Chapecoense, the up and coming Brazilian football club decimated by a plane crash, proudly strode back on the field Saturday in a new line-up for their first match since the tragedy.

The team took the field amid intense public and media attention focusing on the 20,000-place Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco decked out in the home side&#39;s green color.&nbsp;

Although supporters had wildly snapped up club jerseys online, and 241 journalists from around the world were accredited for the game, the stadium was not full. Tickets priced expensively at $25 each at a time of dire unemployment in Brazil likely kept some away.

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In the end, the game was a draw: 2-2 against Palmeiras.

Before the 4:30 pm (1830 GMT) kickoff, the three survivors of the crash that wiped out their teammates received the Copa Sudamericana trophy -- the honour the team had been vying for when it was wiped out in the crash -- to sustained applause.

Widows of the players killed then filed onto the grass to receive medals on behalf of their husbands in an emotionally powerful ceremony.

&quot;I&#39;m sure that those who have left us, if they are watching, would feel happy,&quot; one of the survivors, left-back Alan Ruschel, told a news conference ahead of the game.

The team&#39;s plane went down on November 28 in mountains near Colombia&#39;s city of Medellin as the team were flying in to play Atletico Nacional in the final of the Copa Sudamericana tournament. Of the 77 people on board, 71 lost their lives, including 19 players and 24 other club members.

In the 71st minute of the game, the stadium&#39;s crowd was asked to stand and clap in homage of the victims -- the beginning of a tradition for all home games played by Chapecoense.

Raphael Veiga opened with a point for Palmeiras, before Douglas Grolli put Chapecoense on the board with a goal that drew emotional cheers from the crowd. The rebuilt team rose to 2-1 when Amaral added a second goal before an equalizer came from Vitinho to make the final score 2-2.

Rebuilt side

The plane accident cut short the fairytale run of the unheralded team who had risen in five years from the fourth division and were playing in their first major final.

To rebuild the side, sporting director Rui Costa has recruited 22 players, most of them on loan.

He told AFP on Friday that the game was &quot;the strongest argument... that this club refused to die.&quot;

The club&#39;s new coach, Vagner Mancini, called the match &quot;a pivotal moment&quot;.

Ruschel and another surviving players, defender Helio Neto, are on the path to recovery and hope to play this season.

Goalkeeper Jackson Follman had his foot amputated, ending his career.

The others who survived the crash were two of the plane&#39;s Bolivian crew and a radio reporter, Rafael Henzel, who said Saturday&#39;s game &quot;is the first match of my new life&quot;.

The new-look Chapecoense has no big names, but include experienced players such as former Lille striker Tulio de Melo and ex-Benfica goalkeeper Artur Moraes.

Half the match proceeds were go to the families of those killed, while the rest will be used to rebuild the club.

&quot;Small community&quot;

The survivors met with management on Friday to discuss compensation from the Bolivian airline, Lamia, which owned the plane that crashed. The airline&#39;s director was arrested in December.

The tragedy was a blow to Chapeco, a town of 200,000 inhabitants where nearly everyone was one or two degrees connected with the team.

&quot;We are a small community. We are not used to such a high profile,&quot; the mayor, Luciano Buligon, told AFP.

&quot;But this global attention has comforted us. This big wave of solidarity is helping us to raise our head and to look ahead.&quot;

The popularity of Chapecoense has gone well beyond Brazil&#39;s borders.

