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Chapecoense Win First Official Trophy Since November Plane Crash

Chapecoense Win First Official Trophy Since November Plane Crash

They have won the Campeonato Catarinense for the second consecutive year.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

The most heartbreaking story in sport of 2016 was the tragedy that hit Brazilian football team Chapecoense when their plane crashed in Colombia, killing all but six of the passengers.

Chapecoense were travelling to a South American cup final in November of last year to take on Medellin based side Atlético Nacional.

The plane the club were travelling on crashed in Colombia with 71 of the 77 passengers on board losing their lives. Only one of the four crewmembers, three players, and two other passengers survived.


Image: PA

The club were on the receiving end of a number of brilliant gestures, from PES and EA Sports commemorating them in their respective games, to clubs donating money and of course Chape being awarded the Copa Sudamericana trophy, after Nacional pushed for their opponents to be given the title.

They've had to rebuild their team from scratch because of the disaster, but less than a year on and they have their first bit of silverware.

Image: PA

As was reported last month, the team beat Joinville 2-0 to win the second stage of the Campeonato Catarinense competition.

And they then went a step further by going all the way and winning the overall competition.

The club, based in south Brazil drew the play-off final 1-1 on aggregate, winning 1-0 away in the first leg before losing 1-0 at home in the second leg of the final play-off against Avai.

However, the nature of the competition and the fact Chape had a superior overall record meant they lifted the trophy.


As per the Daily Mail, new boss Vagner Mancini signed 25 new players when the season started in January, with a considerable amount on loan. Moreover, nine players were brought into the first-team fold from the youth team, along with the three players who survived the crash.

A wonderful turnaround for everyone associated with the club.

Featured Image Credit: Chapecoense

Topics: Chapecoense