Brazil mourns fallen football team
CHAPECO (AFP) — In a driving rain, the small Brazilian city of Chapeco held a massive funeral Saturday for its football team, tragically wiped out in a plane crash in Colombia.
Packed to capacity, the stadium where Chapecoense Real were thrilling their fans just 10 days ago held an anguished tribute to the 50 players, coaches and staff whose coffins were laid out on the pitch.
Draped in the club’s green and white flag, the victims’ coffins arrived home from Colombia on Saturday morning, then wound their way through the city in a slow funeral procession as fans braved the weather to watch.
Soldiers unloaded the coffins when they arrived at the stadium, where the city had prepared for an overflow crowd of 100,000 people — half its population.
Two giant screens were set up outside for those who could not get inside the 19,000-capacity venue.
The southern city’s bishop read out a message from Pope Francis, who said he was “shocked” by the Monday night accident that killed 71 people.
Chapeco is in mourning for its little team that could, cut down at the height of its glory.
The unsung club was having a fairytale season until the charter plane flying it to the biggest match in its history ran out of fuel and slammed into the mountains outside Medellin.
Soaking wet from the rain, his eyes red from crying, mechanic Rui Alonso Thomas watched the procession with his 10-year-old daughter, who was draped in the Chapecoense banner.
“We came to every match, rain or shine. Our dream was finally becoming reality. It was so close. There’s just no explaining it,” he said, choking back tears.