Young Chapecoense players get advice from plane crash survivor Neto as they graduate to first team
Defender Neto miraculously survived the tragedy which killed 71 people and is making a recovery... and today he came back to the club
Posted Saturday, January 07, 2017 by Thesun.co.uk
A plane containing the top flight Brazilian outfit crashed on November 28 last year, with 19 of the club's players losing their lives, with 71 deaths overall.
There were just six survivors, one of those being 31-year-old defender Neto when the British-made aircraft came down en route to Medellin, where Chape were due to play in the Copa Sudamericana final against Colombian side Atletico Nacional.
Chapecoense's official Twitter posted the picture, captioned: "A picture is worth 1000 words … Neto with athletes from the base that went up to the professional. #VamosChape."
The club will make their return to action later this month in a friendly encounter with defending league champions Palmeiras – and these youngsters will probably play some part due to lack of players.
The game will be held on January 21 in Chapecoense's Arena Conda in the city of Chapeco, before they start the domestic season on 26 January with a home game against Joinville.
New manager Vagner Mancini, who replaced the deceased Caio Junior is still recruiting players to replace the 19 that died on a Colombian hillside back in November.
Fellow player Alan Ruschel survived and Costa said they "expect" him and Neto to come back and wear the shirts.
But reserve goalkeeper Jackson Follmann also lived but had to have part of his leg amputated.
They are set to sign 20 new players, with director of football Rui Costa claiming they will need to resort to a host of loan deals.
He said: "We are resorting to a lot of loans. That is a tool for bringing together quality, speed and budget. Many clubs are being partners in this."
Chape have rejected proposals that would have meant they could not be relegated for three years.
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