In Gondomar, in northern Portugal, at the public wake for Diogo Jota and Andre Silva, there were lengthy queues to pay tributes to the pair as a period of national mourning continues.
Around 1,400 kilometers away at Anfield, fans of Liverpool— and other clubs including Wolves, who Jota also played for — also came in their thousands across Thursday and Friday. Scarves, signs, shirts and other tributes were laid out on the floor. Some stood silently, while others wept.
It is hard to put into words quite how much the incident has impacted so many but Mohamed Salah was perhaps one of those — alongside the likes of Andy Robertson and Portugal midfielder Ruben Neves — who managed it best.
"I am truly lost for words," he posted on social media. "Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break.
"Teammates come and go but not like this. It’s going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won’t be there when we go back. My thoughts are with his wife, his children, and of course his parents who suddenly lost their children.
"Those close to Diogo and his brother Andre need all the support they can get. They will never be forgotten."
Diogo Jota and Andre Silva are remembered outside Anfield.
Diogo Jota and Andre Silva are remembered outside Anfield. (Image: MARK NAFTALIN/AFP via Getty Images)
Robertson's tribute was just as perfectly put. Neves', meanwhile, was a heartfelt and purely emotional message to Jota that summed up his relationship with the 28-year-old. Remarkably, he played in the Club World Cup for Al Hilal just hours later.
Jose Mourinho, too, put together a brilliant tribute in incredibly difficult circumstances. A fellow Portuguese, he was interviewed while attending the British Formula One Grand Prix and spoke from the heart.
"When people leave this world, normally we all say, 'He was such a nice guy'. Diogo was really a nice guy," Mourinho said. "He had my agent, he had my structure, so of course I knew a lot about him.
Crowds wait outside the funeral chapel for the public wake of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva in Gondomar, Portugal.
Crowds wait outside the funeral chapel for the public wake of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva in Gondomar, Portugal. (Image: FILIPE AMORIM/AFP via Getty Images)
"And people in Liverpool, they know what I'm saying is the truth. He's a kid that nothing was easy for him. You have to fight to arrive where you arrive.
"From this generation, he was not chasing protagonism; it was the protagonist that found him because of his talent. And the history is something really crazy."
It still does not feel real that Jota and his brother have passed. And as the funeral takes place on Saturday morning, that is unlikely to change.
In time, Liverpool will have to come to terms with the loss of a great, who was in the prime of his career. Having just won the Premier League title and then the UEFA Nations League for a second time, Jota was enjoying a fruitful period.
The family of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva arrive at the wake.
The family of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva arrives at the wake. (Image: Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
Off the pitch, even more importantly, he leaves behind a young family, and a wife of little more than a week. It is nothing short of cruel that it ends like this.
The various testaments to Jota, though, are a glimpse into how he will — when the news does eventually manage to sink in — be remembered. He was a quality footballer, but also a grafter; a positive person and a genuinely uplifting presence for those around him.
It should have been the man himself telling the tales of the glory days to his children (and one day grandchildren), but instead those stories must be told from elsewhere.
Liverpool's number 20 will, unquestionably, be forever immortalized. Diogo Jota was a class act on and off the field.