Dream turns to nightmare for families and fans of Brazilian footballers killed in plane crash
Charter plane crashed in the mountains near Medellin, killing 71 people, with six miraculous survivors
All year, the once struggling, impoverished club had delighted the people of Chapeco, a city of about 200,000 in Santa Catarina state. Now, only grief remains.
Under fierce sunshine in the southern Brazilian state, fans in the team shirt congregated at the stadium where just last week their heroes had notched up another unlikely victory against San Lorenzo.
We have moved from a dream to a true nightmare
One of them, Carine Valer, sat with her face streaked in tears. Her husband Adriano Bittencourt, the club’s security chief, had been on the doomed plane.
“I didn’t go because I was trying to get my passport done and on Friday they told me it wouldn’t be ready in time,” Valer said. “He told me he’d treat me like a queen and he did in all ways. But now I’ll never have that life again or him.”
Many came with flowers and black ribbons.
“I heard the news on television. We got up at once and came here,” Nelson Maguluche said, his voice cracking as he gave way to tears. “I’ve always been a fan. I went to all their games.”
Chapecoense was the little club that could, an outfit that only a few years ago was struggling in the lower leagues but turned into a giant slayer.
