Bengaluru, Dec 1: Roberto Medes Silva, the Brazilian midfielder who was popular as Beto in Indian football had plans of bringing Chapecoense coach late Caio Junior to India.

All leagues special site; Airplane carrying Chapecoense players crashes; Chapecoense's plane was on low fuel

In a dreadful incident on November 29, Brazilian football club Chapecoense side met with a fatal airplane accident at Medellin, Colombia which took away the lives of their footballers.

Former Dempo star Beto who has been running a sports company for the last couple of years after retiring from football is in Dubai and from there while talking over the phone he was simply spellbound after getting the news of the horrific incident.

Beto said: “I cannot imagine that Junior has also died in the plane crash. First of all I had played under this experienced coach in Brazil at the youth level.

"More importantly, I had communication with Junior even till the last year. He was coaching in Dubai. And I often go there due to my football-related jobs.

"Naturally, whenever I used to go to Dubai we met and talked also. I can remember that once I proposed him whether he has plans to come to India as a coach of any ISL franchise team.

"So, Junior smiled and said that he was not reluctant. Today I am remembering only those words."

Jose Ramirez Barreto, one of the best foreign footballers to have ever played in India was also stunned with the atrocious incident.

Barreto said: “It has been probably the biggest tragedy in Brazil football. And I also knew Caio Junior a little bit as he had been coach of Gremio FC for some time.

"During that phase, I can recall that once I watched him in the training from outside. He was a very friendly person I heard."

The former Mohun Bagan star also informed that two footballers from Gremio FC had joined Chapecoense last season and one of them was from his hometown Sao Paulo.

He added: “It is painful to imagine how the footballers' families will survive now."

OneIndia News