| Full name | Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Tricolor, Imortal (Immortal) | |||
| Founded | September 15, 1903 | |||
| Stadium | Olímpico Monumental, Porto Alegre, Brazil (Capacity: 51,081[1]) |
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| Chairman | Paulo Odone | |||
| Manager | Caio Júnior | |||
| League | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | |||
| 2011 | 12th | |||
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Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, commonly known as just Grêmio (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɡɾẽmiu]), is a Brazilian professional association football team based in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul founded by English and German immigrants on September 15, 1903. Major titles captured by Grêmio include one Intercontinental Cup, two Copa Libertadores de América, two national championships and four national cups.[2] Grêmio plays in a tricolour (blue, white and black) striped shirt, black shorts and white socks (first kit). The club enjoys a cross-city rivalry with Sport Club Internacional, with their derbies known as "Gre–Nal".
The club is officially ranked the #1 Brazilian team by the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation).[3] Grêmio is also ranked the #3 Brazilian team in continental competitions by CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation)[4]
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On September 7, 1903 Brazil's first football team, Sport Club Rio Grande, played an exhibition match in Porto Alegre. An entrepreneur from Sorocaba, São Paulo named Cândido Dias was besotted with the sport and went to the ground to watch the match. During the match, the ball deflated. As the only owner of a football in Porto Alegre, he lent his ball to the players, and the match resumed. After the match, he talked to the players about how to found a football club. On September 15, 1903, 32 people, including Cândido Dias, met at Salão Grau restaurant in the city and founded Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense. Carlos Luiz Bohrer was elected as first president.[5]
The new club's first match took place on March 6, 1904, against Fuss Ball Porto Alegre, the first of two matches played that day. Grêmio won the first match 1-0. Unfortunately, newspaper reports of the time do not record the name of the player who scored the first goal in the club's history. The trophy Grêmio won that day, the Wanderpreis, still exists and is displayed at the club's museum. Five months later, Grêmio opened its first stadium, named Baixada.
In the early years of Grêmio's history, football was not a very popular game in Brazil and few teams existed. On July 18, 1909, Grêmio beat Internacional 10-0 on the latter's debut. Grêmio's goalkeeper Kallfelz reportedly left the field and went to talk with fans during the match. Even now this victory is remembered with pride by the Gremistas (Grêmio supporters). The match was the starting point for a strong rivalry which lives on to this day. Gre–Nal is the name given to this city derby.
Grêmio was one of the founding members of Porto Alegre's football league in 1910, and in 1911 won the city league for the first time. On August 25, 1912, in a city league match, Grêmio beat Sport Clube Nacional of Porto Alegre 23-0. Sisson scored 14 goals in the match in Grêmio's biggest ever win.
In 1918, Grêmio was one of the founders of Fundação Rio-Grandense de Desportes (later known as Federação Gaúcha de Futebol), a club federation which organized the first state championships of Rio Grande do Sul. The first championship was scheduled for 1918, but the Spanish flu epidemic forced the whole event to be postponed until 1919. In 1921, a year after the arrival of legendary goalkeeper Eurico Lara, Grêmio won its first state championship.
Grêmio enjoyed many pioneering moments in the 20th century. On July 7, 1911 Grêmio beat Uruguay's national team 2-1. In 1931, Grêmio became one of the first teams in Brazil to play matches at night after installing floodlights at its Estádio Baixada. On May 19, 1935, Grêmio became the first team from Rio Grande do Sul to beat a team from the state of São Paulo (considered the strongest Brazilian league at the time) when it defeated Santos 3-2. Grêmio was also the first club outside Rio de Janeiro state to play at the Maracanã Stadium, defeating Flamengo 3-1 in 1950.
During this period, Grêmio started to earn a reputation abroad. In 1932 it played its first international match in Rivera (Uruguay). In 1949, the match against Uruguay's Nacional ended in a 3-1 win for Grêmio and the players received a hero's welcome on their return to Porto Alegre. In that same year, Grêmio played for the first time in Central America. During the years 1953–1954, Grêmio travelled to Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia, an achievement dubbed "the conquest of the Americas". On February 25, 1959, Grêmio defeated Boca Juniors 4-1 in Buenos Aires, becoming the first foreign team to beat Boca at La Bombonera Stadium. And in 1961, Grêmio went for its first (and very successful) European jaunt, playing 24 matches in 11 countries: France, Romania, Belgium, Greece, Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Denmark, Estonia and Russia.
