Widow of Chapeco victim rebuilds life by taking his job at soccer club

CHAPEC, Brazil - When Sirli Freitas lost her husband in the air crash that wiped out Brazil's Chapecoense soccer club, she had to rebuild her life. So she took his old job.

Cleberson Silva had been the press secretary for what was then known as Brazilian soccer's fairy tale success story, a small club that had come up through the ranks to the verge of international success.

Then on Nov 29, the 39-year-old was aboard the plane carrying the team to a regional championship game in Medellin, Colombia. The plane crashed just short of its destination, killing 71 people - the first team and much of the staff.

A week later, with the city of Chapeco numbed by mourning, Sirli Freitas, 33, went to the club to get her husband's belongings.

Waiting for her was an unexpected offer: why not take his job?

Freitas, who is raising her 8- and 3-year-old children alone now, had worked as a photojournalist at the local newspaper Diario Catarinense, so she understood the work.

But where her husband's days had been spent fielding queries from reporters about the plucky, rising club, Freitas now had to deal with requests about the tragedy from around the world.

Rebuilding process

"At times, I still can't believe it's all happened," she said. "It was so painful that it seems it wasn't true."

Working at Chapecoense is part of Freitas's rebuilding process, but it's also helping put the club back together.

Still, taking her husband's old role - a job he loved - means constant painful memories.

"Every day has its complicated moments because I remember him," she said. "I am doing what he did and I miss him tremendously. I think about how he would act if he were here and that helps me to overcome the difficult moments."

Among the hardest times was the club's return to international competition in Peru in March - with promoted academy players, team members who hadn't taken the fatal flight and a roster of players on loan. That meant flying.

"I suffered a lot during that flight, I couldn't stop thinking of what happened in Colombia," she said.

She hopes that it will get easier.

On May 10, the club returns to Medellin to play Atletico Nacional, the same team Chapecoense had been set to play when the crash took place. Freitas will be with them.

Despite the generally tight-knit community around the club, some have criticized the new management and at least five people have filed lawsuits seeking damages, according to local media reports.

But Freitas is focusing on her personal battles. "I have two children to look after and I need to make them believe that their mother is fine, that she's strong. It's them I worry about."

(China Daily 04/28/2017 page10)