Chapecoense football club are still coming to terms with the dreadful loss they suffered in the tragic plane crash in Colombia on Tuesday.
The Brazilian outfit were on their way to play the the first leg of the final of the Copa Sudamericana – South America’s equivalent of the Europa League – when their aircraft crashed outside Medellin.
Of 81 players, club officials, support staff, journalists and crew, 71 perished in the crash.
And as the club began the mourning process they posted a touching video on their Facebook page of the players celebrating their victory in the semi final of the Copa Sudamericana, with the caption: “Let this be the last image of our warriors.”
The club also posted a heartbreaking cartoon on their official Facebook page, showing the players arriving at their final destination and receiving their medals.
The wording charts the club’s incredible rise up through the Brazilian football pyramid, which has been linked to a fairytale by many football reporters.
Alongside the cartoon the club wrote:
2009 – 4th division
2012 – 3rd division
2013 – 2nd division
2014 – 1st division
2016 – South-American Championship final.
They didn’t tire of going up, and they arrived in heaven.#StrengethChape
Atlético Nacional – who would have played Chapecoense in the final – have since offered to forfeit the trophy to their opponents.
The Medellín-based club have also set up an information hotline for friends and relatives of those killed and injured in the crash, as well as encouraging fans to bring candles to their ground tomorrow in a symbol of solidarity.
Mañana 6:45 pm todos juntos al estadio vestidos de blanco y con un vela blanca en símbolo de solidaridad #FuerzaChapecoense
— Atlético Nacional (@nacionaloficial) November 29, 2016
And now, in a written statement, the two-time Sudamericana finalists have urged South American football’s governing body Conmebol to award the trophy to the Santa Catarina-based side.
“Atlético Nacional invites Conmebol to the title of the Copa Sudamericana be delivered to the Associação Chapecoense de Futebol as… a posthumous tribute to the victims of the fatal accident,” the statement reads.
“For our part, and forever, Chapecoense are champions of the Copa Sudamericana 2016.”
In addition to the Colombian side, a number of clubs from Brazil and elsewhere in South America have come forward to offer their players to Chapecoense following the tragedy.
Directors of Brazilian clubs Coritiba, Corinthians, Palmeiras, Portuguesa, Santos and Sao Paulo have all offered to loan players to the Série A club, who were due to compete in their debut Sudamericana final, as have Paraguayan outfit Libertad.
And, according to the Daily Mirror, clubs in Brazil’s top flight have also called on authorities to give Chapecoense – ninth in the league with one domestic game remaining – an exemption from relegation in 2017.
