Chapecoense,
the Brazilian football club devastated by an airline crash, will sign
up to 20 players for the new season and are reserving shirt numbers
for two of the survivors in the hope they can play again, their
director of football said on Tuesday (Wednesday NZ Time).
Almost
all the team's senior players were killed when their plane crashed in
Colombia on November 28.
The
small club from southern Brazil were heading to Medellin to play
Atletico Nacional in the first leg of the Copa
Sudamericana final when their plane crashed into a mountain,
killing 71 people.
Director
of football Rui Costa said all three still had a role to play at the
club.
"No
player this season will use the shirts that were worn by Jackson
Follmann, Neto or Alan Ruschel," Costa told reporters.
"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."
Costa
said the club would sign between 18 and 20 new players before they
start their season on January 26 with a home game against Joinville.
Chapecoense's
rivals rallied to their aid after the crash, promising to loan them
players in order to help them retain their top-tier status.
"We
are resorting to a lot of loans," Costa said. "That is a
tool for bringing together quality, speed and budget. Many clubs are
being partners in this."
The
squad will begin pre-season training on Friday (Saturday NZT), with
some junior players joining the new signings and the handful of
players who did not travel on the fateful flight to Colombia.
"We
looked at 90 players, we whittled that down to 50 and finally had a
list of 38 players that got down to the number of players we have
today," Costa said.
"We
have a group ready to start pre-season training. We'll probably have
between 25 and 27 players."
The
club, who were awarded the Copa Sudamericana and a place in this
year's Copa Libertadores, have rejected proposals that would give
them immunity from relegation from Brazil's Serie A for three years.
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