Brazilian plane crash hits home for Toronto FC head coach and players

TORONTO — The deadly crash of the plane carrying Brazilian club Chapecoense hit home for Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney and his players.

They are all frequent flyers. 

“I’d be lying to say that the amount of times that we’ve been on planes as professionals and everything else, that it hasn’t crossed somebody’s mind here a time or two as you’re constantly boarding planes,” Vanney said Tuesday.

“In this day and age there’s a lot of travel that goes on in order to play these sporting events,” he added.

Toronto captain Michael Bradley, whose travel itinerary also includes U.S. national team play, joined Vanney in offering condolences.

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“It’s certainly one that hits close to home,” he said. “It’s a football team flying to the first leg of a final. You can’t even begin to put it into words. An incredibly sad day.” 

The crash south of Medellin, Colombia, killed 71 of the 77 people aboard, including most of the Chapecoense team and 20 sports journalists. Three players were among the survivors.

The Canadian Press