Chapecoense – the Brazilian side tragically ripped apart by a plane crash last year – have avoiding relegation after bravely refusing immunity from the drop.
In November last year, en route to the biggest game in their history, the team plane went down killing 71 passengers and leaving just three surviving players.
And, on Thursday, a 2-1 win over Vitoria helped them achieve what many thought impossible by securing their first division status.
The phoenix-like club incredibly topped the Serie A table in May but fell away and used three different coaches over the course of the season.
To add to the new sense of joy and optimism around the club, goalkeeper Jakson Follmann, – who had his right leg amputated following the crash – has returned to training.
Using a prosthetic limb the 25-year-old is back between the sticks and enjoying his football career.
The brave shot-stopper now plans on playing his way into Brazil’s Paralympic side.
The Chapecoense squad, once described by coach Caio Júnior as “Brazil’s Leicester”, were on their way to the first leg of the final of the Copa Sudamericana in Colombia when tragedy struck
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They were travelling with a delegation of 21 journalists covering the match and only six people survived including reporter Rafael Valmorbida, flight attendant Ximena Suarez and flight technician Erwin Tumiri.
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