2016 Copa Sudamericana finals

2016 Copa Sudamericana finals

2016 Copa Sul-Americana
Event	2016 Copa Sudamericana
Atlético Nacional Chapecoense
Cancelled due to crash of LaMia Flight 2933, title awarded to Chapecoense
First leg
Atlético Nacional Chapecoense
Date	30 November 2016 (cancelled)
Venue	Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Medellín
Second leg
Chapecoense Atlético Nacional
Date	7 December 2016 (cancelled)
Venue	Estádio Couto Pereira, Curitiba
← 2015 2017 →

The 2016 Copa Sudamericana finals were scheduled to be the two-legged final that would have decided the winners of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana, the 15th edition of the Copa Sudamericana, South America's secondary international club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.

The finals were scheduled to be contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Colombian team Atlético Nacional and Brazilian team Chapecoense. The first leg was scheduled to be hosted by Atlético Nacional at Estadio Atanasio Girardot in Medellín on 30 November 2016, while the second leg was scheduled to be hosted by Chapecoense at Estádio Couto Pereira in Curitiba on 7 December 2016. The winner would have earned the right to play against the 2016 Copa Libertadores winners in the 2017 Recopa Sudamericana, and against the 2016 J. League Cup winners in the 2017 Suruga Bank Championship. ^[1] They also automatically qualified for the 2017 Copa Libertadores group stage.

However, the finals never took place. The matches were cancelled after the crash of LaMia Flight 2933, which was carrying the majority of the Chapecoense squad on their way to the first leg of the finals. ^{[2] [3]} CONMEBOL awarded the title to Chapecoense on 5 December 2016, following a request by Atlético Nacional. ^{[4] [5]}

Both teams would face each other at the 2017 Recopa Sudamericana, since Atlético Nacional won the 2016 edition of the Copa Libertadores, The Recopa title was won by Atlético Nacional.

Teams

Team	Previous finals app.
Atlético Nacional	2 (2002, 2014)
Chapecoense	None

Atlético Nacional would have had the chance to complete the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana season double, having won the Copa Libertadores title earlier in 2016, while this would be the first South American club final for Chapecoense. Nowadays, that is not possible anymore, given that since 2017, both competitions are played simultaneously.

Road to the finals

Further information: 2016 Copa Sudamericana

Note: In all scores below, the score of the home team is given first.

Atlético Nacional			Round	Chapecoense
Opponent	Venue	Score	Elimination stages	Opponent	Venue	Score
Deportivo Municipal (won 6–0 on aggregate)	Away	0–5	First stage	Automatically advanced to Second stage
	Home	1–0
Bolívar (won 2–1 on aggregate)	Away	1–1	Second stage	Cuiabá (won 3–2 on aggregate)	Away	1–0
	Home	1–0			Home	3–1
Seed 4			final stages	Seed 3
Sol de América (won 3–1 on aggregate)	Away	1–1	Round of 16	Independiente (tied 0–0 on aggregate, won on penalties)	Away	0–0
	Home	2–0			Home	0–0 (5–4 p)
Coritiba (won 4–2 on aggregate)	Away	1–1	Quarterfinals	Junior (won 3–1 on aggregate)	Away	1–0
	Home	3–1			Home	3–0
Cerro Porteño (tied 1–1 on aggregate, won on away goals)	Away	1–1	Semifinals	San Lorenzo (tied 1–1 on aggregate, won on away goals)	Away	1–1
	Home	0–0			Home	0–0

Format

Estadio Atanasio Girardot in Medellín (left) and Estadio Couto Pereira in Curitiba were scheduled to host the series. Couto Pereira venue was chosen since Chapecoense's stadium, Arena Condá in Chapecó, did not have the minimum capacity of 40,000 spectators required by CONMEBOL. ^[6]

The final would be played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg. If tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would not be used, and 30 minutes of extra time would be played. If still tied after extra time, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner. ^[1]

