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Brazilian club soccer team’s plane crashes in Colombia; 76 dead

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<p>RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) &#8212; The Brazilian soccer team aboard the plane that crashed in Colombia was gaining respect and support from across Brazil even though it was a small club with a short history.</p><p>Chapecoense, founded in 1973, was preparing to play in the Copa Sudamericana final, South America&#8217;s second biggest club competition after the Copa Libertadores. The team was flying to Medellin to face Atletico Nacional on Wednesday in the first leg of the final.</p><p>Members of the Chapecoense team were among the 81 people on board the chartered aircraft that crashed on its way to Medellin&#8217;s international airport. Colombian police said there were some survivors.</p><p>Chapecoense reached Brazil&#8217;s first division in 2014 and was in ninth place ahead of this weekend&#8217;s last round of games. On its way to the continental final, the team known as Chape beat major clubs such as Argentina&#8217;s San Lorenzo and Independiente.</p><p>Chape strikers Bruno Rangel and Kempes, both 34 years old, are among the top scorers in the Brazilian league, with 10 and nine goals, respectively. One of the team&#8217;s top players is 35-year-old midfielder Cleber Santana, who played for Atletico Madrid from 2007-10.</p><p>Another team leader was defender Helio Hermito Zampier Neto &#8212; commonly known as Net.</p><p>Among the passengers on the flight was Mario Sergio Pontes de Paiva, a former soccer player who worked as commentator for Fox Sports.</p><p>Known as Mario Sergio, he played briefly for Brazil&#8217;s national team in the early 1980s and had a long career as a midfielder and coach with many Brazilian clubs. He last coached Brazilian club Internacional in 2009 and Ceara in 2010.</p><p>In the wake of the crash, the Brazilian Football Confederation called off the Brazilian Cup final between Gremio and Atletico Mineiro, which set for Wednesday. A new date has not been set.</p><p>Chapecoense is based in Chapeco, a city of about 200,000 that is known for its poultry industry and is located about 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) south of Rio de Janeiro.</p><p>The club, which doesn&#8217;t have any players in Brazil&#8217;s national team or in the under-20 team, plays its home matches at the 22,000-seat Arena Conda. But it had been scheduled to play the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana final at the Couto Pereira Stadium, a 40,000-seat venue in Curitiba, a city 300 miles (480 kilometers) north of Chapeco.</p><p>A group of rival fans, however, became so impressed with Chapecoense&#8217;s amazing run in the competition that they started a campaign on social media to move the final to the iconic Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.</p><p>Chape had its best season ever in 2016, earning 52 points from 37 matches. On Sunday, the team lost at Palmeiras 1-0, a result which clinched the Brazilian league title for the host team.</p><p>The team was due to host fourth-place Atletico Mineiro at the Arena Conda on Sunday and then face Atletico Nacional in the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana final on Tuesday.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, file photo, players of Brazil's Chapecoense celebrate at the end of a Copa Sudamericana semifinal soccer match against Argentina's San Lorenzo in Chapeco, Brazil. A chartered aircraft with 81 people on board, including the Brazilian first division Chapecoense soccer team heading to Colombia for a regional tournament final, has crashed on its way to Medellin's international airport. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_113775621-f8f1fa0400b54503890ccb498275491f-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, file photo, players of Brazil's Chapecoense celebrate at the end of a Copa Sudamericana semifinal soccer match against Argentina's San Lorenzo in Chapeco, Brazil. A chartered aircraft with 81 people on board, including the Brazilian first division Chapecoense soccer team heading to Colombia for a regional tournament final, has crashed on its way to Medellin's international airport. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_113775621-4c4ec98df40d493ebbecdc4c4c813237-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, file photo, players of Brazil's Chapecoense celebrate at the end of a Copa Sudamericana semifinal soccer match against Argentina's San Lorenzo in Chapeco, Brazil. A chartered aircraft with 81 people on board, including the Brazilian first division Chapecoense soccer team heading to Colombia for a regional tournament final, has crashed on its way to Medellin's international airport. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File )</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_113775621-4c4ec98df40d493ebbecdc4c4c813237-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, file photo, players of Brazil's Chapecoense celebrate at the end of a Copa Sudamericana semifinal soccer match against Argentina's San Lorenzo in Chapeco, Brazil. A chartered aircraft with 81 people on board, including the Brazilian first division Chapecoense soccer team heading to Colombia for a regional tournament final, has crashed on its way to Medellin's international airport. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File )</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By MAURICIO SAVARESE and STEPHEN WADE</p><p>AP Sports Writers</p></bylineMeta></div>

Brazilian club Chapecoense aboard plane that crashed