The Gremistas (Grêmio fans) were growing in number. 1946 saw the first appearance of the famous statement "com o Grêmio onde o Grêmio estiver" ("with Grêmio wherever Grêmio may be"), which was later incorporated at Grêmio's official anthem. This phrase was created by Salim Nigri, one of the most famous and revered Grêmio fans. It celebrates the Gremistas reputation for attending all Grêmio matches, regardless of the difficulties and obstacles, making long trips to follow their team wherever they played.
In the late 1950s, Grêmio joined the Taça Brasil, as the Brazilian league was known at the time. The team reached the Taça Brasil semi-finals in 1959, 1963 and 1967. In 1968, the team won its first international title in a friendly cup with teams from Brazil and Uruguay. In 1954, Grêmio first played at what was the biggest private stadium in Brazil at the time, the Olímpico Stadium.
In 1971, the Taça Brasil championship was replaced by the Campeonato Brasileiro, which is the top football showcase in Brazil today. The first goal ever scored in the Campeonato Brasileiro was by Grêmio player Néstor Scotta, an Argentine, in a match against São Paulo at Estádio do Morumbi.[6] Grêmio maintained a series of respectable results in Campeonato Brasileiro, usually staying at the top half of the league table.
The greatest period in Grêmio's history came in the 1980s, coinciding with the completion in July, 1980 of their new stadium, the Olímpico Monumental. On May 3, 1981, Grêmio won its first Campeonato Brasileiro after defeating São Paulo in the final at the Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo. The scores in the two-leg final were 2-1 at Olímpico and 1-0 for Grêmio at Morumbi. The winning goal was scored by striker Baltazar. Earlier, on April 26, 1981 Olímpico had its biggest attendance ever, when 98,421 fans watched Grêmio lose to Ponte Preta 0-1 in the Campeonato Brasileiro semi-final. This record will never be beaten, as the Olímpico Monumental was later rebuilt and now holds no more than 50,000 people.
1983 was the most successful year in Grêmio's history. First, Grêmio won the South-American Copa Libertadores, after a consistent yet eventful campaign. One of the matches of the triangular semi-final, the 3-3 draw against Estudiantes at Jorge Luis Hirschi Stadium, became legendary for its belligerence on and off the pitch, and is dubbed the "Batalha de La Plata" ("Battle of La Plata"), in reference to the hometown of Estudiantes. In the finals, Grêmio beat the 1982 South America and World champions Peñarol from Uruguay, with a 1-1 draw in Montevideo and a 2-1 win in Porto Alegre. The winning goal was scored by César just before the end of the match. A year later, Grêmio was runner-up in the Copa Libertadores final, being defeated by Argentina's Independiente.
Also in 1983, Grêmio won the Intercontinental Cup after defeating Hamburger SV of Germany 2-1. Renato scored both goals, and Uruguayan defender De León and goalkeeper Mazaropi were also regarded as heroes of this victory. In Porto Alegre, Grêmio's fans began the chant: "The Earth is Blue". Another chant created by Grêmio's fans when the club won the World Club title was "Nada Pode Ser Maior" ("Nothing Can Be Greater"). Soon after winning the Intercontinental Cup, Grêmio beat America of Mexico in Los Angeles, and won the Los Angeles Cup.
In 1989, Grêmio won the first Copa do Brasil, a Brazilian knockout cup featuring football teams from all around the country. After humiliating Flamengo – the best supported football team in Brazil – with a 6-1 win in the second leg of the semi-finals, Grêmio defeated Sport Recife in the final, with a 0-0 draw in Recife and a 2-1 win in Porto Alegre.
In 1991, after a poor season, Grêmio was relegated for the first time to the Brazilian Second Division of Campeonato Brasileiro, but gained immediate promotion back to the Campeonato Brasileiro's elite in the following season (1993). After this return to top form, 1994 saw Grêmio win its second Copa do Brasil, defeating Ceará in the two-leg final (0-0 and 1-0), the solitary goal scored by striker Nildo. The club then started its Tokyo Project.
In May 1995, under manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, Grêmio was runner-up in the Copa do Brasil, losing the final match to Corinthians 0-1 at Olímpico Monumental. In August, a few days after beating arch-rivals Internacional for the state title with a reserve squad, the club won the Copa Libertadores for the second time. In the finals, Grêmio defeated Atlético Nacional of Colombia, by winning 3-1 in Porto Alegre and drawing 1-1 in Medellín. The tournament was marked by the matches against Palmeiras in the quarter-finals. Palmeiras had perhaps the best squad on the competition, with players such as Rivaldo, Cafu, Edmundo, César Sampaio, Antônio Carlos, Roberto Carlos and Mancuso, but was beaten by Grêmio on the 1st leg in an epic 5-0 match with a hat-trick from Jardel in the 2nd half. In the 2nd match Palmeiras beat Grêmio in another incredible match by a 5-1 score, which wasn't quite enough for Palmeiras.
