Sao Paulo yesterday gave a heroes’ welcome to its beloved Corinthians on their return home from their 1-0 weekend victory over European Champions Chelsea in the Club World Cup in Japan.

The players flew in after a 20-hour flight from Japan with a stopover in Germany.

Thousands of elated fans, many donning the Corinthians’ black and white jerseys, lined the route as the open-air bus carrying the heroes slowly made its way through the streets of the huge metropolis of 11 million people, South America’s largest.

Joined by popular Brazilian singer Thiaguinho, the players basked in their glory, taking turns to hoist and kiss the coveted FIFA Club World Cup.

There were special cheers for striker Paolo Guerrero, who scored the only goal in Sunday’s final in the Japanese city of Yokohama.

“Two-time champions”, “Ole Ole Ole”, the crowd chanted.

The popular Sao Paulo club secured their second intercontinental title – they won the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship – and became the first side from outside the European continent to win the title since 2006.

More than 20,000 Corinthians fans had travelled to Japan to cheer their side and there were wild scenes of jubilation across Sao Paulo on Sunday when the final ended.

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