BERN, Switzerland :Sadness and celebration went hand in hand when a minute’s silence in honour of Portuguese international Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who were killed in a car accident on Thursday, gave way to a celebration of life and football as Portugal took on Spain at the Women’s Euros.
The game may have ended 5-0 to Spain but it was undoubtedly the Portuguese fans who won the battle in the stands as they put aside their grief to instead display their passion for all the world to see.
“At this moment, we continue to depend only on ourselves and we will do everything, as long as it is so, to make the Portuguese proud,” Portugal coach Francisco Neto told Sport TV.
“On the field, we were inferior to Spain – off the field, there is no doubt that we won by a landslide,”
Though the usual ear-splitting pre-game music thundered from the speakers, there was an unmistakable pall of grief in the stadium as Portuguese fans clutched signs paying tribute to the 28-year-old Liverpool player and his brother, the simplest of them summing up the feelings of the football world: “Thank you, Diogo Jota”.
Packed behind one of the goals, the Portuguese fans roared through an impassioned rendition of their national anthem before honouring the brothers with an impressive minute of complete calm ahead of kick-off, with fans holding up letters spelling out “Rest in peace, Diogo Jota” in Portuguese.
Speaking to reporters on the way in to the stadium, the president of the Portuguese parliament Jose Aguiar Branco said the country would honour the pair for their contribution to the sport.
“Tomorrow in the Assembly of the Republic, we will vote on the motion of condolence that I will present in order to honour the memory of these two young people and also the legacy that they leave to national sport,” he said.
The Portuguese fans brought the minute’s silence to a respectful end with a ripple of applause that quickly spread around the ground and, on a dark day for football, they then burst into song as the game kicked off, clapping, drumming and cheering on the players wearing the shirt that Jota proudly wore on 49 occasions.
A disastrous first half saw the Portuguese concede four goals and Spain were able to add another strike late in the second. But Portugal’s fans still sang and applauded them after the final whistle – for them, this night will be remembered for something much, much more than just football.
