese footballer to be into like horse racing, darts and snooker – typical British and Irish stuff.”
Ia bahkan menceritakan bagaimana mereka mengatur perjalanan ke Cheltenham saat ada hari libur yang selaras. Kelleher berkata, “Me and Andy Robertson organised a trip to Cheltenham for the races because it aligned with our days off and to be honest, we didn’t even have him pinned to go initially but Jots got wind of it and came over and was like, ‘When are we going to Cheltenham?’. That’s the kind of guy he was and I’ll always remember that.”
Detail kecil soal gaya berpakaian juga menjadi bagian dari memori yang ia simpan. Kelleher menyebut, “He had such an enthusiasm for whatever he did and he looked the part with his Peaky Blinders cap, a full three-piece suit and even a pocket watch.”
Ia menambahkan bahwa Jota seolah tidak pernah berhenti bergerak dan tertarik pada hal-hal baru. “Honestly, he was non-stop. He was big into watching darts and even started playing it, although he wasn’t any good. Some days, he’d be watching live gaming and I just admired how passionate he was.”
Dalam rutinitas tim, kebiasaan Jota juga menghadirkan cerita sendiri. Kelleher mengingat, “He’d always get these strange injuries that we’d always say, ‘Only Jots could get these injuries’, because he’d throw himself into things that no-one else would. He had that competitive nature about him and would do anything to win and I guess, that’s what all the lads loved about him. You saw that in the way he played the game.”
Ia juga menyinggung kisah saat skuad berangkat tur. Kelleher menjelaskan, “On tour with Liverpool , we’d get a suitcase with the club badge and your number on it, but it wasn’t massive so he couldn’t fit all his gaming essentials and he ended up taking a bigger suitcase. That ended up being a fine and most of the squad had an hour argument with him because he didn’t agree with the fine. He had us all in tears when he kept saying ‘sweet case’ instead of suitcase.”
Bagi Kelleher, momen paling hangat justru datang dari kesempatan bertemu sebelum peristiwa tragis itu. “Thinking back, I’m so happy to have had the chance to go to his wedding that took place a week before he passed away and meet all his closest friends and family. After you experience something like that, you get even closer. They’re cherished memories now and I’m very grateful to have known him.”
Arne Slot: sosok yang dinilai dari cara memilih momen bersama tim
Arne Slot, pelatih yang meraih Premier League bersama Jota, menggambarkan kedekatan mereka sejak awal pertemuan. Ia menceritakan, “I first met Diogo on our tour to America. Like many of the players, he arrived a little later because of the Euros. Over the months that followed, he showed us all what kind of person and player he was.”
Menurut Slot, Jota tidak membatasi diri pada relasi kecil di dalam grup. Slot menekankan, “Diogo wasn’t someone who only had two or three close friends within the group. He got along with everyone. Whether it was a team-mate or a member of staff, he always had time for people and made everyone feel valued.”
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Slot juga menyoroti kebiasaan Jota menomorsatukan kepentingan tim. Ia menuturkan, “He always put the team first and, whenever he was needed, he was ready to fight for his team-mates and for the club he loved playing for.”
Sesudah kehilangan Jota, Slot mengatakan ia berusaha menjaga jejaknya melalui sikap yang bisa ditiru para pemain. “After we lost him, I told the players the best way we could honour Diogo was by trying to be a little like him. For me, that’s how he’ll always be remembered.”
Ia mengaku orang mungkin mengira kenangan paling awalnya adalah gol tertentu, tetapi yang lebih melekat justru pilihan simbolis yang dibuat Jota setelah Premier League. Slot menyampaikan, “People will probably expect me to say that the goal against Everton was my favourite memory, and of course it was a special moment. But when I think about Diogo now, that’s not the first thing that comes to mind.”
Slot lantas mengulang gambaran yang ia simpan tentang foto yang dipilih Jota. Ia menjelaskan, “I always think about the photograph he chose after we won the Premier League. Out of all the pictures available, he picked the one with the entire team and staff in front of the Kop singing You’ll Never Walk Alone. That was Diogo. He always put the team before himself. That simple choice told you everything about the person he was, and it’s the memory that stays with me.”
Nuno Espirito Santo: karakter yang “membalas” kepercayaan dengan kerja
Nuno Espirito Santo, pelatih yang lebih dulu menandatangani Jota saat masih datang dengan status pinjaman lalu mengamankan permanen, menggambarkan perjalanan Jota dari awal yang tidak mudah. Ia mengatakan, “He was a young lad [when he arrived at Wolves ], but a very special one – warm, humble and determined to repay the faith and effort that had been invested in him.”
Evolusi Jota, menurut Nuno, justru dipahat oleh tantangan yang dihadapinya ketika pertama kali merasakan kompetisi. Nuno menambahkan, “Like every player, he found it difficult at first. The Championship is an extremely tough competition, especially for someone arriving from abroad. But it was precisely that challenge that helped shape Diogo into the player he went on to become. He never gave up, and when things didn’t go his way, he never let his head drop. At the risk of sounding like a cliche, it’s simply the truth.”
