Grêmio's home stadium is theArena do Grêmio, which the team moved to in 2013. With a capacity of over 55,000, the stadium is one of the most modern venues in South America and theeight-largest of its kind in Brazil.[3] Prior to that, Grêmio played atEstádio Olímpico Monumental since 1954. Grêmio usually plays in atricolor (blue, black, and white) striped shirt, black shorts, and white socks, which originated the team's nickname.[4]
Grêmio has a long-standing and intense rivalry withInternacional, widely regarded as one of the fiercest in Brazil[12][13] and around the world.[14][15] Matches between the two clubs are known asGrenais, orGrenal in singular form.
One of the first Grêmio squads, December 1903Grêmio state champion of 1932. Standing: Poroto, Nenê, Sardinha I,Foguinho, (), Heitor,Luiz Carvalho e Lacy. Crouching: Amâncio, (), Sardinha II, Eurico Lara, Dário e Comani.
On 7 September 1903, Brazil's oldest football team,Sport Club Rio Grande, played an exhibition match inPorto Alegre. An entrepreneur fromSorocaba, São Paulo, named Cândido Dias was besotted with the sport and he went 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 local players about how to start a football club. On 15 September 1903, 32 people, including Cândido Dias, met at Salão Grau, a local restaurant and founded "Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense". Most of the founding members were part of the city'sGerman community.[16] Carlos Luiz Bohrer was elected as first president.[17]
The club's first match took place on 6 March 1904, againstFuss Ball Porto Alegre, the first of two matches played that day. Grêmio won the first match 1–0. Unfortunately, the name of the player who scored the club's first goal is lost to history. The trophy Grêmio won that day, the Wanderpreis, is still displayed at the club's museum. Within 5 months the club had inaugurated the Baixada, its first home.[18]
Grêmio in 1904, wearing the blue and black jerseyGrêmio state champion of 1931
On 18 July 1909, Grêmio beatInternacional 10–0 on the latter's debut game. Grêmio's goalkeeper Kallfelz reportedly left the field to chat with fans during the match. Even now this victory is remembered with pride by Gremistas (Grêmio supporters). The match was the starting point for a rivalry that rages on to this day. Grêmio was one of the founding members of the Porto Alegre football league in 1910, and in 1911 won the league for the first time. On 25 August 1912, in a city league match, Grêmio beat Sport Clube Nacional of Porto Alegre 23–0. Sisson scored 14 goals in the match to record Grêmio's biggest ever win. In 1918, Grêmio became a founding member of theFundação Rio-Grandense de Desportes (later known asFederação Gaúcha de Futebol), a federation that organized the first state championships inRio Grande do Sul. The first championship was scheduled for 1918, but the Spanish flu epidemic forced the event to be postponed until 1919. In 1921, a year after the arrival of legendary goalkeeperEurico Lara, Grêmio won its first state championship.
On 7 July 1911, Grêmio beatUruguay'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 Estádio Baixada. On 19 May 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) by defeatingSantos 3–2. Grêmio was also the first club outsideRio de Janeiro state to play at theMaracanã Stadium, defeatingFlamengo 3–1 in 1950.
During this period, Grêmio started to earn a reputation abroad. In 1932 it played its first international match inRivera (Uruguay). In 1949, the match against Uruguay'sNacional 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. Between 1953 and 1954, Grêmio travelled to Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia, a tour dubbed "the conquest of the Americas". On 25 February 1959, Grêmio defeatedBoca Juniors 4–1 in Buenos Aires, becoming the first foreign team to beat Boca atLa Bombonera.
In 1961, Grêmio went on its first European tour playing 24 games in 11 countres: France, Romania, Belgium, Greece, Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Denmark, Estonia and Russia. TheGremistas (Grêmio fans) were growing in number. 1946 saw the first appearance of the club's motto"com o Grêmio onde o Grêmio estiver" ("with Grêmio wherever Grêmio may be"), which was later written into Grêmio's official anthem. An anthem penned byLupicinio Rodrigues, asamba-cancao composer who became one of the most famous and revered Grêmio fans. The anthem celebrates the Gremistas reputation for attending all Grêmio matches, regardless of the difficulties and obstacles they might have to overcome to see their club. In the late 1950s, Grêmio joined theTaça 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 andUruguay. In 1954, Grêmio inaugurated what was at the time the biggest private stadium in Brazil, theOlímpico Stadium. In 1971, theTaça Brasil championship was replaced by theCampeonato Brasileiro with the first goal ever scored in the Campeonato Brasileiro coming from Grêmio'sNéstor Scotta, anArgentine, in a match againstSão Paulo atEstádio do Morumbi.[19] Grêmio maintained a series of respectable results in Campeonato Brasileiro, usually achieving a top half finish.
