Chapecoense: Profile of Brazilian football team in Colombia plane crash

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A chartered aircraft with 81 people on
board crashed on its way to Medellin’s
international airport.
There are believed to be at least six
survivors so far, with ambulances and
rescuers on their way.
Among those on the flight, was Brazilian
first division football team Chapecoense.
The southern Brazil side was due to play
on Wednesday against Atletico Nacional
of Medellin in the first of a two-leg Copa
Sudamerica final.
Here we take a look at the team involved
in the horrific accident.
Club details
Full name: Associacao Chapecoense de
Futebol
Nicknames: Verdao (Big Green), Furacao
do Oeste (West’s Hurricane), Chape
Founded: May 10, 1973
Stadium: Arena Conda (capacity: 22,600)
Head coach: Caio Junior
Serie A position: 9th – Promoted to the
Brazilian top division for the first time in
the club’s history in 2014.
Based: Brazilian city of Chapeco in the
state of Santa Catarina.
What was the match they were due to
play in?
The Copa Sudamericana is a competition
similar in stature to the Europa League
but is a competition for South American
sides.
The winner of the final qualifies for the
direct equivalent of the Champions
League, the Copa Libertadores.
Notable players
Cleber Santana
Captain of the team, Santana enjoyed a
spell in La Liga with Atletico Madrid
between 2007 and 2010. He also spent
time on loan at Mallorca during that time.
The 35-year-old played alongside
Manchester City star Sergio Aguero and
Manchester United goalkeeper David De
Gea during his time at Atletico Madrid
and was part of the team that lost 4-0 to
Chelsea in the Champions League in
2009.
Matheus Biteco
The 21-year-old is on loan from German
Bundesliga side Hoffenheim.
The defensive midfielder is yet to make an
appearance in Germany but is seen as
one for the future.
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Alan Ruschel
The Brazilian defender, 27, is reported to
be among the six survivors so far,
according to Radio Colombia.
He’s currently on loan from Internacional.
Here’s the rest of the team by squad
number:
1. Danilo
2. Giminez
3. Rafael Lima
4. Neto
5. Josimar
6. Dener
7. Lourency
8. Gil
9. Bruno Rangel
10. Hyoran
11. Ananias
12. Marcelo Boeck
13. Marcelo
21. Mateus Caramelo
23. Lucas Gomes
27. Willian Thiego
28. Moises
30. Nenem
33. Kempes
35. Sergio Manoel
36. Nivaldo
40. Jakson Follmann
41. Claudio Winck
44. Demerson
45. Filipe Machado
50. Arthur Maia
70. Ailton Canela
77. Matheus Biteco
85. Rafael Bastos
87. Alejandro Martinuccio
88. Cleber Santana
89. Alan Ruschel
94. Tiaguinho
* It is not yet known exactly which
members of the squad were aboard the
flight.