Chapecoense to sign 20 new players and rebuild in time for 2017 season
Chapecoense, the Brazilian soccer club decimated by a plane crash, is preparing to return for next season.
The club is aiming to sign 20 new players, the director of soccer said Tuesday, and shirt numbers worn by the crash’s three surviving players will also be reserved in case they can play again. The new season is set to begin Jan. 26.
Nearly all of Chapecoense’s players and staff were killed in a plane crash on the way to the Copa Sudamericana final in Colombia in November. The plane ran out of fuel and 71 people died.
Three players did survive: defender Alan Ruschel, defender Neto, and goalkeeper Jakson Follman. Follman had one leg amputated and will not play soccer again, but the other two could possibly return to the pitch.
"No player this season will use the shirts that were worn by Jackson Follmann, Neto or Alan Ruschel," Rui Costa, Chapecoense director of soccer, said on Tuesday.
"More than a tribute, we expect Alan and Neto to come back and wear them. Follmann sadly won't be able to but he will certainly be back here with us in some capacity. The only ones that can wear those jerseys are them."
Ruschel made an especially stunning recovery — after about three weeks, he walked out of a Colombian hospital under his own power and later told reporters in Brazil he thought switching seats before the flight saved his life. Follman had asked Ruschel to sit next to him.
Most of the players who will join Chapecoense for the 2017 season will be loaned to the club. Rival teams have vowed to loan players for free to help Chapecoense rebuild.
The club announced the signing of center back Douglas Grolli on Tuesday and Costa said the club has a small group ready for preseason training, which will begin on Friday.
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