Grêmio's first dominant period in South American football began in the early 1980s. Propelled by the completion of their new stadium, theOlímpico Monumental.
Grêmio won its first Campeonato Brasileiro on 3 May 1981, after defeatingSão Paulo at theMorumbi 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 26 April 1981 Olímpico had its biggest attendance ever, when 98,421 fans watched Grêmio lose toPonte Preta 0–1 in the Campeonato Brasileiro semi-final.[20]
1983 was the most successful year in Grêmio's history. First, Grêmio won the South-AmericanCopa Libertadores, after a consistent yet eventful campaign. One of the matches of the semi-final, the 3–3 draw againstEstudiantes atJorge 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").[21][22] In the finals, Grêmio beat the 1982 South America and World championsPeñarol from Uruguay, with a 1–1 draw inMontevideo 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'sIndependiente.
Also in 1983, Grêmio won theIntercontinental Cup after defeatingHamburger SV of Germany 2–1.[23]Renato Portaluppi scored both goals. With Uruguayan defenderDe León and goalkeeper Mazaropi also earning club legend status on the back of their performances in the Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup. Porto Alegre, was deafened by the gremista's chant of:"The Earth is Blue". Soon after winning the Intercontinental Cup, Grêmio beatAmerica of Mexico in Los Angeles, and won theLos Angeles Cup.
In 1989, Grêmio won the firstCopa do Brasil, a Brazilian knockout cup featuring football teams from all around the country. After humiliating Flamengo with a 6–1 win in the second leg of the semi-finals, Grêmio defeatedSport 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 theBrazilian Second Division[24] but gained immediate promotion back to the Campeonato Brasileiro's elite the following season (1993). After this return to form, 1994 saw Grêmio win its second Copa do Brasil, defeatingCeará in the two-leg final (0–0 and 1–0), the solitary goal scored by striker Nildo. This win kickstarted the club'sTokyo Project.
On 11 December 1994, due a bloated and extensive schedule, Grêmio had to play three matches in a single day at theOlímpico Monumental during the1994 Campeonato Gaúcho. These matches began at 2 p.m., 4 p.m., and 8 p.m. againstAimoré,Santa Cruz, andBrasil de Pelotas respectively. They drew the first match and won the other two, using a total of 34 different players from the first team, reserves andacademy. The matches had a small public attendance of 758 fans — 247 paying. The matches were also played in temperatures of 45 °C (113 °F) in the summer heat of Porto Alegre.[25]
In May 1995, under head coachLuiz Felipe Scolari, Grêmio were runners-up in theCopa do Brasil, losing the final match toCorinthians 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. DefeatingAtlético Nacional of Colombia 3–1 in Porto Alegre and drawing 1–1 inMedellín. The tournament was marked by fierce matches againstPalmeiras in the quarter-finals. Palmeiras had perhaps the best squad on the competition, with players such asRivaldo,Cafu,Edmundo,César Sampaio,Antônio Carlos,Roberto Carlos andMancuso. They were soundly beaten by Grêmio in the 1st leg in an epic 5–0 match with a hat-trick fromMário Jardel. Palmeiras beat Grêmio 5–1 in the return leg, with Jardel's lone strike proving enough to see Grêmio through to the Semi-finals.
On 15 December 1996, Grêmio won its secondCampeonato Brasileiro, defeatingPortuguesa 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 by 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 their thirdCopa do Brasil title. In the finals againstRomário'sFlamengo, Grêmio won on away goals after a 0–0 draw in Porto Alegre and a 2–2 draw in Rio de Janeiro. Four years later, in 2001, Grêmio won their fourth Copa do Brasil, defeatingCorinthians. 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 as one of the finest in Grêmio's history.
