As the menacing firecrackers went off in one end, and a monstrous tifo began to gently lower itself from display, the boy from Benfica was called for the start of his farewell.
In highly unusual circumstances, Sporting’s stadium announcer asked for Ruben Amorim to enter the field long after both teams had lined up.
He accepted a signed framed shirt, waved to the crowd, and then Manchester City unwittingly indulged the celebration of a guy they’re facing in the Premier League next month.
A heartfelt goodbye. Growing up a supporter of Lisbon’s red half, taken to the old Estadio da Luz as a baby by his father Virgilio, who remembers changing his nappy in the rickety stands.