Sao Caetano defender Serginho, who last night became the latest player to die after collapsing on the pitch during a game, was a symbol of his club's amazing rise from obscurity.
Serginho, who died in hospital after suffering a cardio-respiratory arrest during the second half of the match with Sao Paulo, joined Sao Caetano five years ago when they were languishing deep in the Brazilian second division.
Serginho himself, full name Paulo Sergio de Oliveira Silva, had never played first division football, having instead spent his career moving between little-known small-town clubs such as Mogi Mirim and Aracatuba.
In the space of two years, the team from the industrial outskirts of Sao Paulo clambered out of the second division, reached two Brazilian championship finals and even made it to the final of South America's top club tournament, the Libertadores Cup.
Since then, they have been regularly among the Brazilian championship contenders.
