Not once her gaze left her husband's coffin, although it sometimes seemed that she could nod and collapsed with the paralyzing pain of all this.
Some among the crowd lowered their heads when the procession passed. Usually out of respect. But also because it somehow felt indecent to testify close to the torture suffering of this woman.
Only two weeks ago, Rute Cardoso and Liverpool's Diogo Jota, both 28, exchanged wedding lofts for family and friends. They could no longer be a perfect celebration of their happiness. Diogo explained itself extremely happy.
Now Rute, dressed in white, helped to carry the man with the magical feet and the joyful heart to his grave.
He was killed with his brother Andre Silva, 25, after the Lamborghini they traveled, crashed and bursting in flames on a Spanish highway in the early hours of Thursday morning.
At the end of their joint funeral service, Schubert's Ave Maria, who was played on Jota's wedding, from the small Baroque church in Gondomar, near Porto, Noord -Portugal.
A deep bell slowly started toll. Supported by her sister, Rute's fingers clung to the bottom of her husband's coffin while it was worn over the courtyard. When it seemed that she would falter, she closed her eyes and rested her forehead on the lid of the coffin, wet of her tears.
Family and friends, including football players from all over the Globe, had gathered in the 17th-century Igreja Matriz church and heard the bishop of Porto, D. Manuel Linda, sent a message to the three children of the Paar-Son Dinis, Vier, Duarte.
The bishop said: 'At the moment you suffer enormously or maybe not because you don't realize it. Those who suffer a lot are your mother and your grandparents.
'Seeing the mortal remains of a child must be a greater torment, but if there are two urns, there are no words …
'If it is difficult to see an adult cry, it is even more difficult to see a child cry. I send you a special greeting for your mother and grandparents. '
Just like Rute, Jota's parents, Joaquim and Isabel Silva cherished.
“That poor couple. Only because of the grandchildren will they find the power to continue, “said a family friend, who expresses the feelings of many.
Both coffins were worn by the front doors of the church to the sound of violins and applause in a procession led by two priests at 10 am.
Jota's teammates from Liverpool flew in at night. They include Virgil van Dijk, the captain of the club, and Andrew Robertson, who wore red wreaths in the form of football shirts decorated with Jota's number 20 and the number 30 of his brother. Former Liverpool players, including Jordan Henderson and James Milner, were also present.
Jota and his brother were 190 miles in a trip from Porto to Santander, where he was planning to take a ferry to England when they crashed in the Spanish province of Zamora.
Many of Jota's teammates from Portugal were also present, including Ruben Neves, who invaded Hilal after playing for his club in their club World Cup match against Fluminense in Orlando, USA, to be a pallbearer.
The church was so full of mourning people that about a hundred guests had to listen to the service while they were around outside. A few clinged together for the entire duration.
Thousands of residents of the city, many who wear Liverpool or Portugal colors, gathered on all sides of the church site to hear the praise for the brothers were laid to rest on the Sao Cosme Cemetery within a short walk.
Their bodies were buried, not cremated, screened in a cemetery by olive trees. Jota's teammates from his former club wolves, including Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio, came to club officials to express their respect. Jota came to the West Midlands Club in 2017 before he left for Liverpool in 2020.
They were spotted with guiding a wreath with wolven theme with the text: “Diogo your desire to fight and win enlightened Molineux.”
The one -hour service ended with the wedding singer of the couple that Ave Maria performed.
Alexandra Quinta e Costa sang the emotional piece before the coffins were taken to the Sao Cosme Cemetery nearby.
Just 11 days earlier, Costa had performed at Jota and his wife Rute's wedding as part of the Lapa -Polyphone choir.
In an Instagram message, the singer shared an emotional tribute alongside the wedding photo of the couple and a black -white photo of Jota and Silva.
She wrote: '15 days ago I sang on one of the happiest days of your life. Today sang at your farewell. What a world we live in. At the moment to live of such a painful loss in the whole family.
After the service, Roberto Martinez, the manager of Portugal, was emotional when he told about his grief about the tragedy. He said: 'I can only say that these are very, very sad days.
'Today was a demonstration for Diogo and Andre that we are all together and that we are Portugal.
'Now I want to thank everyone for their presence, for all messages from all over the world. We are with Andre Silva and Diogo Jota. Always, always with us. '
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