Eusebio, Pemakamannya Dibanjiri Puluhan Ribu Orang
Tributes Flood in for Eusebio
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
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Lisabon (B2B) - Puluhan ribu orang tumpah di jalan-jalan kota Lisbon di bawah guyuran hujan, Senin waktu setempat, untuk menyampaikan perpisahan terakhir kepada legenda sepakbola Portugal Eusebio yang besar di kemiskinan Eropa untuk menjadi salah satu pesepakbola terbesar di dunia.
Orang-orang berjejer di tepi jalan kota Lisbon mengikuti arak-arakan peti jenazah Eusebio yang dibalut kain merah yang menjadi warna klubnya Benfica. Acara ini disiarkan langsung oleh televisi Portugal.
Para penduka yang kebanyakan berurai air mata dan mengenakan syal merah putih Benfica dan melambaikan bendera kebangsaan Portugal begitu peti jenazah melewati mereka sembari berteriak "Eusebio, Eusebio".
"Eusebio hebat seperti (Cristiano) Ronaldo dan (Lionel) Messi. Dia akan menjadi mitos abadi Benfica," kata pelatih Benfica Jorge Jesus, seperti dilansir Yahoo News.
Para penggemar meletakkan bunga, poster buatan sendiri dan syal Benfica di patung sang pemain di luar stadion Benfica, sedangkan bendera nasional dikibarkan setengah tiang di mana-mana.
Pele, yang disebut pesepakbola terbesar sepanjang masa, menyampaikan pesan dukanya melalui Twitter, "Saya menangis atas kematian saudaraku Eusebio. Kami menjadi berteman selama Piala Dunia 1966 di Inggris."
Sedangkan Presiden Portugal Anibal Cavaco Silva berkata, "Portugal hari ini kehilangan salah seorang putera terbaiknya, Eusebio da Silva Ferreira."
Anibal Cavaco Silva dan Perdana Menteri Pedro Passos Coelho turut menghadiri misa di Gereja Seminari di luar stadion itu dan disiarkan langsung televisi Portugal.
Eusebio dimakamkan di pemakaman Lumiar yang berdekatan dengan stadion tersebut.
Lisbon - Tens of thousands of people turned out in the rain on Monday to say a final farewell to Portuguese football legend Eusebio, who grew up in grinding African poverty to become one of the world´s greatest players.
Mourners lined the streets of Lisbon and applauded as the black hearse carrying Eusebio´s coffin, draped in the red and white colours of his club side Benfica, passed by in a funeral cortege broadcast live on TV.
Earlier, about 10,000 mourners applauded and cheered as six pall-bearers carried the coffin and placed it on a golden plinth in the centre of the pitch at Benfica´s "Stadium of Light".
"Eusebio was out of this world like (Cristiano) Ronaldo and (Lionel) Messi. He will be Benfica´s eternal myth," said Benfica coach Jorge Jesus.
Fans left flowers, handmade posters and Benfica scarves at a statue of the player that sits outside the stadium.
Pele, the Brazilian widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time, took to his Twitter account to tell the world: "I cry for the death of my brother Eusebio. We became friends during the 1966 World Cup in England."
"Portugal has today lost one of its most beloved sons, Eusebio da Silva Ferreira. The country mourns his death," President Anibal Cavaco Silva had said.
Cavaco Silva and Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho both attended the funeral mass held in the Seminary Church near the stadium, which was broadcast live on Portuguese television.
Eusebio was buried at the nearby Lumiar cemetery after the mass.