Second relegation, Batalha dos Aflitos and the Libertadores 2007
On 2000, Grêmio closed a multi-million deal with Swiss sports marketing firmInternational Sport and Leisure (ISL).[26] With the newfound income, Grêmio made large investments and expensive hirings, such asZinho,Paulo Nunes,Gabriel Amato andLeonardo Astrada.[27] However, soon in 2001 ISL went bust after a large corruption scandal involvingFIFA. After declaring bankruptcy, the company transferred part its debt to Grêmio.[28] The club's quickly amassed debt would spiral out of control, soon they would be unable to pay player's salaries and do other investments, which resulted in poor field performance.[29]
In 2004, after performing poorly for two consecutive seasons in the Série A, Grêmio finished bottom of the league and were relegated toCampeonato Brasileiro's Second Division.[30] Série B brought even less revenue, which combined with the club's large debt threatented to snowball into Grêmio's bankruptcy.[29] Grêmio's promotion battle was difficult, with only two clubs able to qualify for promotion to the First Division. On 26 November 2005, atEstádio dos Aflitos,Recife againstNáutico, Grêmio had four players sent off and two penalty given kicks against them in a tumultuous match that has become known as "The Battle of the Aflitos" ("A Batalha dos Aflitos", "Aflitos" being the name of Náutico's home field).
Bruno Carvalho bounced the first penalty bounced off the post in the first half when Grêmio still had 11 players on the field; the second was saved by goalkeeper Galatto when had been reduced to 7 men. Within 72 seconds of Galatto saving the penalty 17-year-oldAnderson had made a run down the left flank to slot the ball into the back of the net to score Grêmio's winning goal. A goal that sealed the Série B championship and promotion to the Série A.
On 9 April 2006, atEstádio Beira-Rio, Grêmio won the state championship againstInternacional, preventing them from winning a fifth title in a row. Playing away, Grêmio managed to obtain a 1–1 draw in the second leg of the final, enough to secure the title on away goals. 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. In 2007, atEstádio Olímpico Monumental, Grêmio won theCampeonato Gaúcho once again this time againstJuventude.
Also in 2007, Grêmio reached the final of the2007 Copa Libertadores. Throughout the campaign the team overcame away losses by putting in heroic home performances and earning the moniker of Imortal Tricolor. This also pumped up the fans who even after a heavy 3–0 away defeat toBoca Juniors formed huge lines to buy tickets for the final game in Porto Alegre. with some of the fans queuing for four days or more. Unfortunately fan fervor wasn't enough withRiquelme's magnificent performance handingBoca Juniors a 2–0 win and theCopa Libertadores title.
In 2008, after the sudden firing of their head coach Vagner Mancini, the club hiredCelso Roth. Within a month they had prematurely dropped out of both the domestic cup (Copa do Brasil) and their state championship (Campeonato Gaúcho). This led to the team going through a state of crisis and, soon after, major renovation. They were expected to finish in the bottom half of the Campeonato Brasileiro but managed to finish in second place. For many supporters, even that was considered a failure as in the first half of the championship, the team was in fine form and even considered the best in the country. At the halfway point of the season the team had a 10-point lead over second place that they would eventually surrender in the final games of the season.
2012 marked the last year of the club's former stadium,Olímpico Monumental. Fan expectations were high but were not matched by the team's performance. Grêmio did, however, qualify for the Libertadores the following year.
In 2014, the club once again qualified for theCopa Libertadores de América and signedEnderson Moreira as the new manager.[31] However, after a successful campaign in the group stage, Grêmio failed in the competition and were eliminated bySan Lorenzo in theRound of 16.[32] A few days before, the club was defeated 6–2 on aggregate by their biggest rival, theInternacional, in the finals of theCampeonato Gaúcho.[33] With nothing more than a regular campaign at the beginning of theSérie A, club president Fábio Koff signedLuiz Felipe Scolari as the new coach of the team. The club also invested inGiuliano, the biggest hiring of the year.[34]
In 2015, former Grêmio player Roger Machado was hired as the new manager. A short lived but initially successful run, Machado's time with Grêmio saw them qualify for the 2016 Copa Libertadores with a finish in the Campeonato Brasileiro in 3rd place. Machado oversaw a famous victory over beat bitter rivals Internacional with a 5–0 drubbing in "Grenal" No. 407. Nonetheless, towards the end of the year, the team began to show a lack of organization, especially in its defensive system. As fan support dwindled, Roger announced his resignation after a 3–0 loss against Ponte Preta in September 2016. Renato Portaluppi replaced him and under his guidance a resurgent Grêmio became champions of the Copa do Brasil against Atlético Mineiro in a 4–2 aggregate score, making them the Brazilian club with the most titles in this tournament (5). After this historic feat, fans affectionately nicknamed Grêmio the "Rei de Copas" (King of Cups).
