When Sirli Freitas lost her husband in the air crash that wiped out Brazil&#39;s Chapecoense football club, she had to rebuild her life. So she took his old job.

Cleberson Silva had been the press secretary for what was then known as Brazilian football&#39;s fairy tale success story, a small club that had come up through the ranks to the verge of international success.

Then on November 29, the 39-year-old was aboard the plane carrying the team to a regional championship game in Medellin, Colombia. The plane crashed just short of its destination, killing 71 people -- the first team and much of the staff.

A week later, with the city of Chapeco numbed by mourning, Sirli Freitas, 33, went to the club to get her husband&#39;s belongings.&nbsp;

Waiting for her was an unexpected offer: why not take his job?

Freitas, who is raising her eight-and three-year-old children alone now, had worked as a photo-journalist at the local newspaper Diario Catarinense, so she understood the work.

But where her husband&#39;s days had been spent fielding queries from reporters about the plucky, rising club, Freitas now had to deal with requests about the tragedy from around the world.

&quot;At times, I still can&#39;t believe it&#39;s all happened,&quot; she said. &quot;It was so painful that it seems it wasn&#39;t true.&quot;

Painful voyages

Working at Chapecoense is part of Freitas&#39;s rebuilding process, but it&#39;s also helping put the club back together.

Still, taking her husband&#39;s old role -- a job he loved -- means constant painful memories.

&quot;Every day has its complicated moments because I remember him,&quot; she said. &quot;I am doing what he did and I miss him tremendously. I think about how he would act if he were here and that helps me to overcome the difficult moments.&quot;

Among the hardest times was the club&#39;s return to international competition in Peru in March -- with promoted academy players, team members who hadn&#39;t taken the fatal flight and a roster of players on loan. That meant flying.

&quot;I suffered a lot during that flight, I couldn&#39;t stop thinking of what happened in Colombia,&quot; she said.

She hopes it will get easier.

This Tuesday, the team left for Montevideo to play the Uruguayan team Nacional in the Copa Libertadores, the region&#39;s top tournament, on Thursday.

Freitas stayed behind, but the most emotional journey will come on May 10: a return to Medellin to play Atletico Nacional, the same team Chapecoense had been set to play when the crash took place. Freitas will be with them.

The survivors and bereaved have a special status in Chapeco.

Six people miraculously lived through the crash, three of them players. Goalkeeper Jakson Follmann had to have a leg amputated.

Despite the generally tight-knit community around the club, some have criticised the new management and at least five people have filed lawsuits seeking damages, according to local media reports.

But Freitas is focusing on her personal battles. &quot;I have two children to look after and I need to make them believe that their mother is fine, that she&#39;s strong. It&#39;s them I worry about.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

Cleberson Silva had been the press secretary for what was then known as Brazilian football's fairy tale success story

When Sirli Freitas lost her husband in the air crash that wiped out Brazil's Chapecoense football club, she had to rebuild her life. So she took his old job. Cleberson Silva had been the press secretary for what was then known as Brazilian football's fairy tale success story, a small club that had come up through the ranks to the verge of international success. Then on November 29, the 39-year-old was aboard the plane carrying the team to a regional championship game in Medellin, Colombia. The plane crashed just short of its destination, killing 71 people -- the first team and much of the staff. A week later, with the city of Chapeco numbed by mourning, Sirli Freitas, 33, went to the club to get her husband's belongings. Waiting for her was an unexpected offer: why not take his job? Freitas, who is raising her eight-and three-year-old children alone now, had worked as a photo-journalist at the local newspaper Diario Catarinense, so she understood the work. But where her husband's days had been spent fielding queries from reporters about the plucky, rising club, Freitas now had to deal with requests about the tragedy from around the world. "At times, I still can't believe it's all happened," she said. "It was so painful that it seems it wasn't true." Painful voyages Working at Chapecoense is part of Freitas's rebuilding process, but it's also helping put the club back together. Still, taking her husband's old role -- a job he loved -- means constant painful memories. "Every day has its complicated moments because I remember him," she said. "I am doing what he did and I miss him tremendously. I think about how he would act if he were here and that helps me to overcome the difficult moments." Among the hardest times was the club's return to international competition in Peru in March -- with promoted academy players, team members who hadn't taken the fatal flight and a roster of players on loan. That meant flying. "I suffered a lot during that flight, I couldn't stop thinking of what happened in Colombia," she said. She hopes it will get easier. This Tuesday, the team left for Montevideo to play the Uruguayan team Nacional in the Copa Libertadores, the region's top tournament, on Thursday. Freitas stayed behind, but the most emotional journey will come on May 10: a return to Medellin to play Atletico Nacional, the same team Chapecoense had been set to play when the crash took place. Freitas will be with them. The survivors and bereaved have a special status in Chapeco. Six people miraculously lived through the crash, three of them players. Goalkeeper Jakson Follmann had to have a leg amputated. Despite the generally tight-knit community around the club, some have criticised the new management and at least five people have filed lawsuits seeking damages, according to local media reports. But Freitas is focusing on her personal battles. "I have two children to look after and I need to make them believe that their mother is fine, that she's strong. It's them I worry about." (AFP)

