Brazilian team dies in search for glory
South American minnows who defied the odds were on the cusp of realising their dream of South American prestige
Sao Paulo — Travelling on the doomed airliner that crashed in Colombia were the players and staff of a Brazilian football club about to complete a fairy-tale journey from unknowns to would-be South American champions. The charter plane went down near Medellin late on Monday with 81 people aboard and so far, only six are reported to have survived. Rescuers said the team’s goalkeeper Marcos Danilo Padilha "died while being transferred" to hospital. For the Chapecoense Real team, the disaster means the cruel end of a story that had been meant to climax with an unexpected chance for glory on Wednesday against Colombia’s Atletico Nacional in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final. "The pain is terrible. Just as we had made it, I will not say to the top, but to have national prominence, a tragedy like this happens. It is very difficult, a very great tragedy," club vice-president Ivan Tozzo said. Only a few years ago, Chapecoense was just another gritty outfit in the Brazilian lower ...
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