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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Blow

Diogo Jota's reason for name he uses on Liverpool shirt having already changed once

Liverpool fans will be forgiven for wondering why Diogo Jota had the name "Silva" on the back of his shirt during his first season at Wolves.

The Portuguese ace, 25, donned the name during Wolves Championship-winning campaign in 2017-18, when he scored 17 league goals to fire the West Midlands club to the Premier League. Jota's full name is actually "Diogo Jose Teixeira da Silva".

Jota has used "Diogo J" on his shirt for most of his career, including now at Liverpool. "Jota" - which is actually just a nickname - originates from the Portuguese pronunciation of the letter "J". As such, "Diogo J" is pronounced "Diogo Jota" in Portuguese.

It's unclear why Jota went by his full name during his first year at Wolves. When asked in August 2017, the club's Twitter account replied: "That is part of his surname. Jota is just a nickname he has become known by."

The reason why Jota has referred to himself as "Diogo J" for most of his career is because "Silva" is one of the most common names in Portugal. Current Portugal internationals Bernardo Silva, Rui Silva and Rafa Silva are good examples of this.

Several Portuguese footballers do not go by their full names, such as Real Madrid legend Pepe (Kepler Laveran de Lima Ferreira), Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot (Jose Diogo Dalot Teixeira) and former Wolves midfielder Vitinha (Vitor Machado Ferreira).

Diogo Jota had "Silva" on his back during Wolves' Championship-winning campaign (PA)

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It's also a common trait among Brazilian footballers, as the country's primary language is Portuguese. Examples include Ronaldo (Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima), Ronaldinho (Ronaldo de Assis Moreira) and Rivaldo (Rivaldo Vitor Borba Ferreira).

Jota, who's previously played for Pacos de Ferreira, Atletico Madrid and Porto, joined Liverpool from Wolves in the summer of 2020 and has impressed - despite struggling with injuries during his first season. He's scored 21 goals in all competitions this term.

The prolific forward has worn the No.20 shirt throughout his time at Anfield. "No, not really," he said when asked if the number has any significance to him. "But I think it’s a good number and hopefully I can do good things with it."

And Jota could achieve something special this season, as Liverpool aim to become the first English club in history to win the quadruple. The Reds have already lifted the EFL Cup and remain in contention to win the Champions League, EFL Cup and Premier League.

Liverpool are currently one point behind Manchester City in the league after their 2-2 draw on Sunday and face the same team in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday. They can reach the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday evening by avoiding a defeat of two goals or more against Benfica at Anfield.

"I believe we can do it," said Jota when asked about Liverpool's title chances in March. "It’s very exciting, we are on all fronts. I think we can win those titles. We are together as a unit, as a group, we have pretty much everyone available so we can fight for it."

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