Brazil mourns the loss of football heroes

Fans of Chapecoense soccer team react at the Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco, Brazil, November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

Brazil mourns the football heroes who perished in the plane crash in Colombia, while investigators are trying to find answers to why the plane crashed.

Thousands of mourners on Tuesday night gathered in Santo Antonio Cathedral in Chapeco southern Brazil, while others gathered at the city’s football stadium to commemorate the deceased players on the Chapecoense team.

– Losing almost all of them so tragically, has destroyed our city and every one of us, said one of the mourners, Carla Vilembrini.

Like so many others, she was wearing the football team’s green and white shirt as she stood outside the cathedral, almost unable to comprehend what should be the highlight of the team’s 43 years of history, the final of the Copa Sudamericana, which instead ended in tragedy.

Praised by legends

– I still can not believe it. I prepared myself for what was to be the best day of my entire life, but after this I do not know anymore how my life is, says Alan Heinz who bade farewell to the football heroes at the city stadium.

Football greats such as Pele and Maradona, and current stars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, have all joined the tribute for the deceased, who against all odds had played four divisions and made it to the top in both Brazilian and South American football.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today