Widow of Chapeco plane crash victim rebuilds life by taking his job

In&nbsp;driving rain, the small Brazilian city of Chapeco held a massive funeral on Saturday for its football team, tragically wiped out in a plane crash in Colombia.

The bodies of 50 players, coaches and staff from the Chapecoense Real club were taken on a funeral procession from the airport to Conda Arena, the stadium where just 10 days ago the team were thrilling their fans.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>The bodies of 50 players, coaches and staff from the Chapecoense Real club were taken on a funeral procession from the airport to Conda Arena, the stadium where just 10 days ago the team were thrilling their fans</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The bodies of 50 players, coaches and staff from the Chapecoense Real club were taken on a funeral procession from the airport to Conda Arena, the stadium where just 10 days ago the team were thrilling their fans" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqquoteclosemark">&times;</a></div>
</div>
</div>

Draped in the club&#39;s green and white flag, the coffins slowly wound their way through the city, as family and fans braved the weather to watch with a mix of sobs and cheers.

Soldiers unloaded the coffins onto the pitch when they arrived at the packed stadium, where the city was expecting a crowd of some 100,000 people, half its population.

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 on Monday night, killing 71 people.

There was imposing silence at the stadium as the funeral cortege arrived, broken only by cheers of &quot;Champions!&quot; whenever the screens showed images of the procession.

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.

&quot;We would have been here rain or shine. Our dream was finally becoming reality. It was so close. There&#39;s just no explaining it,&quot; he said, choking back tears.

&quot;Chapeco will take a long time to get over this. But I plan to keep coming to the stadium.&quot;

&quot;Chapecoense is in our hearts. It&#39;s our family,&quot; said Patricia Carraro, a 32-year-old cashier.

Earlier, fireworks lit up the sky over the stadium as two Brazilian Air Force planes transporting the team&#39;s coffins touched down at the southern city&#39;s airport.

The arrival was delayed by an outpouring of emotion at a refuelling stop along the way, when locals in the Amazon city of Manaus flocked to the airport to pay tribute to the crash victims.

Brazilian President Michel Temer met the planes upon arrival and attended the memorial alongside the coach of the Brazilian national team, Tite, and FIFA chief Gianni Infantino.The crash has left the football world in mourning.

A minute&#39;s silence for the team will be held before every Champions League and Europa League game next week.

In Brazil, other clubs have offered Chapecoense players so it can continue to compete.

Chapecoense had been on their way to Medellin for the finals of the Copa Sudamericana, South America&#39;s second-biggest club tournament.

Inside their stadium, a single set of goal posts remains -- the one star goalkeeper Marcos Danilo Padilha, 31, defended in the semi-final match with a heroic last-minute save that sealed Chapecoense&#39;s trip to the finals.

&quot;It&#39;s very sad remembering not only that stop (against Argentina&#39;s San Lorenzo), but also... him running across the grass with his arms wide open. My son was all passion,&quot; said the goalkeeper&#39;s mother, Ilaide Padilha.

The stadium has capacity for 19,000 people, so two giant screens were set up outside for the overflow crowd.

Tents were put up on the pitch for some 2,000 family members and close friends of the team.&nbsp;The other plane crash victims, Brazilians, Bolivians, a Paraguayan and a Venezuelan, &nbsp;were flown home Thursday and Friday.

