Hearts players and managers past and present gathered in Edinburgh and Kaunas to pay their respects as Marius Zaliukas was laid to rest.
The Lithuanian tragically lost his two-year battle with Motor Neurone Disease at the age of 36 last Saturday, just as Hearts were about to face Hibs in their Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.
Tributes have been flooding in for ‘Big Zal’ ever since, and the club today held a private memorial service for their former captain in the garden of remembrance at Tynecastle.
It was held at the same time as Zaliukas’ funeral was taking place in his homeland, an urn containing his ashes buried in a family grave at the Kaunas Romainiai 1st cemetery.
Former teammates and compatriots Saulius Mikoliunas, Deividas Cesnauskis and Andrius Velicka were in attendance to say goodbye to their skipper.
And more of Zaliukas’ former colleagues attended the club service at the stadium he referred to as his ‘living room’.
Boss Robbie Neilson, along with Craig Gordon and Jim Jefferies were there, as were Ian Black, Ryan McGowan, Jamie MacDonald and Ryan Stevenson.
2012 Scottish Cup winning manager Paulo Sergio also shared a message of condolence for his former captain.
He said: “Hello to everybody in the Heart of Midlothian family.
“This is a very sad moment with the departure of our brother, Marius.
“It’s a moment when we don’t have too much words, just remembering always in our hearts what a great guy he was.
“He was a very good professional player for Hearts during the time I was there.
“He’s a legend that lifted that huge trophy for us after that 5-1 win at Hampden - memories we will never forget.
“He was a fantastic guy. Every morning he was in a good mood, ready for work and ready to help his mates.
“The biggest thing I will remember is his smile every morning. He was like a clown, joking with everybody, but with a great attitude to his work.
‘What a shame. Such a young boy, such a young man who departs like this.
“My thoughts are with his family and all the Hearts family.
“We will never forget him.”