In the World Club tournament, Grêmio had a player sent off and was eventually defeated by Ajax Amsterdam of the Netherlands in the penalty shootout. Early 1996 saw Grêmio win the Recopa Sudamericana, beating Argentina's Independiente 4-1.
On December 15, 1996, Grêmio won its second Campeonato Brasileiro, after defeating Portuguesa in the final. Portuguesa won the first match at home 2-0, and therefore Grêmio was forced to win the final match at Porto Alegre for the same score or more. Grêmio got to 2-0, with midfielder Ailton scoring the second goal a few minutes before the final whistle. Grêmio won the title due to their higher finish in the league.
In 1997, Grêmio won its third Copa do Brasil title. In the finals against Romário's Flamengo, Grêmio won on away goals after a 0-0 draw in Porto Alegre and a 2-2 in Rio de Janeiro. Four years later, in 2001, Grêmio won its fourth Copa do Brasil, defeating Corinthians. The first leg of the final, in Porto Alegre, finished with the score of 2-2. The second game in São Paulo ended with a 3-1 Grêmio victory, in a match which is regarded by many as one of the finest in Grêmio's history.
In 2004, after performing poorly for two consecutive seasons in the Série A, Grêmio finished bottom of the league and was once again relegated to Campeonato Brasileiro's Second Division. Grêmio's task was much more difficult this time, with only two clubs able to qualify for promotion to the First Division. On November 26, 2005, at Estádio dos Aflitos, Recife, Grêmio had four players sent off and two penalty kicks against them. The first penalty was shot off the post by Bruno Carvalho in the first half when Grêmio still had 11 players on the field; the second was saved by goalkeeper Galatto after Grêmio had been reduced to 7 men. Grêmio beat Náutico by 1-0, with Anderson the scorer. With this victory, Grêmio won the Série B of the Campeonato Brasileiro and were promoted back to the Série A. That crucial match is referred to by fans as "The Battle of the Aflitos" ("A Batalha dos Aflitos", "Aflitos" being the name of Náutico's home field), because all the incidents both on and off the pitch resembled a true battle. The match became so legendary for Grêmio supporters that 2 movies and a book were made to tell the story.
On April 9, 2006, at Estádio Beira-Rio, Grêmio won the state championship against Internacional, preventing its rival from winning a fifth title in a row. Playing away, Grêmio managed to obtain a 1-1 draw at the last match, enough to secure the title. Grêmio players said after the match that there were more than 50,000 Internacional fans in Beira Rio's Stadium, and they could still hear the noise made by 6,000 Gremistas, which was an extra source of motivation. In 2007, at Estádio Olímpico Monumental, Grêmio won the state championship (Campeonato Gaúcho) once again, against Juventude. In the semi-finals against Caxias, Grêmio suffered a 3-0 defeat in the first match, but managed to score a 4-0 win at Olímpico to qualify to the final.
Also in 2007, Grêmio reached the final of the Copa Libertadores 2007, after a series of dramatic matches against the top clubs in South America. Even after a 3-0 defeat at the away match, Gremistas formed huge lines to buy tickets for the final match in Porto Alegre, with some of the fans queuing for four days or more. In the Campeonato Brasileiro 2007, Grêmio came sixth in the league table.
In 2008, after the sudden firing of their new manager Vagner Mancini, the club hired Celso Roth. Within a month they had prematurely dropped out of both the domestic cup (Copa do Brasil) and their state championship (Campeonato Gaucho). This led to the team going through a state of crisis and, soon after, major renovation. They were expected to be on the bottom half of the Campeonato Brasileiro's table, and maybe even relegated, but managed to finish in 2nd place. For many supporters, even that was considered a failure as in the first half of the championship, the team was considered the best of the country, and more than 10 points ahead of their rivals. But unexpected loses during the final games of the season lost the championship.
