Portugal paid final homage yesterday to footballing legend Eusebio, who grew up in grinding African poverty to become one of the world’s greatest players.

Eusebio

To the applause of thousands of supporters, Eusebio’s coffin was carried around Lisbon’s Luz Stadium inside a black limousine as Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli’s “Con te partiro” was played from loudspeakers.

Fans, some in tears, sang the national anthem and waved flags bearing Eusebio’s image as the coffin draped in the red and white flag of Eusebio’s club Benfica drove by.

Before being driven around the stadium an endless stream of mourners, including politicians and football players, braved the rain and came to bow to the coffin which was displayed in a chapel inside the stadium.

Flags flew at half mast across Lisbon with the Portuguese government decreeing three days of mourning for Eusebio da Silva Ferreira, who died of a heart attack early on Sunday aged 71.

“Portugal has today lost one of its most beloved sons, Eusebio da Silva Ferreira. The country mourns his death,” President Anibal Silva said.