World Soccer - UK (2020-12)

A

t the end

of last year

Chapecoense

suffered their first

ever relegation

at national level,

when their

six-year spell in the Brazilian first

division came to an end.

But this is a club well able to tell

the difference between a sporting

disappointment and a genuine tragedy.

Chapecoense, of course, are the little

club whose team were practically

wiped out in an air disaster on

November 28, 2016. Their plane

crashed on approach to Medellin

airport, where they were about to play

Atletico Nacional in the final of the

Copa Sudamericana, a Europa League

equivalent. Of the 77 people on board,

all but six died, including the entire

coaching staff.Just three players

survived – reserve goalkeeper

Jakson Follman, centre back Neto

and midfielder Alan Ruschel.

It was a desperately sad end to a

team that had climbed from the fourth

to the first division in six years – and

who, extraordinarily, were the first

Brazilian club to reach a continental

final in over three years. They were

subsequently awarded the Copa

Sudamericana crown by CONMEBOL

following a request by opponents

Atletico Nacional.

But if it was the end of a team,

it was not the end of a club.

Chapecoense made a valiant

attempt to keep going. They received

help from other clubs, who loaned

them players, and firing on an

emotional high they responded so

well in 2017 that they even qualified

for the Copa Libertadores, the

continent’s Champions League.

But once the goodwill had gone

and adrenalin levels returned to

normal, it was obvious that this could

not be sustained. The city of Chapeco,

after all, has a population of little more

than 225,000. It was unthinkable that

such a small-town club could compete

for long with the giants from Sao

Paulo, Rio deJaneiro, Belo Horizonte

and Porto Alegre. There was a sense

of inevitability about the relegation

• but no such sense about the club’s
  reaction. Would there be a slide back
  down the divisions or a rally? 2020
  was set up to be an important year
  in the life of Chapecoense.
  And they would have to fight back
  on a tight budget. The loss of first
  division status was a massive blow
  to the club’s finances, and an extra
  challenge to Chapecoense’s new
  sporting director, the air crash
  survivor Neto.
  After his extraordinary recovery


• the search for survivors was being
  called off when he was found – Neto
  eventually called time on his playing
  days at the end of last year. His body
  could take no more. “It hurts just tying
  my shoelaces,” he confessed. The pain

now comes from trying to balance the

budget. Unusually, the club have had

problems paying wages on time. Even

so, Alan Ruschel stayed put. He had

offers from other clubs, but, now

operating at left-back and captaining

the side, he decided to stay put.

“I have history here,” he said.

The other survivor from the playing

staff,Jakson Follman lost part of his leg

in the crash. His goalkeeping days were

over. But he, too, is still connected with

the club as an ambassador. And when

he got married, Neto and Alan Ruschel

werethebestmen.

Follman also won a television singing

contest at the end of last year – and

now Chapecoense have something

to sing about.

Before the second division

campaign kicked off, the club were

in action at regional level. The state

championships – one for each of

the 27 states that make up this giant

country – have lost considerable

prestige in recent times. But

Chapecoense’s southern state of Santa

Catarina is an interesting case. Most of

the states are dominated by a giant

capital city. Santa Catarina, though,

is less centralised. Florianopolis, the

coastal capital, is big without being

dominant. Its two teams, Figueirense

and Avai, do not have things all their

own way. Either side of the capital,

Joinville and Criciuma are sizeable

industrial centres capable of

Survivors...

Follman, Neto

and Ruschel

Tragedy...The crash

sent shockwaves

around the world

of football in 2016

But if it was the end of a team,

it was not the end of a club.

Chapecoense made a valiant

attempt to keep going

Chapecoense

Brazilian side on their way back up, four years on from tragedy

Headliners

Celebrations...

Chapecoense’s first

state title since 2017