Chapecoense and their rebirth: face to face with Messi's Barcelona.

Chapecoense Football Association

On November 28 of last year, the Chapecoense Football Association lived the saddest episode of recent times in world sports. 19 players, the coaching staff, and the president of the institution died in an airplane crash near Medellin. The dream of playing the Copa Sudamericana final against Nacional could not be fulfilled; a total of 71 people lost their lives that night, with only 6 survivors, including three footballers: Neto, Jackson Follmann, and Alan Ruschel.

In these 8 months and 10 days that have passed, Chapecoense started, executed, and consolidated a new sports project in honor of those heroes who died on Colombian soil. In this time, there have been many achievements; from being champions of the Sudamericana, to playing in the Libertadores and now visiting the majestic Camp Nou to face Barcelona with Messi, Suarez, Iniesta, and company.

This is the sports summary of 'Chape' in recent months. This is how the life of the most beloved club in the American continent has unfolded.

Champion of South America

On December 5, 2016, Conmebol proclaimed Chapecoense the champion of the Copa Sudamericana. It was an initiative of Atletico Nacional, the team that was going to be their opponent in the final of the tournament. Months later, they faced each other in the Recopa, where the Paisa team won with an aggregate score of 5-3.

This title allowed them to access the group stage of the Copa Libertadores in 2017. It also gave them a spot in the Suruga Bank, which they will play in the coming days against the Japanese champion.

Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana

Chapecoense was placed in Group 7 of the tournament. They finished third in their group with 7 points, with Lanus and Nacional of Uruguay advancing to the next round. In total, they played 6 matches (2 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses).

With that third place, they qualified for the second phase of the Sudamericana, where they eliminated Defensa y Justicia from Argentina. Now they are waiting for their opponent in the round of 16; it will come from the series between Palestino (Chi) and Flamengo (Bra). The 'Fla' currently leads 5-2. The second leg will be played in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

State champion and path in the Brasileirao

Chapecoense won the title of the Catarinense championship this year, defeating Avaí in the final. They also won it in 2016.

Currently, they are not going through a good moment in the Brasileirao, they are 16th in the table with 22 points, one spot away from the relegation zone.

Change of coach and Ruschel's miracle

Vagner Mancini was the person in charge of assuming the coaching position after the tragedy in Colombia. The coach had a first semester with good results, but on July 4, he was dismissed due to the team's poor performance in the Brazilian championship. He was replaced by Vinicius Eutropio.

On the other hand, Alan Ruschel, one of the surviving players, will return to play professionally this Monday against Barcelona. The full-back has completed his recovery and physical conditioning and will be a starter at Camp Nou; he is expected to play 40 minutes.

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The match between Barcelona and Chapecoense, for the Joan Gamper Trophy, will start at 1:30 p.m., Colombian time. It will be broadcasted on ESPN 2.