Chapecoense crash survivor wins promotion in final game

Alan Ruschel signed for Juventude in 2023 [Getty Images] Alan Ruschel, a survivor of the 2016 plane crash that was carrying the Chapecoense football team, won promotion to Brazil's Serie A in his final game before retirement. Ruschel, 37, was one of just six survivors when the plane crashed in Colombia and killed 71 people, including 19 of the club's players and the coaching staff. Despite severe injuries and spinal surgery, Ruschel returned to football a year later and retires after earning promotion to Brazil's top flight with Juventude, his boyhood club which he re-joined in 2023. Ruschel came off the bench in the 74th minute to help see out a 2-0 win over Botafogo, resulting in an emotional farewell with a lap of honour at the club's Alfredo Jaconi Stadium. Before the game, he was also carried into the stadium on the shoulders of fans. "I arrived here in 2007 with the club in Serie A and I am leaving the club there as well," Ruschel told a Brazilian television station after the match. "My body wasn't responding any more. I had two consecutive knee surgeries, so I was starting to fighting with my own body. "It wasn't working any more, even though being on the pitch was always a pleasure." Ruschel referenced the plane crash in a video on social media which he posted the day before the game to confirm his retirement. "Football has given me wonderful moments, but life has put me in front of challenges that I never imagined. November 29, 2016, a day that changed my life forever. "I lost friends, companions and people with whom I shared dreams and projects. "And God gave me a second chance. I didn't know if I would be able to play football again, but I believed that if I was here, there was still a purpose for my life. "And today, I have the privilege of being able to choose the moment to say goodbye." Follow your club with BBC Sport Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast Get football news sent straight to your phone