Brazilian team Chapecoense win first title since plane crash
Monday 8 May 2017 17:03, UK
Brazilian team Chapecoense have won their first silverware since the devastating air crash November.
Nineteen Chapecoense players and 24 club officials died on November 28 when the team's plane crashed into a mountainside in Colombia.
The team has been rebuilt with players promoted from the youth team and loaned from other clubs in Brazil and Argentina.
Some 20,000 supporters packed the home stadium in Chapeco on Sunday to watch their team win the Santa Catarina state title for the second year in a row - except this time with a new line-up.
Chapecoense lost 1-0 to rivals Avai but won the title by virtue of having triumphed 1-0 in the first leg and having the superior record over the season
"It's something unseen in the world of football. We've managed to rebuild a team and win the title a few months later," said head coach Vagner Mancini.
Unsung Chapecoense had been on their way to face Atletico Nacional in Medellin for the biggest match in their history, the final of the Copa Sudamericana, when the plane crashed.
After the tragedy, Atletico ceded the title to Chapecoense in tribute.
