‘YOU WILL NEVER WALK ALONE, EMI’
The remarkable scenes as a small town in Argentina said a final farewell to a Bluebird
CARDIFF City manager Neil Warnock has paid an emotional tribute to Emiliano Sala at the player’s funeral in Argentina. Warnock spoke to reporters outside the service in Progreso as thousands turned out to pay their respects to the Argentine football star during a day-long wake.
Sala died on January 21 when the plane he was travelling in crashed in the English Channel after he had visited players at his former French club, Nantes.
The body of the 28-year-old was pulled from the wreckage on February 7 but the British pilot, David Ibbotson, 59, from Lincolnshire, has not been found.
Looking visibly moved, Warnock said: “It has been a very emotional morning.
“Mercedes (Sala’s mother) has been an immense woman this morning. Everyone she has met has had their own memories of Emiliano and it has brought tears to her eyes. His father is the same, and his brother and sister. It is like the whole village is united and it is amazing how they have coped with it.
“We were very fortunate last night to speak with Mercedes and Romina in the hotel and to have some quiet time. The pride Mercedes has in her son has just shone through all day.
“Things like this don’t happen in football. I have been a manager nearly 40 years and I’ve never known anything like this. It has been so emotional. People say ‘he never played for you’ but he was my player. I chased him, I wanted him. I’ve got goose pimples talking to you. He was my type of player – a scruffy player with a big heart.
“As a person I don’t know anyone who has a bad word to say about him.
“We wanted to come here and I’m pleased and proud we did. We had an hour with Mercedes. She is crying every five minutes because everyone has their memories.
“It has to be traumatic for her, but she is coping. The whole family are united in their grief.”
Warnock was part of a three-man Cardiff delegation who made the trip to Argentina, alongside chief executive Ken Choo and player liaison officer Callum Davies, who was the man waiting for Sala at Cardiff airport on that fateful night.
There were emotional scenes as Sala’s heartbroken family led thousands of mourners at the funeral of the Cardiff City signing.
His mother, Mercedes, and sister Romina broke down in tears as they were comforted by the friends and former teammates of the striker.
Many mourner wore “Emi” number 9 shirts.
As well as the delegation from Cardiff, defender Nicolas Pallois and general secretary Loic Morin from his former team Nantes also made the journey.
Sala’s body was discovered in the wreckage of the single-engine, propeller-driven Piper Malibu, two weeks after the crash and returned to Argentina on Friday.
The Argentine striker had joined Cardiff for £15 million from French side Nantes and was heading to Wales after saying farewell to his former teammates.
Yesterday’s funeral began with a wake at the gym of Sala’s soccer boyhood club, San Martín de Progreso,
in the Argentinian province of Santa Fe.
Outside a banner read, Emi, nunca caminaras soloâ” meaning “Emi, you will never walk alone.”
The children of the San Martin club lined the path outside for the coffin to be taken to Santa Fe for a private cremation service.
Family and friends – including the Nantes defender Nicolas Pallois – carried the coffin.
Most of the village’s 3,500 inhabitants joined the footballer’s family in saying goodbye to its most famous son, who had grown up in nearby Cululu.
Daniel Rivero, president of club San Martín of Progreso, added: “It’s the saddest moment of the history of our town.
“I would have liked to do an interview because Emiliano was summoned to the national team, or because of his great moment in the Premier League, but this is the reality, and we have to accept it.”
He described the events of the last four weeks as “a very hard blow, a hammer blow”.
“Emi was a very introverted and quiet boy. He never forgot his origins. He left a legacy of humility and sacrifice, not only in sports but also in life.
“He always said he was going to be a professional soccer player and he worked for that, he persevered, and he did it, he made his way alone. We will always carry it in our hearts.”
An inquest last week heard Sala, who was pulled from the wreckage on February 7, was killed by head and upper body injuries.
The pilot, David Ibbotson, is still missing.
The dad-of-three is from Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire. His wife Nora said this week the family were desperate for his body to be found.
“We just know we can’t leave him out there on his own until we have tried to do everything we can,” she said.
So far more than 11,000 people have donated a total of £244,000 to fund a private search for Mr Ibbotson.