Nuno menekankan bahwa semua orang di Wolves, tanpa kecuali, mencintai Jota. “Everyone loved Diogo, absolutely everyone. Everyone at the club, everyone in the dressing room. Everyone. Even now, it’s difficult to think about him without feeling sad. He was an extraordinary young man, and we all miss him very much.”
Conor Coady: pemain yang memimpin lewat kedekatan, bukan hanya gol
Conor Coady, yang merasakan musim sukses meraih gelar Championship pada 2018, memandang Jota sebagai sosok yang paling kuat diingat dari sisi pertemanan. Ia menyatakan, “With Diogo, it’s all good memories. The biggest memory isn’t winning games and scoring goals but more within the dressing room and what a friend he was. He was an incredible human being with such honesty and humility and someone I will remember forever.”
Coady menambahkan bahwa Jota membawa kombinasi langka: kemampuan sepak bola besar sekaligus mental yang selalu menempatkan tim di atas diri sendiri. Ia berkata, “He was actually a dream team-mate to have and you add on top that he was an incredible footballer, then he was everything you wanted. He’s one of the biggest team players I’ve ever seen. Every day with us, he showed that selfless nature.”
Ia juga mengingat situasi adaptasi tim ketika para pemain asal Portugal bergabung, dan bagaimana hal itu membuat budaya tim berubah. Coady menyebut, “From the first day he came in at Wolves , you saw the competitive nature that set him apart too. He was desperate to win, even in head tennis. When the Portuguese boys came in, it helped create a culture that none of us had really seen and he was the first one to bring that.”
Coady menggambarkan Jota bukan sekadar kompetitif, tetapi “bertenaga” dalam setiap upaya mengejar kemenangan. Ia melanjutkan, “Diogo was a different animal, an absolute beast. Even before I knew him, I admired him and Ruben Neves for making that shift from Portugal at such a young age. To drop out of one of the biggest teams, Porto, in Portugal like Ruben did and come to the Championship is a massive jump. But them players coming to Wolves changed my life for the better.”
Dalam cerita Coady, perubahan itu terasa sampai ke ruang ganti dan kualitas personal para pemain. Ia menyebut, “They made me a better player and a better person and anybody in the Wolves dressing room at the time will tell you the same things.”
Ia menyinggung rasa takjubnya sejak awal, karena banyak orang meremehkan tingkat kesulitan Championship. Coady mengingat, “I remember when he first came over and I was thinking, ‘I don’t think he knows how hard the Championship is going to be’, because a lot of people come and think, ‘oh it’s only the second division’. But Diogo was totally different.”
Menurut Coady, Jota bergerak dengan profesionalisme dan komitmen sejak awal. Ia berkata, “He was professional, committed and a really clever fella. Straight from the get-go, you knew he meant business and you saw that when we got promoted at the first attempt.”
Ia menambahkan bahwa Jota tidak menarik diri meski berasal dari luar negeri. Coady menjelaskan, “Sometimes when players come from different countries, they stick to themselves a bit. I don’t know what I’d be like if I moved abroad. But him and the Portuguese lads that came were different. They mingled, they were getting in with the lads, organising things off the pitch and inviting everyone else. He threw himself into absolutely everything.”
Untuk momen sepak bola, Coady menunjuk gol Jota di perempat final Piala FA melawan Manchester United. Ia mengutip kisahnya, “Whenever I think about Diogo, I think about his goal in the FA Cup quarter-final for Wolves against Manchester United , with a place at Wembley on the line. We were on the counter-attack, he took off on the halfway line, shrugged off Luke Shaw then Diogo, who was mainly right-footed, dragged it onto his left foot and smashed it into the near post. That goal was made for Diogo Jota because not many players could score a goal like that. But he could. I admired that tenacity.”
Coady lalu menilai perpindahan Jota ke Liverpool sebagai peluang besar, sekaligus pengalaman yang terasa “aneh” karena kedatangannya mengubah ritme ruang ganti Wolves. Ia menyampaikan, “I was over the moon for him on a personal level when he moved to Liverpool . It was a bit strange because when he missed our game, that got the lads talking because Diogo would never not play. The rumour mill in the dressing room went into overdrive and then Ruben [Neves] told us. Sometimes when team-mates leave, you’re devastated and I was, of course as his team-mate, but this was such a huge opportunity to go to a football club like Liverpool .”
Setahun setelah kepergian itu, yang tampak berulang dari berbagai testimoni adalah satu benang merah: Jota selalu hadir sebagai pribadi yang hangat, merawat relasi, dan menempatkan tim sebagai prioritas. Di tengah pencapaian di lapangan—premier, piala, gol, dan caps—kenangan yang paling bertahan justru tentang bagaimana ia membuat orang lain merasa dihargai.
