Devastated family members mourn Diogo Jota and his brother

Ap

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, July 5, 2025, p. a10

Gondomar. Family and friends of Liverpool striker Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva gathered at a chapel where their bodies were taken for a mass yesterday, a day after the two Portuguese players died in a car accident.

Some embraced and cried before entering the Chapel of the Resurrection of Saint Cosme. The brothers' parents, as well as Jota's agent, Jorge Mendes, and the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, were among those present at the ceremony.

Mourners left flowers and candles next to a tree outside the chapel, located next to the Mother Church of Gondomar, in eastern Portugal, where the brothers' funeral will take place today. Gondomar, a working-class city near Porto, is where Jota began his football career and where his parents live.

Jota, 28, and André Silva, 25, were found dead near Zamora, in northwest Spain, after the Lamborghini they were driving crashed and burst into flames on an isolated stretch of road in the early hours of Thursday.

Both were heading from Santander, on the northern coast of Spain, to England, where Diogo would join Liverpool.

Jota's death occurred two weeks after he married Rute Cardoso, with whom he had three children, the youngest barely a year old.

Spanish police are investigating the cause of the accident, which did not involve another vehicle.

Minute of silence

Condolences continued to pour in from Portuguese officials and the world of sports. FIFA President Gianni Infantino declared a tribute with a minute of silence at the Club World Cup quarterfinal matches.

Portuguese players Joao Cancelo and Ruben Neves, both of Al-Hilal, were in tears before the match against Fluminense in memory of their good friend and former teammate. During the match between Chelsea and Palmeiras, Pedro Neto, who was devastated by the death, and Enzo Fernández held up a shirt bearing the names of Diogo and André.

At Wimbledon, Portuguese Nuno Borges and Francisco Cabral wore black bow ties on their white uniforms.

▲ The Auriazules coach, who continues to work on the team's structure ahead of the tournament, stated that the Welshman is eager to contribute his experience and help develop the youth team. Photo @pumasmx

Alberto Aceves

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, July 5, 2025, p. a11

Pumas technical director Efraín Juárez believes there are players in soccer who sooner or later will be role models for the younger players. With just a few days left until the start of the Liga MX season, the Mexican expounds on this theory by signing Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey, who was introduced Thursday as a new addition at the Cantera facilities. "Ever since I was in Colombia with Atlético Nacional, I've tried to bring him in; now the opportunity has arisen ," he states. "Superman isn't coming to save anyone. He's eager to help, to prepare himself so we can achieve our goals and lead his team to the World Cup ."

The assembly of the university squad is still in progress. Since the departure of Lisando Magallán last month, other players such as Ricardo Galindo, Ali Ávila, Michell Rodríguez, Leo Suárez, Robert Ergas, and Rogelio Funes Mori have been left out by decision of the coaching staff and management. "I have no further news; I understand there may be some possibility, but right now I'm only counting on what I have ," Juárez responds when talking about reinforcements. Ramsey is the first on a list of several names, which also includes Colombian fullback Álvaro Angulo, whom he knows from his time with the Verdolaga team.

"We need to strengthen that position, but I'm not talking about rumors. In the coming days, we'll have to decide which player will come; it's not about buying for the sake of buying ," he argues in preparation for the friendly against Spanish club Leganés, to be played tomorrow at the Olympic Stadium at Ciudad Universitaria. When describing the profile he's looking for in a reinforcement, the former international mentions Ramsey, a multi-time European champion with Arsenal and Juventus. "He's not coming for the money. He could have stayed in Cardiff, but he's taking on the challenge of coming to contribute to the development of the younger players ."

14 years without titles

Juárez is no stranger to Pumas' 14-year Liga MX title absence. Just as he did when he was introduced four months ago, he embraces the results delivered so far during his tenure: four wins, the same number of losses, and three draws, in addition to last season's play-in round elimination. The demand to improve his numbers, he maintains, is shared by both management and players. "I asked them to have European-level opponents like Leganés, which is why I value the effort they put in ," he notes about the final warm-up match ahead of the 2025 Apertura.

I've never been on probation. From the first day I arrived, I've taken responsibility for the results. I wake up at 5:30 in the morning every day with the same enthusiasm for preparing for training, working, and building the squad; we're all on the same page. If more reinforcements arrive, they will; no one is coming to save the day. If people are added to strengthen us, all the better, but there are no excuses. That's how things are at this club, and we have no problem with that. The team is doing well; we'll see after Sunday what we're made for .