Miguel Alvarez said he and friends had traveled from Argentina &quot;for the inaugural match of this club that had a tragedy that affected everybody.&quot;

He added: &quot;Football matters, yes, but mostly there has to be solidarity with the human side of it all.&quot;&nbsp;

(AFP)

The team took the field amid intense public and media attention focusing on the 20,000-place Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco

Chapecoense, the up and coming Brazilian football club decimated by a plane crash, proudly strode back on the field Saturday in a new line-up for their first match since the tragedy. The team took the field amid intense public and media attention focusing on the 20,000-place Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco decked out in the home side's green color. Although supporters had wildly snapped up club jerseys online, and 241 journalists from around the world were accredited for the game, the stadium was not full. Tickets priced expensively at $25 each at a time of dire unemployment in Brazil likely kept some away. n the 71st minute of the game, the stadium's crowd was asked to stand and clap in homage of the victims -- the beginning of a tradition for all home games played by Chapecoense × In the end, the game was a draw: 2-2 against Palmeiras. Before the 4:30 pm (1830 GMT) kickoff, the three survivors of the crash that wiped out their teammates received the Copa Sudamericana trophy -- the honour the team had been vying for when it was wiped out in the crash -- to sustained applause. Widows of the players killed then filed onto the grass to receive medals on behalf of their husbands in an emotionally powerful ceremony. "I'm sure that those who have left us, if they are watching, would feel happy," one of the survivors, left-back Alan Ruschel, told a news conference ahead of the game. The team's plane went down on November 28 in mountains near Colombia's city of Medellin as the team were flying in to play Atletico Nacional in the final of the Copa Sudamericana tournament. Of the 77 people on board, 71 lost their lives, including 19 players and 24 other club members. In the 71st minute of the game, the stadium's crowd was asked to stand and clap in homage of the victims -- the beginning of a tradition for all home games played by Chapecoense. Raphael Veiga opened with a point for Palmeiras, before Douglas Grolli put Chapecoense on the board with a goal that drew emotional cheers from the crowd. The rebuilt team rose to 2-1 when Amaral added a second goal before an equalizer came from Vitinho to make the final score 2-2. Rebuilt side The plane accident cut short the fairytale run of the unheralded team who had risen in five years from the fourth division and were playing in their first major final. To rebuild the side, sporting director Rui Costa has recruited 22 players, most of them on loan. He told AFP on Friday that the game was "the strongest argument... that this club refused to die." The club's new coach, Vagner Mancini, called the match "a pivotal moment". Ruschel and another surviving players, defender Helio Neto, are on the path to recovery and hope to play this season. Goalkeeper Jackson Follman had his foot amputated, ending his career. The others who survived the crash were two of the plane's Bolivian crew and a radio reporter, Rafael Henzel, who said Saturday's game "is the first match of my new life". The new-look Chapecoense has no big names, but include experienced players such as former Lille striker Tulio de Melo and ex-Benfica goalkeeper Artur Moraes. Half the match proceeds were go to the families of those killed, while the rest will be used to rebuild the club. "Small community" The survivors met with management on Friday to discuss compensation from the Bolivian airline, Lamia, which owned the plane that crashed. The airline's director was arrested in December. The tragedy was a blow to Chapeco, a town of 200,000 inhabitants where nearly everyone was one or two degrees connected with the team. "We are a small community. We are not used to such a high profile," the mayor, Luciano Buligon, told AFP. "But this global attention has comforted us. This big wave of solidarity is helping us to raise our head and to look ahead." The popularity of Chapecoense has gone well beyond Brazil's borders. Miguel Alvarez said he and friends had traveled from Argentina "for the inaugural match of this club that had a tragedy that affected everybody." He added: "Football matters, yes, but mostly there has to be solidarity with the human side of it all." (AFP)

Chapecoense draw in first match after plane crash

Barcelona have invited Chapecoense to play in a friendly at the Nou Camp next August as a tribute to the victims of the air crash that all but wiped out the Brazilian team last month, the Spanish champions announced on Thursday.

&quot;FC Barcelona want to pay homage to the 71 people that died in the accident and to their families so it is working on making the 2017 edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy a homage on behalf of the world of football to all of them,&quot; said a club statement.

&quot;With this invitation to Chapecoense, Barcelona wants to collaborate with the institutional and sporting restructuring of the club to help it recover the competitive level it had.&quot;

The Joan Gamper Trophy is Barcelona&#39;s traditional curtain raiser, taking place each year at the Nou Camp a week before the start of the La Liga season between Barca and an invited team. Sampdoria were Barca&#39;s opponents in the 2016 edition.

