- Chapecoense managed a 2-1 win over rivals Figueirense to return to the Brazilian top-flight
- The club had relegated to the second division in 2019 following intra-squad challenges
- Their promotion is coming barely a year after they relegated to the Brazil second tier
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Brazilian local football team Chapecoense have returned to the country’s top-flight in the most spectacular fashion after spending a year in the second tier.
The club became famous in 2016 when 19 players from the squad lost their lives in the ill-fated LaMia Flight 2933 which crashed near Medellín, Colombia, killing 71 of the 77 people on board.
The aircraft was transporting the football squad and their entourage from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia where the team was scheduled to play at the 2016 Copa Sudamericana Finals before the incident.
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Consequently, it affected the team that they relegated in 2019, but after a year, the club defeated state rivals Figueirense 2-1 to guarantee a top-four finish in Serie B with four games remaining and promotion for the 2021 season.
They are back in the Brazilian top-flight. The club tweeted after the match at an empty Conda arena:
"Winning is good. Winning the Santa Catarina state derby is better. Winning the Santa Catarina state derby and guaranteeing a return to the Serie A is SENSATIONAL!"Although their budget is a fraction of Brazil's big-city clubs, Chapecoense's hastily rebuilt side remained competitive in the top flight until they were relegated in December 2019.
The win brings them back to the top table and sparked celebrations in the small southern city.
Chapecoense defender Neto who was among the six persons that survived the incident has retired from active football
About five months after the crash, Neto was named in the matchday squad for the first time in his side's Copa Libertadores tie in March 2017.
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However, the Brazilain has decided to call time on his playing career due to pains from the crash three years back.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Kazuyoshi Miura who clocks 54 on February 26, which is 24 hours before the J-League starts, has signed a new contract with top Japanese side Yokohama FC.
In a statement by the club, ‘King Kazu’ will feature in his 17th season in the Japanese top-flight for the club having joined in 2015.
The former Japanese striker last scored a professional goal in 2017 against second division side Thespakusatsu Gunma to become the oldest player to score in the country’s football 50 years and 14 days.
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