Chapocoense Crash Survivor Neto Announces Retirement from Football
Dec 13, 2019
(L-R) goalkeeper Jackson Follmann of Associacao Chapecoense de Futebol, Neto of Associacao Chapecoense de Futebol, Alan Ruschel of Associacao Chapecoense de Futebol the three survivors of airplane crash during the Trofeu Joan Gamper match between FC Barcelona and Chapecoense on August 7, 2017 at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain.(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)
Chapecoense defender Neto, who was one of just three players to survive the team's 2016 plane crash, has announced his retirement from playing football.
According to Daniel Davis for MailOnline, the 34-year-old still suffers with consistent pain after the crash which claimed 71 lives.
Neto was the last person to be pulled from the wreckage and is expected to assume a new role with Chapocoense.
Neto spent two years recovering from injuries suffered in the crash before resuming his playing career but has decided to retire because he was still in pain.
The Brazilian explained his decision to Globo Esporte(h/t Davis):
"My body couldn't take it anymore. The pains were greater than the pleasure.
"I talked to the doctors and soon there will be an official statement from the club. Apparently there was no pain in my daily life, but in high-level training the body could not stand the knee and back pain, which saddened me most in the end and took me off the field."
Neto had trained with his team-mates after completing a long recovery, but the pain issues have been too much to carry on his career.
Per theAssociated Press, only one of the other two players who survived, Alan Ruschel, is still actively playing on loan for Goias. The other surviving player, Jackson Follmann, had part of his right leg amputated as a result of his injuries but hopes to join Brazil's Paralympic team.
The club's flight crashed near Medellin, Colombia, en routeto play the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional. After the crash, the final was canceled and Chapecoense was awarded the title.
Chapecoense Suffer 1st Relegation 3 Years on from Plane Crash That Killed 71
Nov 28, 2019
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - OCTOBER 16: Douglas of Chapecoense reacts after the first goal of Felipe Melo of Palmeiras (not inf frame) during a match between Palmeiras and Chapecoense for the Brasileirao Series A 2019 at Allianz Parque on October 16, 2019 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Miguel Schincariol/Getty Images)
Chapecoense have been relegated to the second tier of Brazilian football almost three years to the day since the plane crash that killed 19 of their players.
They lost 1-0 at home to Botafogo in the Brasileirao on Wednesday to drop nine points from safety with three games of the 2019 season remaining:
After 6 extraordinary years in Serie A, Chapecoense have been sadly relegated. Tomorrow marks the third anniversary of the crash that almost wiped them out. Such a spirited club, good people and great fans, I hope to see them back on top again soon. VamosChape 💚
They could theoretically still tie on points with Ceara, who sit in 16th place. But the first tiebreaker in the Brazilian top flight is games won.
Ceara currently have 10 victories this term, and Chapecoense would only reach nine if they won their last three matches.
It is Chapecoense's first relegation from Brazil's top tier and marks the end of a six-year spell for the club in the Brasileirao.
On November 28, 2016, a plane crash near Medellin, Colombia, killed 19 Chapecoense players, as well as numerous members of the coaching staff and accompanying journalists.
Only six of the 77 passengers on board survived.
The team were travelling to take part in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional, the culmination of a remarkable ascent for Chapecoense, having risen from outside Brazil's four national divisions to the top tier and continental recognition inside a decade.
They were subsequently awarded the Copa Sudamericana title by CONMEBOL at the request of Nacional:
The club rejected the proposal of protection from relegation for a three-year period and avoided the drop in the 2017 campaign after other clubs loaned them players for free.
In 2018, after many loanees returned to their clubs and the departures of other players, Chapecoense finished 14th, just two points above the relegation zone.
After their relegation was confirmed on Wednesday, captain Douglas said, per Adriana Garcia of ESPN FC:
"It's a delicate moment, difficult to find words in this situation. We players are very sorry to leave Chapecoense in this situation, but Chapecoense has always shown unity.
"I think this is the time for the whole community to unite again, rearrange things, leave everything on track for Chapecoense to return to Serie A, which is the club's place, and continue to build this beautiful story."
Chapecoense Plane Crash Survivor Rafael Henzel Dies of Heart Attack Aged 45
Mar 27, 2019
Radio reporter Rafael Henzel, who was one of six survivors of the 2016 plane crash that killed many members of the Chapecoense football team and 71 people in total, died on Tuesday aged 45 after suffering a heart attack.
Reuters' Andrew Downie (h/t Channel News Asia) relayed the news from the Brazilian club:
Per Globo (h/t Downie), Henzel was taken to hospital after he collapsed while playing football in Chapeco and died shortly after his arrival.
In a statement, Chapecoense paid tribute to Henzel: "Throughout his brilliant career, Rafael told the story of Chapecoense. He was a symbol of the club's reconstruction and he will always be remembered in the green and white pages of this institution."
So too did La Liga club Athletic Bilbao:
Athletic Club offers its sincere condolences for the sudden death of the journalist Rafael Henzel, who recently participated in Thinking Football as a survivor of the plane crash of #Chapecoense and protagonist of the film Nossa Chape, which has won the contest pic.twitter.com/9K24DmVKkN
Chapecoense are due to play Criciuma in the Copa do Brasil on Wednesday, but they have asked the Brazilian Football Confederation to play the match on Thursday instead following Henzel's death, per Sport's Juan G. Arango.
In November 2016, a plane carrying 77 people—including the Chapecoense team, staff and 21 journalists—crashed on the way to Medellin, Colombia, where the club were due to compete in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional.
Only six survived, including Henzel and three Chapecoense players.
