Nantes fans say final goodbye to Sala on day of mourning

By: Jerome Pugmire, The Associated Press Posted: 8:44 AM CST Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019 Last Modified: 11:46 AM CST Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019

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PARIS - On a day of mourning for Emiliano Sala, Nantes players walked onto the field dressed all in black with Sala's name on their backs as the crowd chanted for him over and over again.

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PARIS - On a day of mourning for Emiliano Sala, Nantes players walked onto the field dressed all in black with Sala's name on their backs as the crowd chanted for him over and over again.

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PARIS – On a day of mourning for Emiliano Sala, Nantes players walked onto the field dressed all in black with Sala’s name on their backs as the crowd chanted for him over and over again.

“La la la la la la la la, Em-il-ia-no,” fans sang, before breaking out in a minute’s applause. This was observed at all stadiums in the top two divisions in France this weekend in memory of the Argentine striker who was killed in a plane crash at the age of 28.

Players from both sides, some with their heads down in pensive thought, stood in a circle and applauded at the Stade de la Beaujoire before Sunday’s game.

FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018 file photo Nantes' forward Emiliano Sala makes a tackle during a French League One soccer match, in Nantes, western France. The Argentine forward, who scored his last goal for Nantes on Dec. 5 in a 3-2 win over Marseille, was killed in a plane crash last month and his body was recovered from the wreckage on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019 authorities said. (AP Photo/David Vincent, File)

Then the chanting returned, with a different refrain.

“Emiliano Sala, Emiliano, Emiliano, Emiliano Sa-la,” the 37,000-strong crowd sang with same unrelenting intensity Sala showed throughout his career with Nantes, Caen and Bordeaux — the club he joined nine years ago after leaving Argentina to forge a career in France.

Nimes players wore black armbands on their red jerseys.

The referee stopped the game after nine minutes — nine being the jersey number worn by Sala — and the fans chanted his name again as they applauded. Nantes has now retired the No. 9 as a tribute to Sala.

Before the game, a giant banner with Sala’s face on it was draped over the centre circle, while the stadium’s big screen showed all the 48 goals he scored in 133 appearances for the club.

Sala scored his last goal for Nantes on Dec. 5 in a 3-2 win over Marseille, a typically powerful header from the imposing striker.

He was killed in a plane crash in the English Channel last month and his body was recovered from the seabed wreckage this week .

Sala had been flying from Nantes to Cardiff, about to start a new career in the English Premier League. At 28 years old, he was at the prime age for a soccer striker.

Throughout his career, Sala won respect and admiration wherever he played because of his work ethic and unselfish attitude on the field .

Those traits won him the admiration of Nantes coach Vahid Halilhodzic, himself a similarly hard-working striker with Nantes in the 1980s.