One year later: Chapecoense's resilience is unparalleled

29 nov 2017

November 28, 2016 is a date that will live on forever. On the way to the first leg of the final against Atletico Nacional, Brazilian club Chapecoense’s airplane crashed, killing 71 of the 77 people on board and sending the entire football world into mourning.

Now, 12 months on from that unthinkable tragedy, the memory of those lost lives on in a club that has risen from the ashes of disaster.

Just three players survived: reserve goalkeeper Jackson Follmann, whose career was nevertheless ended after losing a leg in the tragedy; Alan Ruschel, and Neto.

Despite fighting in multiple competitions, not to mention mentally and emotionally, the side returned a wholly respectable Serie A campaign. With just one game to go they lie in eighth and retain an outside shot of another Libertadores place for 2018.

There isn’t much more to say beyond the obvious. However, in the depths of one of the darkest times in football history, the best of its culture came to the forefront.