Garkepo: Liverpool people will always remember Jota; it would be great to win Paris last season

Hupu August 4th News TheAthleticUK and other media groups interviewed Liverpool winger Cody Garkepo.

Jota and his brother Andre Silva died in a car accident in Spain, something that Liverpool must face at the beginning of the new season.

"Yes, it's very difficult. When things happened, many of us were still on vacation. We got together as soon as possible, as a team, as a club.

At that moment, we were with their families as much as possible and as a team, as we could to help.

We were still trying to do this, everyone was busy behind the scenes than the news reported, and reached out to help as much as possible."

On the morning of July 3, Gakepo learned about Jota's death while on vacation in southern France. He quickly made plans and went to Portugal two days later to attend a funeral in Gondomar near Porto.

After returning to Merseyside, he headed to the altar outside Anfield Stadium where fans presented thousands of souvenirs, which were all over the field and outside the field.

"I hope Diorgo's family can feel our love for them, for Diorgo and his brother. You can see that we, as clubs, teams, fans, the entire city and every fan, are working hard to show what we are like as a family; as Liverpool, we really strive to be a big family."

After Liverpool's first friendly match in Preston on July 13, Liverpool players and staff stood on the edge of the penalty area, applauding the 5,600 visiting fans gathered in the Bill Shankley stands at the Deepdale Stadium, and Jota's songs were played in a loop. Tears were shed in the stands and on the court.

"This is so touching. We could have played this song for another 10 days. The song is beautiful and once again demonstrates the great character of our fans, and we are deeply grateful for it."

Liverpool has retired the No. 20 jersey that Jota wore and recently announced plans to erect a commemorative sculpture at Anfield Stadium. The players gathered together and decided to wear the "Forever 20" logo on their jerseys and jerseys for the following season.

"This is the minimum thing we can do. Obviously, he is an outstanding player, but he is even more charming. He gets along well with everyone. Everyone loves him, and that can be seen from everyone's reaction.

So, yes, we want to remember what he means to us. Not because he is a player, because we can see him in the highlights on YouTube, but because of him.

We will miss him, and we will remember him in the team, and his family until the end of our lives. We will not forget him."

Gakbo has completely recovered from an ankle injury, and his form has declined in the second half of last season. Before his injury in early February, he had contributed 16 of his 18 goals (his own).

"I tried to come back as soon as possible because we had some important games. But unfortunately, I had some setbacks in training and after that it took me a little longer to regain my rhythm and it took me longer to get back on the confidence when I was fighting or shooting with my ankle.

That experience wasn't pleasant, but it was part of football, and you had to overcome it. The last few games of the season were better. I didn't feel as bad as I used to. Now I just need to start the season with a healthy state."

What are Liverpool's goals for this season?

"This is the wish of the club, the wish of our players, and the goal we will strive for.

Everyone was delighted to win the Premier League title, but we lost to Newcastle United in the League Cup final, which is a pity that we also lost to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16 penalty shootout.

Both games (versus Paris Saint-Germain) were hard to solve. The result may not be satisfactory, but Paris won the championship in the end, so it felt like: 'Oh, if we could beat them at that time...'.

But it was also part of football, and it was the reason why we trained so hard this season and strived to win the championship again."