Tuesday 29 November 2016

Chapecoense: Football team's 'fairy tale' story ends in tragedy

(CNN)    The fairytale rise of Brazil's Chapecoense from small football club to national heroes has been cut tragically short, leaving the country mourning the loss of one its most endearing sports teams. On Tuesday, the airplane carrying the Brazilian team to the biggest game in the club's history crashed in Rionegro, Colombia, killing 75 people.
    Six people survived the crash and were taken to local hospitals, according to authorities.
    Defender Alan Ruschel was one of the players who survived the crash.
    Defender Alan Ruschel was one of the players who survived the crash.
    "The dream is over," Plinio David de Nes Filho, chairman of the club's board told TV Globo.
    "Yesterday morning I was saying goodbye to them, they told me they were going in search of the dream, to make this dream a reality.
    "And we, very excitedly, shared this dream with them. But the dream was over this morning."

    Tragic end

    Chapecoense was supposed to play the first leg of its Copa Sudamericana final on Wednesday against Colombian side Atletico Nacional from Medellin before its plane came down.
    "Chapecoense was one of the most lovely fairy tales," Argentine sports journalist Martin Mazur told CNN.


    Real Madrid: Football tributes to Chapecoense 01:03
    "Unlike what happens with the big Brazilian clubs, Chapecoense's humble story and its magnificent run in the Copa Sudamericana was naturally embraced by Brazilian football fans in general, becoming a fans' favorite.
    "It was South America's Cinderella -- nobody could have predicted this macabre ending."






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    Cup dream

    The Copa Sudamericana, the second biggest intercontinental club competition in South America and the equivalent to Europe's Europa League, had provided the backdrop to Chapecoense's remarkable story.
    The club, from Chapeco in the state of Santa Catarina in the south of Brazil was only formed in the 1970s and was playing in the country's fourth tier as recently as 2007.
    A team with few big names, apart from Cleber Santana, who once played for Atletico Madrid and Mallorca in Spain, it went toe-to-toe with the big boys of Brazilian football.
    Full of grit, team spirit and determination, not to mention quality, Chapecoense was a relatively unfashionable team hoping to tread a path laid out by English champions Leicester City.
    Passenger plane involved in a crash in Colombia

    Passenger plane involved in a crash in Colombia 03:05
    This season had been full of adventure with Chapecoense having traveled to Argentina twice to defeat Independiente and San Lorenzo on its way to the final, as well as an aggregate victory over Colombian side Junior.
    Victory in the final of the Copa Sudamericana would not only have been the greatest triumph in Chapecoense's history but would have also allowed it to compete in next season's Copa Libertadores, the most prestigious club competition on the continent.




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    Consternado c essa tragédia. Minha solidariedade aos amigos e familiares dos atletas, jornalistas, equipe técnica e tripulação 
    Ninth in Brazil's top-flight, it was supposed to finish its domestic season against Atlético Mineiro on Sunday before the return game with Atletico Nacional on December 6.
    That game was supposed to take place in Curitiba, some 400km away because the team's own stadium, Arena Condá, does not have the capacity or infrastructure to host a major final.

    'Incredible run'

    "Chapecoense is a relatively young club, compared to the more well-established giants of the Brazilian game, and it seemed to be coming of age this season," football journalist and author Euan McTear told CNN.
    "The club returned to the top flight of Brazilian football just three years ago after a three-decade hiatus and a number of the players that led them on this incredible run to the final of the Copa Sudamericana were the same players who helped them win promotion from the Serie B in 2013.



    It's difficult to put this in words. Chapecoense died tonight. The team, the board, the coaching staff, the journalists.
    "I think that is why people warmed to them and to their success, because they were witnessing before their eyes the progression of a united group of players and of friends."
    Former Brazil striker Romario expressed his sympathy on Twitter, writing: "I am deeply saddened by this tragedy. My solidarity goes out to the friends and family members of the athletes, the journalists, the technical team and the crew. #forcachape."

    Not a first in football

    This is not the first time a football team has been involved in an air disaster.
    In 1949, 18 Torino players were killed in a crash near Turin as the club returned from a friendly in Lisbon. The accident is remembered every year by the club's fans at the scene of the crash -- the Superga hillside by the city's iconic basilica.
    In 1958, eight Manchester United players lost their lives when their flight crashed on the third attempt to take off after re-fuelling in Munich as the club returned from knocking Red Star Belgrade out of the European Cup.
    In 1993, 18 members of the Zambia national team died in a plane crash while en route to a World Cup qualifier in Senegal. The accident killed all 30 people on board.
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    Trump picks Elaine Chao for transportation secretary

    (CNN)   President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Elaine Chao, the former labor secretary and wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to be his choice for transportation secretary, an official briefed on the matter told CNN on Tuesday. The announcement is expected to come this afternoon.
    Chao served as secretary of labor under President George W. Bush from 2001 through 2009 -- the longest tenure in the position since World War II -- and has been married to McConnell since 1993. She was the first Asian-American woman to serve in a Cabinet position.
      Chao also served as the deputy secretary of transportation under President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1991. Following her time in government, Chao has held a position as a distinguished fellow at the Heritage Foundation in addition to conducting media appearances.
      At the Transportation Department, Chao would have a key role in helping Trump get an infrastructure spending bill passed through Congress and start government-backed works projects -- a role likely to be complicated by her relationship with McConnell, who will also be a critical player in any infrastructure bill negotiations.
      But Chao wouldn't be the first transportation secretary faced with such a conflict -- Elizabeth Dole served in the position from 1983 to 1987, while married to Sen. Bob Dole, who served as majority leader from 1985-1987.
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      Colombia plane crash: 75 dead on Brazil soccer team's charter flight

