Soccer-Iceland striker Gudjohnsen offers to play for Chapecoense

Dec 5 (Reuters) - Former Chelsea and Barcelona striker Eidur Gudjohnsen has offered to play for Brazilian team Chapecoense following the air crash in Colombia last week in which most of their players died. The 38-year-old Iceland international is a free agent after being released by Norwegian club Molde in August. "Out of respect i would play for @ChapecoenseReal if they have a place for me! If not just to play with @10Ronaldinho again," Gudjohnsen said on Twitter. Ronaldinho, Gudjohnsen's former team mate at Barcelona, also wants to help the stricken club, Brazil's Globo Esporte news reported last week. Only three of the Chapecoense players who flew north from Brazil for the Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional survived the crash outside Medellin, Colombia, which killed 71 passengers and crew members. Brazil's top-flight soccer teams have offered to loan players to the small southern club for next season and have asked the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) to give Chapecoense a three-year exemption from relegation. Chapecoense have been told they will be named Copa Sudamericana champions by South American football's governing body CONMEBOL, the TV Globo website (http://globoesporte.globo.com) reported on Saturday. (Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)