In 2017, Grêmio won their third Libertadores, after defeatingClub Atlético Lanús 1–0 atArena do Grêmio, followed by a 2–1 victory inEstadio Ciudad de Lanús. Luan was named the player of the tournament, while goalkeeperMarcelo Grohe performed spectacularly with a heroic, almost impossible save in the semi-final match againstBarcelona Sporting Club. They became the third Brazilian club to win a third Copa Libertadores, afterSão Paulo andSantos.
The club went on to representCONMEBOL at the2017 FIFA Club World Cup, held in the United Arab Emirates. Grêmio beatPachuca 1–0 in a tight semi-final, the goal coming from Everton in extra-time. They were beaten 0–1 byReal Madrid in thefinal.
Grêmio once again finished 4th in the 2018Campeonato Brasileiro securing a place in theCopa Libertadores de Américahaving been knocked out in the semi-final of the tournament on goal-difference in 2018 by a lateRiver Plate goal to end the match 2–2. The goal was scored from a penalty, given on review of a handball by theVAR from Matheus Bressan in the 95th minute.[35] Bressan was subsequently transferred.[36] In the hours following the match it was revealed thatRiver Plate managerMarcelo Gallardo had broken the rules of his touchline ban at half-time by entering the River dressing room. Grêmio appealed the result within 24 hours of the final whistle based on this information. It tookCONMEBOL 2 days to deliberate, deciding that the result should stand, withGallardo receiving a $50,000 fine and a 4-match suspension (1 from theBombonera Stadium for the first leg of the Libertadores final againstBoca Juniors and 3 subsequent touchline bans).[37] River Plate would go on to win theCopa Libertadores de América after further controversy.
In the 2020 season Grêmio met their rivals Internacional atCopa Libertadores for the first time in history. The first leg at the Arena do Grêmio ended in controversy as a fight broke out between Grêmio'sPepê and Inter'sMoisés which quickly escalated into a full-brawl between the two teams and eight players — three of each team in the field and more two from the bench — were sent off. The match ended on a tie.[38]
The 2020 saw a decline on the performance of the team, while they were able to secure theCampeonato Gaúcho, they finished in 6th in the Brasileirão which didn't guarantee their berth to the Libertadores for the first time since 2013, having to play at thequalifying stages. The team later fail to qualify to the2021 Copa Libertadores after losing to Ecuador'sIndependiente del Valle.[39] The defeat ended up causing the resignation ofRenato Portaluppi, who had worked at the club for almost five years.
