The tragedy shakes the Chapecoense again. Four years after the plane crash in which they died 71 of the 77 occupants, including 19 footballers, the then president of the institution, the coach and almost the entire coaching staff, the current president of the Brazilian entity, Paulo Ricardo Magro, 58 years old, died this Wednesday a victim of COVID-19. He had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Unimed hospital, in Chapecó, Santa Catarina, from December 18, and could not resist the complications of the disease.
Magro assumed the club's presidency in August 2019, when the former president, Plinio David de Nes Filho Maninho, submitted his resignation. In August of this course the mandate was extended for one more year of the current directive, valid until the end of the season.
In a statement, Chapecoense, who plays in the second division of Brazilian football, lamented the death of Magro and asked the fans to pray for him:
“Extremely dismayed and heartbroken by sadness and disbelief, we report the death of the president of the Chapecoense Football Association, Paulo Ricardo Magro. Paulo was 57 years old and was largely responsible for the revival of the Chapecoense, both on and off the field. With his courage, greatness, and wisdom, he allowed the team to return to the path of victory, paved by dignity and work, values so often preached by our beloved president. Faced with the irreparable loss, the feeling is sad, but above all, thanks to the man who entered our history and became eternal in it, once again, rebuilding it. At this time of deep pain, we ask fans to join in prayers for their family and friends. May the strength that they have given our club so many times also go to all of them. “
Worldwide consternation at the 2016 tragedy
The accident that decimated Chapecoense occurred on November 28, 2016 when the plane in which the team was traveling to Medellín to play the final of the Copa Sudamericana ran out of fuel and crashed in La Unión (Antioquia), 17 kilometers from get to the airport of the Colombian city.
In the tragedy, 71 of the 77 people who were in the aircraft of the Bolivian airline Lamia died, including 19 footballers, the president of the institution, the coach and almost the entire coaching staff., in addition to a score of journalists who accompanied the club in its first final in an international tournament. Of the 22 players called up, only three survived: Jakson Follmann (who had his right leg amputated), Alan Ruschel and Neto.
After the event, Chapecoense was declared champion of the 2016 South American Cup and debuted in the Copa Libertadores de América (maximum continental tournament) in 2018.
The team, which until 2006 played in Brazil's fourth division, spent six years in the league's first division, before its first relegation, in December last year.
