Tragedy strikes Chapecoense – the Leicester City of Brazil

The football world is in mourning after a charter aircraft carrying the top-flight Brazilian team Chapecoense crashed in Colombia in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The aircraft came down in a mountainous rural area outside Medellin, where the Brazilian team were due to play Colombian team Atletico Nacional in the first leg of the final of the Copa Sudamericana.

There were 72 passengers and nine crew on board the plane when the disaster happened. Around 40 were with the Chapecoense team. Initial reports suggested that three players were among the handful of survivors. They were named as defender Alan Ruschel and goalkeepers Danilo Padilha and Jackson Follmann. A journalist and member of the flight crew are also thought to have survived.

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Chapecoense were until recently a relatively small club in Brazilian football, but they had enjoyed a rapid rise up the standings in recent seasons. At the time of the crash, they were on their way to the biggest game in the club's history.

"After a victory against Argentina's San Lorenzo, the team from Chapeco were looking forward to playing against Colombian team Atletico Nacional in the final of the Copa Sudamericana – South America's second most important club competition," reports the Daily Mirror.

Tragedy struck as Chapecoense were preparing for what "should have been the most glorious week in the history of the club", says Jack Lang of The Guardian.

"It was going to be an occasion to savour, at the end of another season of achievement. Alongside their endeavours in the Copa Sul-Americana (the South American equivalent of the Europa League), Chape have already secured their highest finish in the top flight, clambering above clubs with more illustrious back stories and far greater financial resources for the third year in a row since promotion."

The team was founded in 1973 in Chapeco, a city of around 200,000 people in the southern state of Santa Catarina, following the merger of two amateur clubs. After winning five state championships the team joined the national league set up in 1979 but made little impact.

In 2009 the side was languishing in Serie D, the fourth tier of the Brazilian football pyramid featuring 40 teams. However, the team was promoted that year and by 2014 had earned a spot in Brazil's Serie A.

"In 2013, Chape achieved promotion from Serie B, after finishing second in the 20-team league, behind only champions Palmeiras (the five-time Brazilian champions)," says The Mirror. "Built around a solid defence – conceding just 31 goals in 38 games – the team led by Gilmar Dal Pozzo lost just six matches all season, to claim a place in Serie A."

This year had been their third in the top flight. "No small achievement for a club of their lowly stature, in a league populated by more illustrious teams such as Corinthians and Santos," says the Daily Telegraph.

Despite having a seat at the top table, Chapecoense remained "a team from a relatively small, relatively unfashionable city," says Lang of the Guardian. "Even in the top flight their squad remained modest, their most recognisable player probably Cleber Santana, once of Atletico Madrid and Real Mallorca."

The 35-year-old was one of the first players to be confirmed as dead after the crash.

The team's status has led to comparisons with Leicester City. Lang notes that the coach, Caio Junior, was keen to embrace the link earlier this year.

"Our team really reminds me of Leicester, a team from an unfancied city that was able to win an important title," he said after a surprise win over Fluminense. "I want to make a mark this season with this club, this group of players."