Notícias de Futebol do Mundo

A bomb detonated inside a bus carrying Brazilian soccer team Bahia ahead of Thursday night's 2022 Copa do Nordeste match against Sampaio Correa.

Freddie Keighley of the Daily Mirror reported Friday goalkeeper Danilo Fernandes required an overnight hospital stay after being struck by shrapnel.

"Danilo Fernandes is fine, but will spend the night in the hospital," the club said. "The goalkeeper had multiple injuries to his face, neck and lower limbs, which had to be sutured, and will be under observation for further examinations and an ophthalmologist's evaluation, as there is a cut near the eye."

Bahia scored a 2-0 win after the match moved forward as scheduled despite the attack.

Daniel and Hugo Rodallega scored for Bahia, the competition's defending champions. The match took place at Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil.

Marca reported the club's own fans are among the suspects in the case amid frustration about the team's results, which includes being relegated to the second division last year.

"We will collect footage, statements from players and witnesses that were on the spot at that moment. We will use our maximum capabilities to identify and arrest the perpetrators," police investigator Victor Spinola said.

Bahia manager Guto Ferreira also responded to reports of the attack coming from Tricolor fans, per Marca.

"This is stupid, people believe such moves will intimidate an athlete, making him perform," Ferreira said. "It always the coach that is bad, the player is bad. That's not how you solve problems."

Time em campo após oração #BBMP pic.twitter.com/mv9mDXjBRf

— Esporte Clube Bahia (@ecbahia) February 25, 2022

Bahia's next match is scheduled for Sunday when they take on Juazeirense in the Campeonato Baiano.

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 💚

— Don Riddell (@donriddellCNN) November 28, 2019

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:

https://twitter.com/eaamalyon/status/803614716660686848

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."

Former Barcelona full-back Dani Alves has joined Sao Paulo on a free transfer after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired at the end of June. 

Sao Paulo confirmed the move via the club's official Twitter account on Thursday:

“For my country, for my people. For my beloved club.” @DaniAlvesD2 is here until 2022! 🇾🇪🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/10kLLLOrDI

— São Paulo FC (@SaoPauloFC_eng) August 1, 2019

The 36-year-old told reporters: "I could have chosen anywhere to play, but I chose to return to Brazil."

The 115-times capped Brazil international recently captained his country to the 2019 Copa America title as  hosts, where he was also voted the tournament's best player.

FIFA confirmed Alves will wear No. 10 at the Estadio do Morumbi:

Sao Paulo have a 🆕 wingback
Sao Paulo have a new No🔟

🇧🇷 Dani Alves, fresh from being named the best player at the @CopaAmerica, is both.

What’s the weirdest player & shirt number combination you’ve seen?@DaniAlvesD2 | @SaoPauloFC pic.twitter.com/9g4Z7Vlldq

— FIFA (@FIFAcom) August 2, 2019

The transfer also brought an end to Alves' 17-year career in European football, having joined Sevilla from his first professional club, Bahia, in 2002, per Goal:

Dani Alves in Europe:

🇪🇸 Sevilla: 2002–2008
🇪🇸 Barcelona: 2008-2016
🇮🇹 Juventus: 2016-2017
🇫🇷 Paris Saint-Germain: 2017-2019

Major trophies: 36 😱 🏆 pic.twitter.com/3eVXkVQ91t

— GOAL (@goal) August 2, 2019

Alves has signed a contract that will keep him in Sao Paulo until the end of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which is scheduled to finish in December of that year.

Sao Paulo have a history of selling and acquiring big names to and from Europe:

They’re Brazilian, they’ve starred in Europe, they’ve worn Sao Paulo’s kit 🌟 pic.twitter.com/n58sykgVJ0

— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 2, 2019

Alves played only a season-and-a-half with Bahia before Sevilla recruited him, meaning this move gives the defender a second chance to impress in front of his native supporters.

The veteran has won major titles with almost every team he's played for. Alves left Barcelona for Juventus in 2016 and joined PSG one year later, winning La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 titles back-to-back.

TalkSport reported his trophy count stands at 43 and makes him the most decorated player in history.

Alves will join ex-Brazil star Alexandre Pato and former Juventus team-mate Hernanes at the Estadio do Morumbi.

Sao Paulo are fifth in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A table and eight points off leaders Santos.

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:

https://twitter.com/adowniebrazil/status/1110715564710916097

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

— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) March 27, 2019

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.

Flamengo CEO Reinaldo Belotti has said the fire that killed 10 young players at the club's training ground on Friday was caused by an electricity spike that sparked a fire in an air conditioning unit.

Per Reuters (h/t ESPN), the fire followed a storm over Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday night that killed at least six people.

Belotti attributed the electricity spike to the weather: "It was a succession of events after a catastrophic day for Rio that led to this even greater catastrophe."

The fire burned through a dormitory at the Urubu's Nest training ground, where the club's youth players slept:

BRAZIL: At least 10 people died in a fire at the training complex of Flamengo Football Club in Rio, firefighters say pic.twitter.com/QeNpgPVfQm

— Bloomberg Originals (@bbgoriginals) February 8, 2019

Following the fire, the mayor's office for Rio said the club had been told to close down the dorm "almost 30 times" because the area it was built on was registered as a parking lot, but Belotti dismissed that issue as a contributing factor:

"This area was well known to everyone, It was comfortable and adequate. We were proud of it. The truth is that it was a tragic accident. It was not because of a lack of investment by Flamengo. It was not because Flamengo did not take care."

All of the victims have been identified and were aged between 14 and 17 years old.

A club supporters group paid tribute to those killed:

https://twitter.com/RDTRubroNegro/status/1093975033985359877

Three others were hospitalised—one in "serious condition"—while 10 other teenagers escaped unharmed. One boy recounted that he woke in the early hours of Friday morning to discover his air conditioning unit was aflame.

Flamengo were scheduled to host Fluminense in the semi-final of the Taca Guanabara on Saturday, but the match has been moved to Thursday.

A fire at Flamengo's training complex in Rio de Janeiro has killed 10 people.

According to Adam Forrest of The Independent, firefighters have confirmed at least three people have also been injured after the blaze broke out early Friday morning at the Urubu's Nest training centre. It was extinguished after burning for over two hours.

Per BBC News, the victims have yet to be identified, but a dormitory used by youth players aged between 14 and 17 was engulfed by the flames while the players were asleep.

Brazilian news outlet G1 provided an image showing the effects of the fire:

URGENTE: Incêndio deixa 10 mortos no Centro de Treinamento do Flamengo https://t.co/F4nd0oABiH #G1 pic.twitter.com/b2TIFjpTkq

— g1 (@g1) February 8, 2019

The cause is not yet known.

Brazil legend and former Flamengo player Zico posted a message on his Instagram page in the wake of the tragedy, per Eurosport: "What a shock getting this news here on the other side of the world," the former Brazil midfielder wrote. "May the Red-and-Black nation have strength and faith to get through this moment."

Real Madrid attacker Vinicius Junior, who moved to the Santiago Bernabeu from Flamengo last summer, also took to social media to offer his condolences: "What sad News! Praying for everyone! Strength, strength, strength."

Que notícia triste! Oremos por todos! Força, força e força 😢

— Vini Jr. (@vinijr) February 8, 2019

Flamengo, five-time champions of Brazil, finished runners-up in the Brasileiro last season.

The 2019 league campaign does not get under way until April, but Flamengo are scheduled to face Fluminense on Saturday in the semi-finals of the Taca Guanabara.