      Near Medellin, Colombia (CNN)   In the mountains of Colombia, rescuers combed wreckage for survivors. Outside a stadium in Brazil, fans who thought they'd be cheering for their favorite soccer team came to mourn. These were the somber images Tuesday morning after a deadly plane crash outside Medellin, Colombia.
      The Avro RJ85 was en route Monday night from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to Medellin when it crashed near Rionegro, Colombia, with 72 passengers and nine crew members on board, civil aviation officials said.
      At least 75 people were killed, officials said. Six people survived. Players, coaches and invited guests from Brazil's Chapecoense soccer team were onboard the charter flight. So were more than 20 journalists on the way to cover what was supposed to be a heartwarming chapter in a Cinderella story for a team of unlikely champions.
      The soccer club, which has risen the ranks in Brazilian soccer and now has a devoted national fan base, was set to play in the first leg of the South American Cup finals Wednesday.
      Now authorities are investigating what caused the crash, searching the remote site for victims, survivors and evidence.
      Rescuers search the wreckage of the charter plane Tuesday in mountains outside Medellin, Columbia.
      Rescuers search the wreckage of the charter plane Tuesday in mountains outside Medellin, Columbia.

      'We are praying for everyone'

      At least three soccer players, two crew members and one journalist survived, authorities said.
      Among them: defender Alan Luciano Ruschel.
      In an Instagram post, Ruschel's wife said he was hospitalized in stable condition.
      "We are praying for everyone who has not yet been rescued, and for their families," Amanda Ruschel wrote. "It is a complicated and difficult situation. Only God can give us strength."
      Medical staff members wait for survivors of the plane crash Tuesday at a hospital near Medellin.
      Medical staff members wait for survivors of the plane crash Tuesday at a hospital near Medellin.

      What happened?

      The charter flight took off from Bolivia's Viru Viru International Airport at 6:18 p.m. local time, according to air controller Manuel Palamas.
      The plane declared an emergency between the municipalities of La Ceja and La Union, according to Colombian aviation officials. The crash occurred in an area called Cerro El Gordo near Medellin, officials said.
      Images of the crash show what appear to be damaged parts of the plane.
      Tattered debris emblazoned with the Chapecoense club's logo was photographed at the crash site.
      A logo of Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense is found at the site of the plane crash.
      A logo of Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense is found at the site of the plane crash.

      Weather and wind

      Satellite images show that scattered showers and thunderstorms had moved across the region over the last 12 hours -- though no big storms were nearby, according to CNN meteorologist Michael Guy.
      There likely would have been turbulence in the region due to intermittent thunderstorms and winds from around the mountains in the region, Guy said.
      A statement from nearby Jose Maria Cordova airport said the accident site could only be accessed by land because of weather conditions.
      The Colombian air force had to abort a mission to the accident site due to inclement weather, according to Colombian officials.
      Colombia: Dozens involved in plane accident

      Colombia: Dozens involved in plane accident 01:50

      From Cinderella story to nightmare

      Chapecoense was set to play the Colombian club team Atletico Nacional in the first leg of theSouth American Cup finals Wednesday.
      The team, which is ninth in Brazil's Serie A league, has surprised many with its performance in the tournament this year -- ESPNFC billed its semifinal contest as a David versus Goliath match.
      Chapecoense hoped to become the first Brazilian club to win the South American Cup final since 2008.
      Chapecoense hoped to become the first Brazilian club to win the South American Cup final since 2008.
      "It's a Cinderella football story. They've only been in the top division in Brazil for the last couple of years, and they've reached the Copa Sudamericana final," Keir Radnedge of World Soccer magazine told CNN. "What they have achieved in the last couple of years was just amazing."
      Chapecoense had dreamed of winning the prestigious cup, Plinio David de Nes Filho, the chairman of the team's board, told Brazil's TV Globo on Tuesday.
      "The dream was over this morning," he said, tearing up as he told the network of the last time he saw the players.
      "Yesterday morning I was saying goodbye to them," he said. "They told me they were going in search of the dream to make this dream a reality."
      Six journalists from Fox Sports Brazil were among the 20 people aboard the aircraft on their way to cover the game, the network said.
      "We express our solidarity and stand with the families of our colleagues from Fox Sports Brazil and of the players for the Chapecoense Club who perished in this tragedy," Fox Sports said.
      Real Madrid: Football tributes to Chapecoense
      Real Madrid: Football tributes to Chapecoense 01:03
      The lesser-known Chapecoense club was founded in 1973 and had steadily risen up the ranks in recent years.
      Team officials liked to say that it succeeded due to good management and a strategic vision, said Plus55, a Brazilian news site.
      "Few remembered the name of this forgotten team," CONMEBOL, the governing body for soccer in South America, said of Chapecoense. "Now the whole continent knows it."
      The team, whose stadium wasn't even big enough to host a final by CONMEBOL regulations, was vying to become the first Brazilian club to win the South American Cup final since 2008.
      As word of the crash spread, Brazilian soccer great Pele was among the many athletes and fans expressing their condolences Tuesday.
      "The Brazilian football family is in mourning," he wrote on Twitter. "This is a tragedy. I send my condolences to the families of the deceased. Rest in peace."
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