Ah, just posted this on the Sudamericana thread before spotting this one. Cross-posted paragraph:
Lots of contradictory stuff flying about on Twitter and South American news channels at the moment, but the latest I've just seen is that apparently Colombian radio stations are reporting no deaths, and survivors are already arriving at a hospital/hospitals nearby.
72 passengers, including the entire Chapecoense delegation and 9 crew on board. It's crashed in an inaccessible, mountainous region 45 km from Medellín. There are now TV pictures of arrivals at the hospital. Unconfirmed reports that goalkeeper Danilo and defender Alan Ruschel are among the survivors.
I imagine I'm not the only one who went to the semifinal video on YouTube and struggled with the fact that one week later most of the players in green are no longer.
ursus arctos wrote: Atletico Nacional have asked CONMEBOL to award the trophy to Chapecoense
And presumably Chapecoense will have a place in next year's Libertadores - though how they could possibly be ready to compete in a couple of months, I have no idea.
The CBF have postponed tomorrow's Copa do Brasil final and put back next Sunday's final round of the Brasileiro until December 11th. I would hope they have the good sense to just cancel Chape's final game against Atlético Mineiro.
It's rather meaningless in the circumstances, but I would hope that the Brazilian FA look at what the Russian ice hockey league did in the wake of the crash that wiped out the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl club.
They were protected against relegation, had their reserve team strengthened, and then took their place in the top flight back after a year of not playing at that level. They have made the playoffs every season since the disaster.
Not really the most important thing, but can anyone tell me how to pronounce Chapecoense? I may need to discuss this with some people. The least thing I can do is get their name right.
From watching a few videos on Globo's website earlier in the year as research for a few match previews, Reed, it's something like 'Shap-ee-co-ens', with the stress falling on the last syllable.
Obviously this is wall-to-wall on the South American sports channel news shows I generally spend the afternoon with. I can't believe it - the only reason I got to sleep last night was those reports I mentioned about no deaths having been confirmed after all and survivors arriving in hospitals.
Benfica have apparently offered to loan players to Chape, I've seen reports that Real Madrid have offered help including fundraising friendlies, and there are no doubt going to be other gestures from small (River Plate have changed the River badge on their Twitter profile for a black Chapecoense one) to the large.
Apparently newly-crowned Brazilian champions Palmeiras have asked the CBF whether they can wear Chapecoense shirts in their final league match.
Comment