The Brazilian club have been in the hearts and minds of people across the globe, and their new era began on Saturday.
The team which through which tragedy befell the footballing world (a plane crash which saw 71 lives lost with only 6 survivors among whom were three players) returned to action on the pitch with a friendly match in preparation for their new season.
The indeed emotional friendly match was however not without tears.
The match was deep in emotions as most of the relatives of the victims of the crash were present at the clash. Tears were unending as they witnessed the recovery of the side, for whose sake their beloved died.
The three surviving players, Neto, Jakson Follmann and Alan Ruschel, were in attendance and presented with the Sudamericana silverware in front of a capacity crowd.
 |
| L-R: Neto, Jakson Follmann and Alan Ruschel |
One of the three players who survived the disaster, goalkeeper Jackson Follmann, broke down in tears as he lifted the Copa Sudamericana trophy on the pitch before the game.
"It's a little complicated for me as I'm still at the hospital," Follmann, who has had a leg amputated, said. "It's a great emotion to be here, this is where we used to play and train, and now there's a beautiful tribute like this.
"There's no holding back the tears. I'm happy and recovering well. There's no explanation for this feeling - we must respect God's will and move on with our lives now. We're certainly stronger, and learning to value the simple things after all that happened."
The Sudamericana was awarded to Chapecoense after the crash, which occured while the team was en route to the first leg of the final of the competition against Atletico Nacional of Colombia.
Atletico Nacional had requested that their opponents been crowned champions in the aftermath of the tragedy and subsequently received the Fair Play Award at the recent FIFA Football Awards.
"It's a unique feeling - all we can do is thank eveyone for their prayers," Ruschel said. "There's a big challenge ahead of us, so let's try to honour the ones we lost last year the best way possible."
Of his own health, he added: "I'm thinking about a return to the pitch, yes. Doctors have given me six months to fully recover, and I'm focused on that."
How the match unfolded
The match ended in a share of spoils even though Chapecoense almost took a surprise lead during the game and were getting set for a dramatic winner.
Chapecoense, who have mostly loaned players in order to be able to compete during the 2017 season, fell behind in the 11th minute to Raphael Veiga's goal.
They showed superb spirit to roar back, however, and Douglas Grolli, a loanee from Cruzeiro, scored a goal he will never forget to level the score just three minutes later.
It looked as if Chape may secure a historic victory when Amaral, playing against his parent club, gave them the lead shortly after half-time.
But Palmeiras, the reigning Brazilian champions, struck back with 12 minutes to go through Vitinho and the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
"A fair score for the Friendship Game," Chapecoense posted on Twitter after the match. "Thank you for the affection of all those who supported Chape! Thank you very much!"
Further more about Chapecoense's recovery
The football world rallied to support the disaster-stricken club, offering players on loan and even immunity from relegation for three years.
The proud side however rejected the top-flight safety net offered by the Brazilian FA to risk the threat of relegation like the rest of the league.
They also turned down the chance to have special dispensation to complete all of their loan signings for free for the upcoming season, rebuilding on their own terms.
Brazil's national team play Colombia in a friendly set to raise funds on January 25, with proceeds going towards victims' families.
A charity match between Chapecoense and Barcelona is also on the cards.
The Samba club will this season be competing in South America's most prestigious tournament - the Copa Libertadores - for the first time in their history.
0 comments:
Post a Comment