Throughout the year, this club long without rank or means regaled his fans Chapeco, a city of 200,000 inhabitants in the state of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil. The joy has suddenly turned into despair.
Under a blazing sun, fans gathered at the stadium, with the same club jersey they wore it a week ago, to celebrate another improbable victory.
Many came to lay flowers and black ribbons in mourning.
"I heard the news on TV. I got up at once and I came here," says Nelson Maguluche, voice broken by sobs. "I've always been a fan, I was going to see all their matches," he added.
Chapecoense was until a few years ago an obscure and penniless club, the fight for survival in the lower divisions, as are hundreds in Brazil. Through hard work, perseverance and desire, David was transformed by Goliath this season.
Monday night, the players, their managers and local journalists had flown to Colombia, with the dream to reach for the moon crampons in final of the Copa Sudamericana against Atletico Nacional.
But the tales for children and big kids are often cruel, and their charter plane crashed in the hills near Medellin. only six of the 71 passengers miraculously survived.
"The pain is terrible. While our team had managed to have a national reputation, it happens that tragedy, a great tragedy," responded the vice president of Chapecoense Ivan Tozzo at SportTV Globo.
"We are all here in the stadium to help the affected people," he added.
Mayor Chapeco, Luciano Buligon, described through sobs despair of an entire city to the Globo TV channel: "We went from dream to a genuine nightmare."
Solidarity
Only three players survived: the defenders Helio Neto and Alan Ruschel, and the replacement goalkeeper Jackson Follmann. The other known survivors were two crew members and a journalist.
The goalkeeper Danilo Marcos Padilha, 31, succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital. His lightning stop in the last minute of the semi-final was guaranteed ticket to the final ...
Big clubs worldwide and many players like Argentine superstar Lionel Messi expressed solidarity and condolences. "The family of Brazilian football is in mourning" responded to Pele. "From now on, I am supporter of Chapecoense" said Argentina's Diego Maradona.
Colombians Atletico Nacional asked that the title be awarded to the Brazilian club in a "posthumous tribute" to their opponents disappeared.
In Brazil, several big clubs, including Palmeiras, recently crowned national champions Fluminense and Botafogo, announced they free lend some of their players to Chapecoense for the 2017 season.
"The clubs believe that this time must be for unity, support and assistance of Chapecoense," they said in a statement.
They also asked the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) not to relegate Chapecoense second national division over the next three years, to give him time to rise from the ashes and rebuild a team, regardless of its outcome.
Champions Palmeiras also asked for permission to wear the jersey of martyr club during their last season league match in December.
And many Brazilian clubs have posted on their official websites Chapecoense crest on a black background.
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