In 2009, giving priority to the Copa Libertadores 2009, the team played most of the state championship matches with the reserve squad. This and some controversial attitudes of coach Celso Roth led to several poor results, notably three losses to their main rival Internacional. In April, after the premature loss of the state championship, Celso Roth was fired.
| Year | Position | Year | Position | Year | Position | Year | Position |
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| 1971 | 6th | 1981 | 1st | 1991 | 19th | 2001 | 5th |
| 1972 | 10th | 1982 | 2nd | 1992 | - | 2002 | 3rd |
| 1973 | 5th | 1983 | 14th | 1993 | 13th | 2003 | 20th |
| 1974 | 5th | 1984 | 3rd | 1994 | 14th | 2004 | 24th |
| 1975 | 15th | 1985 | 23rd | 1995 | 15th | 2005 | - |
| 1976 | 6th | 1986 | 14th | 1996 | 1st | 2006 | 3rd |
| 1977 | 13th | 1987 | 5th | 1997 | 15th | 2007 | 6th |
| 1978 | 6th | 1988 | 4th | 1998 | 8th | 2008 | 2nd |
| 1979 | 22nd | 1989 | 11th | 1999 | 18th | 2009 | 8th |
| 1980 | 6th | 1990 | 3rd | 2000 | 4th | 2010 | 4th |
As of August 2011.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Players with Dual Nationality
Professional players able to play in the youth team
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Youth players with first team experience
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Estádio Olímpico Monumental, as it is called today, was inaugurated on September 19, 1954 as Estádio Olímpico. At the time it was the largest private stadium in Brazil. Estádio Olímpico's first game was between Grêmio and Nacional from Montevideo; Grêmio won by a score of 2-0, with both goals scored by Vitor. In 1980 a second tier was added to the Olímpico, and the stadium was renamed the Olímpico Monumental. The first game at the renamed Olímpico Monumental was played on June 21, 1980, when Grêmio beat Vasco da Gama by a score of 1-0. Estádio Olímpico Monumental has an attendance record of 98,421 people for the game against Ponte Preta on April 26, 1981. Estádio Olímpico Monumental has 40 luxury booths which hold 10 people, and 5 booths which hold 20 people. It also has 140 places in a Tribune of Honor. It has 28 seats reserved for handicapped fans, 22 of which have space for people accompanying them. The Estádio Olímpico Monumental's Parking lot has space for 700 vehicles.
Grêmio's anthem is one of the most critically well-acclaimed amongst all Brazilian clubs because, other than the anthems of the clubs from Rio de Janeiro (all composed by Lamartine Babo), it is the only football anthem composed by a renowned composer, Lupicínio Rodrigues. Featuring a vivid and playful melody, the anthem features the famous verses: Até a pé nós iremos / para o que der e vier / mas o certo é que nós estaremos / com o Grêmio onde o Grêmio estiver (Even on foot we shall go / against all obstacles / but it is for sure we will be / with Grêmio wherever Grêmio may be). Grêmio fans are very fond of their faith, even when the club is not doing well, and boast that Grêmio, as the anthem hints, has never played without supporters somewhere in the world.
Eurico Lara, a goalkeeper who played for the club in the 1920s and in the 1930s, is mentioned in the anthem, where he is called the immortal idol (or craque imortal, in Portuguese).
According to the club the gold star represents the victory in the World Club Championship; the silver one represents the two South American competition victories; and the bronze one represents the National competitions. There is also a gold star in Grêmio's flag that represents a player Everaldo, a star from 1970s who was the first Gaúcho (people from Rio Grande do Sul) to become a world champion with the Brazilian National team.
The first club flag was unveiled by the club for the first time during the opening ceremony for the Baixada stadium. At that time, it had a horizontal stripe of blue, black and white, with a medallion on the left top corner. The Brazilian Flag was the inspiration for the Tricolor's standard from 1918 to 1944.
There are around 8 Million Grêmio fans in Brazil, meaning that, in terms of numbers of followers, Grêmio is 6th in Brazil. Grêmio's main supporters groups include Geral do Grêmio, Garra Tricolor and Torcida Jovem do Grêmio.
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Home Uniform
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Away Uniform
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Alternate Uniform
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As the years went on, Grêmio and another important Brazilian football club, Internacional, started to form a rivalry. Soon the games between these two clubs got their own name, Gre–Nal, and resulted in record attendance. Now the games fill the streets of Porto Alegre with football-crazed fans. The rivalry is now so ingrained that for many gaúchos and portoalegrenses blue is the opposite color of red, much like in video game culture.
In 1935, Eurico Lara, who was Grêmio's goalie, conceded a penalty kick. When the Internacional player was about to kick it, Lara's brother stopped the game and reminded him of his doctor's recommendation that he didn't overexert himself. He didn't listen. Soon the Internacional player took the shot. Lara caught it, but as soon as he did he fell sideways and didn't move. He was substituted after the wondrous save, and Grêmio won the game. But unfortunately he died two weeks later as a result from the fatigue from that game. Lara has been immortalized in the club anthem.
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