Six people miraculously survived the crash, though some with major injuries.&nbsp;One surviving crew member, Erwin Tumiri, was flown home Saturday to Bolivia and was taken in a wheelchair for medical checks.

Authorities are still investigating the crash.&nbsp;Colombia&#39;s civil aviation safety chief said the crew of the British Aerospace 146 jet had disregarded international rules on fuel reserves.

The Bolivia-based charter company, LAMIA, had its permit suspended Thursday.

(AFP)

There was imposing silence at the stadium as the funeral cortege arrived, broken only by cheers of 'Champions'

In driving rain, the small Brazilian city of Chapeco held a massive funeral on Saturday for its football team, tragically wiped out in a plane crash in Colombia. The bodies of 50 players, coaches and staff from the Chapecoense Real club were taken on a funeral procession from the airport to Conda Arena, the stadium where just 10 days ago the team were thrilling their fans. The bodies of 50 players, coaches and staff from the Chapecoense Real club were taken on a funeral procession from the airport to Conda Arena, the stadium where just 10 days ago the team were thrilling their fans × Draped in the club's green and white flag, the coffins slowly wound their way through the city, as family and fans braved the weather to watch with a mix of sobs and cheers. Soldiers unloaded the coffins onto the pitch when they arrived at the packed stadium, where the city was expecting a crowd of some 100,000 people, half its population. 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 on Monday night, killing 71 people. There was imposing silence at the stadium as the funeral cortege arrived, broken only by cheers of "Champions!" whenever the screens showed images of the procession. 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 would have been here rain or shine. Our dream was finally becoming reality. It was so close. There's just no explaining it," he said, choking back tears. "Chapeco will take a long time to get over this. But I plan to keep coming to the stadium." "Chapecoense is in our hearts. It's our family," said Patricia Carraro, a 32-year-old cashier. Earlier, fireworks lit up the sky over the stadium as two Brazilian Air Force planes transporting the team's coffins touched down at the southern city's airport. The arrival was delayed by an outpouring of emotion at a refuelling stop along the way, when locals in the Amazon city of Manaus flocked to the airport to pay tribute to the crash victims. Brazilian President Michel Temer met the planes upon arrival and attended the memorial alongside the coach of the Brazilian national team, Tite, and FIFA chief Gianni Infantino.The crash has left the football world in mourning. A minute's silence for the team will be held before every Champions League and Europa League game next week. In Brazil, other clubs have offered Chapecoense players so it can continue to compete. Chapecoense had been on their way to Medellin for the finals of the Copa Sudamericana, South America's second-biggest club tournament. Inside their stadium, a single set of goal posts remains -- the one star goalkeeper Marcos Danilo Padilha, 31, defended in the semi-final match with a heroic last-minute save that sealed Chapecoense's trip to the finals. "It's very sad remembering not only that stop (against Argentina's San Lorenzo), but also... him running across the grass with his arms wide open. My son was all passion," said the goalkeeper's mother, Ilaide Padilha. The stadium has capacity for 19,000 people, so two giant screens were set up outside for the overflow crowd. Tents were put up on the pitch for some 2,000 family members and close friends of the team. The other plane crash victims, Brazilians, Bolivians, a Paraguayan and a Venezuelan, were flown home Thursday and Friday. Six people miraculously survived the crash, though some with major injuries. One surviving crew member, Erwin Tumiri, was flown home Saturday to Bolivia and was taken in a wheelchair for medical checks. Authorities are still investigating the crash. Colombia's civil aviation safety chief said the crew of the British Aerospace 146 jet had disregarded international rules on fuel reserves. The Bolivia-based charter company, LAMIA, had its permit suspended Thursday. (AFP)

In pouring rain, Brazil town mourns fallen football team

chapeco-football-team

Chapeco Football Team, News on Chapeco Football Team, stories on Chapeco Football Team, articles on Chapeco Football Team, Chapeco Football Team stories at Wion, Chapeco Football Team news, Chapeco Football Team latest news

chapeco football-team

Widow of Chapeco plane crash victim rebuilds life by taking his job

In pouring rain, Brazil town mourns fallen football team