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Agencies

Thousands of fans gathered under a blazing sun in southern Brazil on Saturday as Chapecoense played their first match since most of their players were killed in an air crash in Colombia in November.
The friendly against Palmeiras was the first game of the season for both sides but it was much more about symbolism and emotion than sport for a club looking to bounce back from one of football’s great tragedies.
The game was halted in the 71st minute to allow fans to scream their now famous “Vamos Chape!” chant in tribute to the players and staff who perished in a plane crash in Colombia in November.
The Arena Conda stadium was adorned with thousands of hand-made origami in the shape of hearts and tsurus, birds that signify health, good fortune and long life.

One banner behind the goals read, “Eternal Champions, kit man to the president”, a reference to the many players and backroom staff who died.
The survivors and their relatives took centre stage before a ball was kicked, with Jackson Follman, the goalkeeper whose leg was amputated as a result of the crash, being presented with the Copa Sudamericana trophy in a tearful ceremony.
Follman was one of only six people to survive the crash, which came as the Chapecoense squad approached Medellin to play Atletico Nacional in November’s Copa Sudamericana final.
The plane ran out of fuel and hit a mountainside, killing 71 people on board, many of them players, officials and reporters on their way to the game.

Chapecoense were awarded the Sudamericana title by CONMEBOL in December after the fixture was cancelled.
In an emotional ceremony, the wives of the dead players were given the medals their husbands would have received.
Follman, who was wheeled into the centre circle in his wheelchair, cried as he lifted the trophy, Chapecoense’s first ever continental title.

The ground was well short of its 20,000 capacity but those who did turn out said they hoped it was the start of a new era for the club.
“We couldn’t not be here,” Sizelda Filipi, a fan who lives around 30 kms from the ground, said shortly before kick-off.
“We’ll get very emotional and then we’ll move on. This is a restart.”
“I’m sure that those who have left us, if they are watching, would feel happy,” one of the survivors, left-back Alan Ruschel, told a news conference ahead of the game.
To rebuild the side, sporting director Rui Costa has recruited 22 players, most of them on loan.
He said that the game was “the strongest argument... that this club refused to die.”
The club’s new coach, Vagner Mancini, called the match “a pivotal moment.”
Ruschel and another surviving players, defender Helio Neto, are on the path to recovery and hope to play this season.


Tears flow as Chapecoense return to action after plane crash tragedy

Survivors Jackson Follmann (C), Alan Ruschel (R) and team-mates react before the match. Photo: EPA

epa05739774 Chapecoense supporters cheer their team just before the friendly match between Chapecoense and Palmeiras in Chapeco, Santa Catarina state, Brazil, 21 January 2017. 19 members of Brazilian first division soccer team Chapecoense died along with 52 other passengers when their aircraft crashed in Colombia on 29 November 2016. EPA/Sebastiao Moreira

epa05739770 The players of Chapecoense, survivors of the accident, Neto (L) and Alan Ruschel (R) greet relatives of the dead players, just before the friendly match between Chapecoense and Palmeiras in Chapeco, Santa Catarina state, Brazil, 21 January 2017. 19 members of Brazilian first division soccer team Chapecoense died along with 52 other passengers when their aircraft crashed in Colombia on 29 November 2016. EPA/Sebastiao Moreira

Chapecoense goalkeeper Follmann, one of the three players that survived the air crash almost two months ago, is wheeled on the pitch as he carries the Sudamericana trophy, during the Sudamericana trophy award ceremony prior to a match against Palmeiras, in Chapeco, Brazil, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Almost two months after the air tragedy that killed 71 people, including 19 team players, Chapecoense plays at its Arena Conda stadium against the 2016 Brazilian champion Palmeiras. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Brazilian air crash: Hong Kong footballers pay tribute to friends who died in Chapecoense tragedy

Joao Emir (second from right) posted this picture on Facebook with his former teammate Josimar (left), who died in the Chapecoense tragedy.

Chapecoense plane tragedy

Brazilian town grieves loss of Cinderella soccer team Chapecoense

A boy sits alone on the stands during a tribute to the players and officials of Brazilian club Chapecoense Real who were killed in a plane accident in the Colombian mountains. Photo: AFP

People attend a mass in memoriam of the players of Brazilian team Chapecoense Real killed in a plane crash in the Colombian mountains, in Chapeco, in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, on November 29, 2016. Players of the Chapecoense were among 81 people on board the doomed flight that crashed into mountains in northwestern Colombia, in which officials said just six people were thought to have survived, including three of the players. Chapecoense had risen from obscurity to make it to the Copa Sudamericana finals scheduled for Wednesday against Atletico Nacional of Colombia. / AFP PHOTO / Nelson Almeida

Fans light candles in tribute to the players of Brazilian team Chapecoense Real killed in a plane crash in the Colombian mountains, at their football stadium in Chapeco, Santa Catarina, Brazil on November 29, 2016. Players of the Chapecoense were among 81 people on board the doomed flight that crashed into mountains in northwestern Colombia, in which officials said just six people were thought to have survived, including three of the players. Chapecoense had risen from obscurity to make it to the Copa Sudamericana finals scheduled for Wednesday against Atletico Nacional of Colombia. / AFP PHOTO / Nelson Almeida

People surround a church during a mass in memoriam of the players of Brazilian team Chapecoense Real killed in a plane crash in the Colombian mountains, in Chapeco, in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, on November 29, 2016. Players of the Chapecoense were among 81 people on board the doomed flight that crashed into mountains in northwestern Colombia, in which officials said just six people were thought to have survived, including three of the players. Chapecoense had risen from obscurity to make it to the Copa Sudamericana finals scheduled for Wednesday against Atletico Nacional of Colombia. / AFP PHOTO / Nelson Almeida

Rescue teams work in the recovery of the bodies of victims of the LAMIA airlines charter that crashed in the mountains of Cerro Gordo, municipality of La Union, Colombia, on November 29, 2016 carrying members of the Brazilian football team Chapecoense Real. A charter plane carrying the Brazilian football team crashed in the mountains in Colombia late Monday, killing as many as 75 people, officials said. / AFP PHOTO / STR / Raul ARBOLEDA

Sport

Football

Emotional day for fans, survivors and relatives of the dead


Tears flow as Chapecoense return to action after plane crash tragedy

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Emotional day for fans, survivors and relatives of the dead

Emotional day for fans, survivors and relatives of the dead