SAO PAULO: The Brazilian football team Internacional says former striker and coach Fernando Lucio da Costa, better known as Fernandao, has died in a helicopter crash.
The team says on its website that the 36-year old Fernandao was one of five passengers killed when the helicopter crashed early Saturday in the state of Goias, where he had a house.
The Goias police department says only da Costa was alive when rescue workers arrived, but he died while being rushed to the hospital.
Da Costa was one of Internacional's most popular players. He was the team captain in 2006 when the team won the FIFA Club World Cup and the Copa Liberators, Latin America's biggest club tournament.
After retiring as a player, he briefly coached the team but was sacked in November 2012.
