Atletico grief hangs think in the air
ATLETICO Nacional will play through their grief over the Chapecoense plane tragedy when they tackle the Club World Cup in Japan – just days after their Copa Sudamericana final opponents were wiped out.
Fifa’s global club showpiece, which will also feature Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid, begins this week under the shadow of the air crash that sent football into mourning.
It promises to be an emotional tournament for Colombia’s Nacional, who were due to play Chapocoense for the Copa Sudamericana title before the plane carrying the Brazilian team crashed en route to the final.
“Pain overwhelms our hearts and invades our thinking in mourning,” Nacional wrote on their website. All but three Chapocoense players died crash, which killed 71 people.
In tribute, the Copa Libertadores champions successfully lobbied South American football officials to award the Copa Sudamericana to the stricken team.
“For our part, and forever, Chapecoense are champions of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana,” stated the club’s website.
European giants Real will be favourites to win the tournament, which kicks off today and features football’s six continental champions plus Japanese titleholders Kashima Antlers.
But Ronaldo’s Real will face the uncomfortable task of having to beat Nacional, now the sentimental favourites, should both teams reach the December 18 final in Yokohama.
Nacional could face South Africa’s Mamelodi in the Sundowns, Kashima or New Zealand part-timers Auckland City in the competition’s first semifinal in Osaka on December 14.
The Colombians, who claimed their second Copa Libertadores title in July, are looking to avenge an extra-time defeat by AC Milan in the tournament’s forerunner, the Intercontinental Cup, in 1989.
Their stingy defence kept nine clean sheets in a 14-game run to the South American title, and they play a tidy brand of football under coach Reinaldo Rueda. But bookmakers are firmly backing Spain’s Real.
And Ronaldo had this to say: “It would be a huge satisfaction to win the three international titles – the Champions League, Uefa Super Cup and Club World Cup.” — AFP