Nineteen Chapecoense players were killed in the plane crash in Colombia on Nov. 28 as the team were travelling to the first leg of the final of the Copa Sudamericana against Atletico Nacional, along with directors and their coaching staff and journalists.

(Reuters)

The blaugrana said it wanted to pay homage to 71 people that all but wiped out the Brazilian team last month

Barcelona have invited Chapecoense to play in a friendly at the Nou Camp next August as a tribute to the victims of the air crash that all but wiped out the Brazilian team last month, the Spanish champions announced on Thursday. "FC Barcelona want to pay homage to the 71 people that died in the accident and to their families so it is working on making the 2017 edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy a homage on behalf of the world of football to all of them," said a club statement. "With this invitation to Chapecoense, Barcelona wants to collaborate with the institutional and sporting restructuring of the club to help it recover the competitive level it had." The Joan Gamper Trophy is Barcelona's traditional curtain raiser, taking place each year at the Nou Camp a week before the start of the La Liga season between Barca and an invited team. Sampdoria were Barca's opponents in the 2016 edition. Nineteen Chapecoense players were killed in the plane crash in Colombia on Nov. 28 as the team were travelling to the first leg of the final of the Copa Sudamericana against Atletico Nacional, along with directors and their coaching staff and journalists. (Reuters)

Barcelona invites Chapecoense to play friendly

South American football confederation CONMEBOL agreed Monday to award the Copa Sudamericana to Brazilian club&nbsp;Chapecoense, whose team was wiped out in a plane crash while heading to the final.

The body issued a statement announcing the posthumous honor to the previously unsung club, which was having a fairy tale season until the disaster a week ago.

Chapecoense&nbsp;vice-president Ivan Tozzo hailed the decision as &quot;justice.&quot;

&quot;We were sure that &#39;Chape&#39; would be champions. It is a beautiful tribute,&quot; he told a news conference.

The charter plane flying the team to the biggest match in its history ran out of fuel and crashed into the mountains in northwestern Colombia.

A total of 71 people died -- most of the club members, including players, management and staff. Three players, two crew members and a journalist survived.

The side was heading to play the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final against Colombian club Atletico Nacional in the city of Medellin.

Fair play

Nacional responded to the crash by calling for&nbsp;Chapecoense&nbsp;to be granted the Copa Sudamericana, the second highest club football title in South America.

The Paraguay-based confederation said Monday it had heeded Nacional&#39;s request in deciding to hand the title to&nbsp;Chapecoense.

&quot;CONMEBOL awards the title for the 2016 Copa Sudamericana championship to&nbsp;Chapecoense,&quot; including the $2 million in prize money, the confederation said in a statement.

It awarded Nacional its $1 million CONMEBOL Centenary Fair Play award.

&quot;There is no greater demonstration of the spirit of understanding and fair play... than the consideration and respect shown by Atletico Nacional to its brothers in&nbsp;ChapecoenseFootball Club,&quot; the statement said.

Starting over

The small Brazilian city of Chapeco held a massive funeral on Saturday for its team after the victims&#39; coffins arrived home, each draped in the club&#39;s green and white flag.

A minute&#39;s silence for the team was scheduled to be held before every Champions League and Europa League game this week.

Chapeco awoke meanwhile to the steep task of rebuilding a top-flight team from virtually nothing.

&quot;We have lost practically all our assets,&quot; said Tozzo last week.

He took over from president Sandro Pallaoro, who died in the crash.

&quot;After everything we have achieved, now we have to start again from scratch,&quot; Tozzo said.

&quot;We will have to start to think, because we do not have 11 players to put on the field.

&quot;We will need a great deal of help from the Brazilian Football Federation and the broadcaster Globo,&quot; which owns the rights to screen the matches, he added.

Including the title award and winnings from earlier rounds,&nbsp;Chapecoense&nbsp;will take home just under $4 million from the tournament.

