WAS BERGKAMP RIGHT?

Dennis Bergkamp refused to fly. He had a phobia and if needed at an away game in Europe, he would travel overland. Born in Amsterdam his parents named his after a favourite Denis law, the famous Scottish international. But they insisted on giving him two "n's" as in Dennis because Denis was too close to Denise!

I suspect there are many footballers who do not like European away games because they have to fly and in light of today's sad news I can understand that some may suffer from a fear of flying.

I flew from Quito to Santiago in 2008 with a top team in Ecuador who were playing in an inter-country club match. They were Universidad Catolica and they arrived safely.

Today a shocking air crash has taken the lives of famous South American footballers from the Brazilian club team Chapecoense (ACF). The relatively young club, founded only in 1973, was on a chartered flight, LaMia 2933, carrying 81 passengers and crew, flying to Medellin in Colombia. They were on their way to play the first leg in the final of the Copa Sudamericana against Atletico Nacional, winners of the Copa Colombia.

An "electrical fault" apparently brought the plane down in mountains en route. Three players survived the crash, 27 year old defender Alan Ruschel, Neto and reserve keeper Jackson Follman.

Chapecoense is based in Santa Caterina a city in South Brazil, with a population of 200,000. The club's stadium holds just over 20,000. They now play in Brazil's Serie A having gradually worked their way through the divisions. They now sit 9th in the division ahead of famous clubs such as Fluminese.

Other airplane disasters to have claimed footballers lives include the 1958 Munich air crash with Manchester United players on board, Alianza's 1st team from Lima were killed in december 1987 and in April 1993 the Zambian national team plane crashed near Libreville in Gabon.

Geography on your left.