NEW Chapecoense signing Artur Moraes reveals the reason he joined the tragic club because it was bigger “than going to work for a football club”.
The former Benfica goalkeeper returned to his homeland to join the side as one of the most high-profile signings following the tragic plane crash which claimed the lives of 19 of their players.
And Artur insists that, while he always welcomed the opportunity to go back to Brazil, as soon as Chapecoense were interested, his next move was a no-brainer.
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He said: “When I saw that Vagner Mancini was the manager, I jumped at the opportunity.
“Coming here is something more than just going to work for a football club.
“It has another meaning — a bigger meaning.
“You can’t reject the opportunity of representing this club. It was a human choice rather than a professional one.
“I feel something so special, so unique with the management and the supporters.”
The 35-year-old is one of the Brazilian stars helping the healing process and the rebuilding of Chapecoense after the horrific air disaster in November, in which 19 players and manager Luis Saroli died.
The club were en route to play Atletico Nacional in the Copa Sudamerica final when the plane crashed in Colombia, killing 71 passengers.
The rebuilding process began swiftly, however.
Rejecting the offer of loans from other helpful club, they signed 20 new players within a matter of weeks, with the blessing of the grieving families and friends of the deceased
The patched-together side began training two weeks ago, watched by thousands of fans at their home ground.
Chapecoense played their first match since the tragic incident in a friendly against Palmeiras last weekend, and will complete the incredibly swift comeback in their first competitive match against Joinville on Thursday.
Artur admits that the players wanted to put on a good show to pay homage to the victims and their families, but that it was at times difficult.
He said: "My introduction was really very sentimental.
"The families of the victims, of former players and staff were all present.
"It was hard to actually play the match as my team-mates were very moved.
"While, for me, it was doubly-emotional as I was coming back home for the first time in ten years.
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"But, in the end, we were happy because we played a good match — against the team that won the title last season.
"We're happy to have been able to pay homage to the club, to the families of the victims and for having had the chance to show on the pitch just what we can do this season."
And Artur insists that, while every team around the world will be cheering them on, any side on the pitch will always have that natural instinct to win.
He said: “In football, there is always respect and I believe everyone will always have respect for that tragedy that happened here.
“But I know in football, when the match starts, you don’t think about anything other than winning the match.
“We will have to be clever and manage our emotions.
“The management are trying to support us as best they can.”
Artur, 35, last played in Brazil back in 2007 with Coritiba, while on loan from Cruzeiro.
He moved Italian side Siena, spending a season at Cesena.
He joined Roma in 2008 and stayed in the Eternal City for two years before moving to Portugal with Braga.
Artur’s big move came in 2011 when he signed for Benfica and in Lisbon earned the nickname ‘King Arthur’.
He played consistently, before losing his place in Jan Oblak.
In 2015, he moved to Turkey with Osmanlispor, before signing for Chapecoense.
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