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Virgil van Dijk (C) and Andrew Robertson (R) carry floral tributes for the funeral of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, in Gondomar, Portugal,(Image: ESTELA SILVA/EPA/Shutterstock)

The last time I saw Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson in the flesh, they were holding the Premier League trophy during Liverpool FC's victory parade.

It was difficult to hold back the tears when I saw them again today, as they led a delegation of Reds' players into the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar church for Diogo Jota and Andre Silva's funeral.

The mood couldn't have been more different this time, as they held floral tributes bearing the shirt numbers worn by the two brothers who tragically died in a car accident this week.



Seeing the Reds' stars hit me like a hammer blow, as the sharp juxtaposition from those jubilant scenes in May highlighted just how incomprehensible the tragedy of the past few days has been to take.

Since news of the untimely deaths of Jota and Silva emerged, it has felt like a surreal nightmare the world will surely soon wake up from.

Jota and Silva were more than just footballers - and this couldn't have been clearer with the way locals lined the streets, hours before the service had started at 10am, just so they could pay tribute.

So many people turned up to show their respects at the funeral that the church soon filled up - and many had to stand outside during the service.

However, the service was broadcast on a loudspeaker, which meant anyone who wasn't in the church could still pay tribute, and those stood outside held a respectful silence throughout the hour long funeral.

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Just like the community of Gondomar, the footballing world also united together to show their respect to Jota and Silva.

Today we are one football family."

Jota and Silva may have been laid to rest, but the outpouring of emotion today was proof that their legacy and impact will never be forgotten.

The two have left their mark on their communities, who will never be able to process how unfairly and cruelly they have been taken from them.

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As the dust settled on a difficult morning and everyone in attendance at the service had left the premises of the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar, the mood strikingly shifted when a family arrived for a wedding that was set to take place in the same church later that afternoon.