LaMia Flight 2933 crash

Main article: LaMia Flight 2933

On 28 November 2016, LaMia Flight 2933, carrying the Chapecoense squad to the first leg, crashed on the way to the José María Córdova International Airport. ^{[7] [8]} There were 71 fatalities, including 19 of the 22 Chapecoense players on the plane. ^[9] CONMEBOL immediately suspended all activities, including the scheduled final matches, in the early morning of 29 November. ^[3]

In light of these events, Atlético Nacional requested that CONMEBOL award the title to Chapecoense. ^[10] As requested, CONMEBOL awarded Chapecoense the title of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana, their first continental title, on 5 December, ^[11] while Atlético Nacional received the "CONMEBOL Centenario Fair Play" award for their gesture. ^{[4] [12]}

Match details

First leg

2016 Copa Sudamericana

30 November 2016 (2016-11-30)

18:45  UTC−5

First leg

Atlético Nacional	(Cancelled)	Chapecoense
	Report

Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Medellín

Atlético Nacional invited fans to the Estadio Atanasio Girardot dressed in white with candles at the scheduled time of the first leg, to pay tribute in memory to the victims of the crash. ^{[13] [14]} A vigil was held on the same night at Chapecoense's stadium, the Arena Condá. ^{[15] [16]}

Second leg

7 December 2016 (2016-12-07)

21:45  UTC−2

Second leg

Chapecoense	(Cancelled)	Atlético Nacional
	Report

Estádio Couto Pereira, Curitiba

Services were held in both the Estádio Couto Pereira, and Chapecoense's stadium, the Arena Condá, on the night that the second leg was scheduled. ^{[17] [18]}

See also

• 2017 Recopa Sudamericana
• 2017 Suruga Bank Championship
• List of accidents involving sports teams

References

1. "Copa Sudamericana 2016 – Reglamento" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com.
2. "Brazil football team Chapecoense in Colombia plane crash". BBC. 29 November 2016.
3. "Comunicado a la opinión pública" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 29 November 2016.
4. "CONMEBOL otorga el título de Campeón de la Sudamericana 2016 a Chapecoense y reconoce a Atlético Nacional con el premio del Centenario de la Conmebol al Fair Play" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. 5 December 2016. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016.
5. La Conmebol proclamó al Chapecoense campeón de la Copa Sudamericana 2016 on Infobae, 5 Dec 2016
6. "Copa Sudamericana: Chapecoense hará de local en la final en el estadio "Couto Pereira", de Curitiba". CONMEBOL.com. 25 November 2016.
7. Weaver, Matthew; Walker, Bonnie (29 November 2016). "Brazilian football team Chapecoense on plane that crashed in Colombia". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
8. "76 confirmed dead in Colombian plane crash". Cable News Network. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
9. "Chapecoense plane crash: The victims, the survivors and those left behind". BBC. 1 December 2016.
10. "Campeón de la Sudamericana" (in Spanish). Atlético Nacional de Medellín. Archived from the original on 2017-01-29. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
11. "Chape é declarada campeã e garante ao menos US$ 4,8 mi em premiações" (in Portuguese). globo.com. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
12. "Chapecoense named Copa Sudamericana winners after plane crash". Guardian. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
13. "De Luto". Atlético Nacional. 29 November 2016. Archived from the original on December 11, 2016.
14. "Homenaje a Chapecoense en Medellín". CONMEBOL.com. 30 November 2016.
15. "Y Chapecó le cantó a su pena infinita". CONMEBOL.com. 30 November 2016.
16. "Colombia plane crash: Thousands gather for vigils". BBC. 1 December 2016.
17. "Chapecó e Curitiba se unem em homenagens". Associação Chapecoense de Futebol. 7 December 2016. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
18. "Estádio Couto Pereira fica lotado em homenagem à Chapecoense". veja.com. 7 December 2016.

External links

• Copa Sudamericana 2016, CONMEBOL.com (in Spanish)