By taking the Sudamericana title,&nbsp;Chapecoense&nbsp;will be allowed to compete next season in the region&#39;s top club tournament, the Copa Libertadores.

They will also face Atletico Nacional in the Recopa Sudamericana, a fixture between the title-holders of the Sudamericana and Libertadores cups.

New members

Chapecoense&nbsp;said 13,000 people had applied in just two days for membership of the club, which previously had just 9,000 members.

Other Brazilian football teams have offered to farm out their players to&nbsp;Chapecoense.

Ten of the team&#39;s players did not travel on the doomed flight. The club also has an under-20 squad with potential new first-team players.

Italian champions Torino took three decades to win a trophy again from an air crash that killed 18 of its players in 1949.

In England, Manchester United waited a decade to recover fully by winning the European Cup following the Munich air disaster in 1958 that killed 23 people, including eight players.

(AFP)

Chapecoense lost 71 people -- including players, management and staff -- while the team was heading to play the final against Nacional

South American football confederation CONMEBOL agreed Monday to award the Copa Sudamericana to Brazilian club Chapecoense, whose team was wiped out in a plane crash while heading to the final. The body issued a statement announcing the posthumous honor to the previously unsung club, which was having a fairy tale season until the disaster a week ago. Chapecoense vice-president Ivan Tozzo hailed the decision as "justice." "We were sure that 'Chape' would be champions. It is a beautiful tribute," he told a news conference. The charter plane flying the team to the biggest match in its history ran out of fuel and crashed into the mountains in northwestern Colombia. A total of 71 people died -- most of the club members, including players, management and staff. Three players, two crew members and a journalist survived. The side was heading to play the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final against Colombian club Atletico Nacional in the city of Medellin. Fair play Nacional responded to the crash by calling for Chapecoense to be granted the Copa Sudamericana, the second highest club football title in South America. The Paraguay-based confederation said Monday it had heeded Nacional's request in deciding to hand the title to Chapecoense. "CONMEBOL awards the title for the 2016 Copa Sudamericana championship to Chapecoense," including the $2 million in prize money, the confederation said in a statement. It awarded Nacional its $1 million CONMEBOL Centenary Fair Play award. "There is no greater demonstration of the spirit of understanding and fair play... than the consideration and respect shown by Atletico Nacional to its brothers in ChapecoenseFootball Club," the statement said. Starting over The small Brazilian city of Chapeco held a massive funeral on Saturday for its team after the victims' coffins arrived home, each draped in the club's green and white flag. A minute's silence for the team was scheduled to be held before every Champions League and Europa League game this week. Chapeco awoke meanwhile to the steep task of rebuilding a top-flight team from virtually nothing. "We have lost practically all our assets," said Tozzo last week. He took over from president Sandro Pallaoro, who died in the crash. "After everything we have achieved, now we have to start again from scratch," Tozzo said. "We will have to start to think, because we do not have 11 players to put on the field. "We will need a great deal of help from the Brazilian Football Federation and the broadcaster Globo," which owns the rights to screen the matches, he added. Including the title award and winnings from earlier rounds, Chapecoense will take home just under $4 million from the tournament. By taking the Sudamericana title, Chapecoense will be allowed to compete next season in the region's top club tournament, the Copa Libertadores. They will also face Atletico Nacional in the Recopa Sudamericana, a fixture between the title-holders of the Sudamericana and Libertadores cups. New members Chapecoense said 13,000 people had applied in just two days for membership of the club, which previously had just 9,000 members. Other Brazilian football teams have offered to farm out their players to Chapecoense. Ten of the team's players did not travel on the doomed flight. The club also has an under-20 squad with potential new first-team players. Italian champions Torino took three decades to win a trophy again from an air crash that killed 18 of its players in 1949. In England, Manchester United waited a decade to recover fully by winning the European Cup following the Munich air disaster in 1958 that killed 23 people, including eight players. (AFP)

Brazilian team wiped out in plane crash awarded Copa Sudamericana

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