The body of football legend Eusebio was to be laid to rest
Friday at Portugal's national pantheon as the country paid a final tribute to
its greatest sporting hero.
A horse drawn carriage was to take the coffin bearing the
"Black Panther", who died in January 2014 aged 71, across Lisbon -
including around the stadium at his Benfica club - before being taken to its
final resting place.
The Portuguese government ordered three days of national
mourning after the death of one of the most feared strikers in world football
and lawmakers voted unanimously this year for Eusebio da Silva Ferreira to be
laid to rest at the pantheon with the country's most important political and
cultural figures.
Tens of thousands took to the streets of the capital on the
day of his funeral last year to pay homage to the man who became the first
black player to be awarded the Ballon d'Or in 1965.
The remains were moved from the Lumiar cemetery in northern
Lisbon and taken to a church for a private mass for Eusebio's family before starting
the tour of the capital.
The carriage was then to go to Benfica's Estadio da Luz, the
Portuguese Football Federation and the national parliament, before the
procession to the pantheon where it was to arrive around 7:00pm.
Born in Mozambique - a former Portuguese colony - Eusebio
moved to Benfica when he was 19 and became a key figure as Benfica won the 1962
European Cup, scoring twice in the 5-3 victory over Real Madrid in the final.
He won 11 league titles and five Portuguese Cups during a
15-year career with the Lisbon giants.
He also won the European Golden Boot twice (1967/68,
1972/73) and scored 733 goals in 745 matches for Benfica.
Powerful, with blistering speed and dazzling technique,
Eusebio was equally influential for his country, scoring 41 goals in 64 games.
Portugal were third place at the 1966 World Cup where he scored nine goals.
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