On 29 November 2019 the footballing world stopped to mourn the loss of 71 players, coaches, crew members and journalists who all perished in a plane crash. That aeroplane carried the members of Chapecoense, who were traveling to Medellin, Colombia for the Copa Sudamerica final.
Now, almost three years to the day of the tragedy, Chapecoense were relegated from Brazil’s top flight.
Chapecoense Relegated Three Years After Fatal Crash
First Major Final
Although Chapecoense were founded in 1973, they hadn’t appeared in a major final until the 2016 Copa Sudamerica. They have always been a fairly small club. Chape achieved promotion to Brazil’s top flight for the first time in 1978 but did not return until 2014.
That all made the final against Colombia’s Atletico National the biggest event in the club’s history. It also made the tragedy which prevented the final being played the biggest catastrophe in the club’s history.
At the request of their opponents, Chapecoense were awarded the 2016 trophy. That act of kindness precipitated an outpouring of support from around the footballing world.
A number of Brasileirao sides offered to loan players to the club free of charge in an effort to save their season. Meanwhile, Barcelona staged the Joan Gamper trophy match against Chapecoense to aid in their rebuild.
Chape went on to finish 11th in the table in 2016 and eighth the following season. 2018 saw them finish in 14th before suffering relegation in 2019.
Club Vows to Return
Marquinhos Santos was named Chapecoense coach in September of 2019, although couldn’t stop what felt inevitable. The club won back-to-back matches leading up to the final match of the season, giving fans some hope of safety.
However, Wednesday’s 1-0 loss at home to Botafogo confirmed relegation. Marquinhos has vowed that Chapecoense will return to Serie A stronger than before:
“I have to apologise to the fans. The people who work here are good professionals. It’s a reconstruction of the true Chapecoense – that’s the feeling I have. I’m sure Chapecoense will return to the national stage much stronger.
“We’ve failed to do many things in the competition. It’s a competition that doesn’t allow you to make as many mistakes as we did. We knew our responsibility in today’s game and we were not competent enough to give some hope. It’s sad. It’s a situation brought about by many games.
“Chapecoense did not go down today – they started going down after the first round [of matches] because of the mistakes we made. Now, we have to review the whole process, restart and recover.”
Brazil is, of course, a football paradise. They eat, breath and live the beautiful game. The fans of Chapecoense will surely hope and pray for a quick return to the top flight.
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