Members of the Brazilian Army carry the coffins of Chapecoense soccer team members and other Brazilians during a funeral ceremony at the Arena Conda stadium, in Chapeco, Brazil. (Fernando Bizerra Jr/EPA)

On a rainy Saturday that only accentuated their grief, 20,000 people filled a stadium under umbrellas and plastic ponchos to say goodbye to members of the Chapecoense soccer club who died in last week’s plane crash.

The crash on Monday in the Colombian Andes claimed most of the team’s players and staff as it headed to the finals of one of Latin America’s most important club tournaments. Seventy-one of the 77 people on board died, including 19 players on the team. The cause of the crash of the plane, flying from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to the Colombian city of Medellin, remains under investigation.

Rain-soaked mourners jammed the modest stadium with four or five times that many outside — about half the population of the southern Brazilian city of 210,000 — to pay homage to a modest club that nearly reached the pinnacle of Latin American soccer.

1 of 16 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × The site of the wreckage after plane carrying a Brazilian soccer team crashes View Photos A plane carrying 81 crashed in Colombia, killing most passengers. On board were many members of the Chapecoense Real soccer team, who were headed to a championship game. Caption A plane carrying 81 crashed in Colombia, killing most passengers. On board were many members of the Chapecoense Real soccer team, who were headed to a championship game. Nov. 29, 2016 Rescue workers stand site where a chartered airplane crashed outside Medellin, Colombia. Luis Benavides/AP Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.

Soldiers carried the coffins into the stadium, sloshing through the muddy field filled with funeral wreaths, club and national flags, and other tributes. A white tent, with the coffins placed underneath, stretched across the width of the soccer field. On top of the tent, a sentence from the club’s anthem was written for all to read: “In happiness and in the most difficult hours, you are always a winner.”

Family members and friends wept under the tents. Many hunched over the coffins with photos of the deceased placed on top or alongside.

Players and coaches from Brazil’s Chapecoense soccer club were on board a charter jet when it crashed near Medellín, Colombia. Here are seven other plane crashes that have taken the lives of athletes and coaches. (Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)

Ivan Tozzo, the acting president of the club, spoke of the team, reminding mourners that “it was here on this field where this club fought the good fight.”

“This team taught us that everything is possible,” he added, recalling how the team rose to the final of the No. 2 tournament on the soccer-crazed continent.

In closing he added, “We are all Chapecoense.”

Chapeco Mayor Luciano Buligon, like several speakers, praised the aid Colombia provided — along with the club Atletico Nactional, the team Chapecoense was to play in the two-game final.

“Atletico Nacional summed it all up on its website,” the mayor said. “Atletico said Chapecoense came to Medellin with a dream, and it leaves a legend. Legends don’t die.”

The stadium memorial concluded a heart-wrenching week for residents and family members stunned by the crash.

“They deserve a farewell of champions,” said Tatiana Bruno, who stood inside the stadium in the rain .