The UNAM men's and women's squads will be introduced to their fans this Sunday at an event called Pumas Fan Fest. In addition to debuting this season's uniforms, the team coached by Juárez will face the relegated Leganés from the Spanish League. Mexico has grown tremendously in recent years. Just look at the number of renowned players in this league to know that their level is rising , says former soccer player and current Pepineros coach, Paco López.

AFP and Editorial Staff

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, July 5, 2025, p. a11

World number two Carlos Alcaraz of Spain struggled yesterday to defeat world number 125 Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany in the third round; however, he advanced to the round of 16 at Wimbledon, where he is seeking his third consecutive title.

As happened several times on his way to winning the trophy at the recent Roland Garros, the Iberian suffered some setbacks during the match and had to work extra hard to secure a four-set victory, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in two hours and 27 minutes.

I knew it was going to be very difficult, that I had to be very focused. It was stressful. To be honest, I struggled in every game today on my serve , Alcaraz admitted.

In the round of 16, the Spanish star will face Russian Andrey Rublev (14), who in turn defeated Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 6-2 and 6-3.

After her titles at Roland Garros and Queen's, Alcaraz extended her winning streak and now has 21 consecutive matches won.

Should he win a third consecutive Wimbledon title, the Spaniard would become the fifth player to achieve such a streak at the iconic tournament, following Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, and Novak Djokovic.

In the rest of the men's draw, American Taylor Fritz, fifth-ranked player in the world, won in four sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5/7) and 6-1 against the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich (27th in the ATP).

Fritz will face Australian Jordan Thompson (44) in the round of 16, who beat Italian Luciano Darderi (59) 6-4, 6-4, 3-6 and 6-3.

In the women's draw, Madison Keys, the eighth-ranked player in the WTA and recent Australian Open champion, fell in the third round, 6-4, against Germany's Laura Siegemund, who will face Argentina's Solana Sierra (101) in the round of 16. Sierra qualified after defeating Spain's Cristina Bucsa 7-5, 1-6, 6-1. Keys was the sixth member of the women's top 10 to be eliminated.

The global number one, the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, was able to overcome the resistance of the British Emma Raducanu (40), whom she defeated 7-6 (8/6) and 6-4.

In the round of 16, Sabalenka will face her former Belgian doubles partner Elise Mertens (23).

Meanwhile, Mexican Giuliana Olmos and British player Lloyd Glasspool were eliminated in the mixed doubles event after falling 6-3, 6-3 to American Jackson Withrow and Russian Irina Khromacheva in the first round.

Thus, Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela, competing in men's doubles, remains the only active Mexican tennis player at Wimbledon. This Saturday, he will play alongside Indian Sriram Balaji in his second-round match against seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina.

Reuters and AFP

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, July 5, 2025, p. a11

Silverstone. British driver Lando Norris (McLaren) made the most of his home advantage and set the fastest time yesterday in the second free practice session for the Formula 1 British Grand Prix, held at the legendary Silverstone track.

Norris was the fastest with a time of one minute and 25.816 seconds, followed by the Ferraris of Monegasque Charles Leclerc (0.222 seconds behind) and fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton (0.301 seconds behind), who was the fastest in the first practice.

Championship leader Oscar Piastri (McLaren) finished fourth, while reigning four-time world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) of the Netherlands and Italian Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), who will lose three places on the grid for the race, finished fifth and sixth respectively.

Canadian Lance Stroll finished seventh for Aston Martin, and Briton George Russell finished eighth in his Mercedes. Racing Bulls' Frenchman Isack Hadjar finished ninth, and his New Zealand teammate Liam Lawson finished tenth.

Last year's race winner, Hamilton, fueled hopes of another home victory after setting a fastest lap of 1:26.892 in early practice, while 17-year-old Briton-Swede Arvid Lindblad looked strong in his debut session for Red Bull.

Hamilton is on a 13-race run without a podium finish, the worst of his career, but holds a record of nine home wins and will be looking to end the long drought.

It's the first time the seven-time world champion has raced on home soil in the red Ferrari car. The Italian team has yet to win this season, the only one of the top four to do so.

Piastri leads Norris by 15 points now that the championship has reached Silverstone, the midpoint of the season. McLaren has a solid 207-point advantage over Ferrari in the constructors' standings.

The third practice session will take place today, as well as the qualifying session that will determine tomorrow's starting order.