Funeral for Diogo Jota and Andre Silva held in Portugal

The players Diogo Jota and Andre Silva were honored by their family, friends and teammates at a joint funeral in Portugal.

The 28 -year -old Jota was laid to rest with her brother Silva, 25, after died in a car accident on Thursday.

Hundreds of locals and supporters gathered at Igreja de Matriz in Gondomar, where the brothers are, on Saturday.

The funeral also gathered huge names from all of football, including Jota Virgil Van Dake and Andy Robertson teammates, who were seen carrying floral tribute to the church before the ceremony.

The service was held in Gondomar, a small Portuguese town near Porto, which was left to ignite after the brothers were killed.

Players from FC Liverpool, who just three months ago celebrated their victory in the Premier League, arrived at the funeral together.

Watching them walk in line with each other, almost as they do when they go on the field, it was an emotional experience.

He had a strong sense of community, but also shared catfish.

Many were visibly upset, with supporters on the other side of the barrier applauded players. A woman in the crowd shouted at them when they came in: “Força!” – Power.

Family and close friends entered the church in complete silence, many of them worshiped like a bell of the church.

A person in the procession raised a sign with the photo of Silva, which reads: “Para semper um de nós.” (Forever one of us.)

So much was the impact of the brothers on football and the local community that some of the guests had to watch the ceremony outside the church, often hugging and comforting each other.

The locals and football fans in the crowd looked silently about the bigger part of the service, which lasted about an hour.

Many wore football shirts and wore goods from the various teams in Portugal and abroad, where Jota and Silva, who played for the local Penafiel club, spent some time.

One of these fans was Antonio Moreira, who left early in the morning to be one of the first outside Igreja de Matriz, where the funeral took place.

“I know I will not be able to go inside, but I wanted to express my respect,” he told me from the barrier outside the church.

Later, Antonio showed me his case on the phone – a little old, he said – with the FC Porto emblem.

Antonio recalled kind memories of Jota on the pitch as he spent a year playing a local club, but added that the brothers are much more than football stars.

“They were good people, from a modest family of people like us.”

This hit him particularly, he said, since 40 years ago his family went through such a tragedy. His aunt, uncle and young cousin died in a car accident three days before Christmas, leaving his other cousin behind them.

Jota and Silva may not have been his direct family, he said, but their death felt personal.

“This is what I think: Losing your parents is difficult, really difficult. But losing your children is unthinkable,” he added.

Jota’s journey as a player inspired many people here in Gondomar, told me football fan Fabio Silva.

He has been up to date with the brothers since they started at local clubs – and said he should be here for their last trip.

“Despite the impact they had on football and even financially, they never let him show him,” he told me, adding that the family was loved in the city.

“The community is sad, devastated,” he said.

After spending some time with them over the years, Fabio said that there was only one reason for him to be here: “Respect for the brothers, the family.”

Western football fans Fabio and Rafael travel from the nearby town of Lordelo to honor Jota and Silva.

Wearing Jota’s shirt, Fabio said it was important for him to be “for the last day of Jota”. They both said it meant a lot to the community, that so many people appeared to give their respect.

They watched the ceremony outside the church, like hundreds of other fans – which Fabio said it was difficult. Nami, Rafael agreed, but said she was also beautiful.

“This is an example that you have to live a life of max,” said Rafael, “because you never know when your last day will be.”

“Say everything you want to say, and you have to say – tomorrow it may be too late,” Fabio added.