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Chapecoense makes emotional return in friendly with Palmeiras

Chapecoense
Neto is embraced by relatives of Chapecoense players who died in November’s plane crash. (Reuters)

“Vamos, vamos Chape!”

That beloved chant came back to Chapeco on Saturday, as soccer returned to Arena Conda only weeks after players’ caskets were carried across the pitch in a driving rain.

The mourning for the 71 – those who lost their lives in a plane crash last November – hasn’t ceased and it will never end, but the town in the south of Brazil has drawn strength from gathering together and gathered again to cry and cheer.

Fans of the tragic Chapeco team brought origami flowers and birds, scarves and banners and, of course, the jerseys they have worn through many days of sadness since most of the team’s players were lost on the way to the Copa Sudamericana final in Colombia. Saturday’s most emotional moment occurred before the match.

Jackson Follman
Follman, one of the crash survivors, raised the Sudamericana trophy. (AP Photo)

Backup goalkeeper Jackson Follman, one of three players who survived the accident, appeared in a wheelchair and received the team’s championship trophy. He had a neck brace and bandages on his right arm and legs; one of his feet was amputated. He lifted the trophy for all to see, crying as he did so. Another surviving player, Neto, also held the trophy as nearly 20,000 cheered. Family members of the fallen, who were last seen wailing at the mass wake for the team, were awarded championship medals.

Then the game began, with many players of the home side in their first game for the top-level Chapecoense. One of them, Douglas Grolli, scored only 13 minutes in, tying the match at 1. Radio broadcaster Rafael Henzel, who also survived the crash, called the goal for the many who were listening, and a eruption of happy din from the packed stands could be heard behind him.

The friendly against Palmeiras ended in a 2-2 draw, but the victory was in the extraordinary effort of the club to collect players for a team. Many of Chapeco’s players on Saturday are on loan, and some are inexperienced. The group will be challenged to stay in the top division, an honor won by the tragic team that became “Eternal Champions” late last year. In the 71st minute, with the match paused, the crowd broke out in its cheer, “Vamos, vamos Chape!” to honor the 71 lost in November.

The months ahead will be difficult, sometimes agonizing, but the stadium is still there as a place of pride and strength. Many across the globe will spend the season there in spirit.