In 2021, Grêmio was elected the best club in South America of the decade, between 2011 and 2020, in a survey carried out by theInternational Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). The ranking took into account the points scored by clubs in the organization's Club World Ranking each year.[40]
Portaluppi's replacement wasTiago Nunes, with whom Grêmio qualified for the next phase of theCopa Sudamericana and won the Campeonato Gaúcho in the final played against Internacional. However, theCOVID-19 pandemic caused various infections among the squad, which combined with a series of expensive yet supbar hirings, lack organization at the football department (previously heavily depedent on Renato Portaluppi's decisions), as well as other factors[41] resulted in a weak performance at the2021 Campeonato Brasileiro, getting just two points from seven games and dropping to bottom of the league table. Nunes was fired and replaced withLuiz Felipe Scolari, in turn, also failed to lead the club out of the relegation zone and ended up leaving by mutual agreement after three months of work.[42][43]Vagner Mancini, thenAmerica Mineiro coach, was hired for his place in October. Without achieving results, Grêmio finished the championship relegated for the third time to theCampeonato Brasileiro Série B.[44][45]
After a weak start in the2022 Campeonato Gaúcho, Mancini was fired and replaced withRoger Machado, who led to the team to a fifthGauchão title in sequence after a victory against rival's Internacional in the semi-finals and the finals againstYpiranga.[46] In September Machado was replaced by a returning Renato Portaluppi.[47] TheSérie B campaign was enough to guarantee access to return to the Série A in 2023.[48]
In December 2022, Grêmio announced thatLuis Suárez would be joining the club for a two-year contract.[49] The signing drew worldwide attention to the club.[50] Suárez made his debut on 17 January 2023 in a match againstSão Luiz for the2023 Recopa Gaúcha. Suárez scored ahat-trick in a 4–1 win.[51] With him on the squad, Grêmio was able to conquer the2023 Campeonato Gaúcho, the sixth in row.[52] In July, citing knee injuries and pain, Suárez later shortened his contract to only one year with the club.[53] With Suárez, Grêmio achieved 2nd place in the2023 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, qualifying the team for a spot on the2024 Copa Libertadores.
According to the club, the gold star represents the victory in the World Club Championship; the silver represents the three 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, the sole Grêmio player in the1970 Brazilian World Cup winning team.
The first club flag was unveiled by the club 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.
Grêmio's mascot is theMusketeer. The cartoonist Pompeo, drawing for defunct newspaperFolha da Tarde drew a musketeer, inspired byAlexandre Dumas'sThe Three Musketeers, with the colors of Grêmio to represent the club in 1946. The aim was to use Dumas' musketeers as a symbol of the spirit of unity between players, management and fans, as well as being a symbol of bravery and determination. A banner with the slogan "With Grêmio wherever Grêmio is". (Portuguese:Com o Grêmio onde estiver o Grêmio) with an image of Pompeo's musketeer appeared in the same year at the ´Estádio da Baixada, as well as the club's internalnewspaper adopted the name "O Mosqueteiro".[54]
On 1 December 2023, Grêmio unveiled a new mascot, "Black Arrow" (Portuguese:Flecha Negra), inspired by club legendTarciso Flecha Negra.[55] However, Flecha Negra wasn't made to replace the Musketeer, but rather to appear alongside him.
Grêmio's anthem is one of the most critically acclaimed in all of Brazilian football, 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 melody in the style of a march, 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 will go / against all obstacles / but we sure will be / with Grêmio wherever Grêmio may be). Grêmio supporters boast that Grêmio, as the anthem hints, has never played without supporters anywhere 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 theimmortal idol (orcraque imortal, in Portuguese).
Grêmio tricolour scheme is made up of blue, black, and white, an unusual colour combination for football shirts. The first Grêmio kit was inspired by English clubExeter City. At the time, the original kit included a blackcap, striped shirt in blue and havana (a variation of brown), whitetie, white shorts, and black socks. Subsequently, the uniform was changed to blue and black due to the lack of havana fabric. Soon after, vertical white stripes were included in the kit creating a pattern that is used to the present day. Because of this pattern, Grêmio is commonly referred as the "Tricolor". The Grêmio colors are set in the club statute as so;
Home colors – vertical stripes of light blue and black, with white piping;
Away colors – white with blue and black detail;
Alternative colors – dark blue or blue with white details.
It was in the early 1980s that Grêmio received its first officialsponsor, with the BrazilianOlympikus providingsports equipment. The partnership lasted until early 1983, when, on account of thebrilliant moment that had been living in their history, the Grêmio has signed a contract with a GermanAdidas to supply sports material. However, the partnership was short-lived, as in 1985, with the end of the contract with Adidas, a new supplier emerged, returning to the national level withPenalty.
In 1987, for the first time in its history the Grêmio signed a sponsorship agreement for stamping the shirt, withCoca-Cola. This turn in their campaigns unprecedentedly exchanged their traditional red logo for black, because this color belongs toInternacional, itsbiggest rival, and it was vetoed by Grêmio.
Sponsorship of Penalty and Coca-Cola persisted with Grêmio for nearly a decade until, in 1995, the soft drink brand left the main sponsor of the shirts, which was assumed by Tintas Renner, apaint manufacturer, until 1997. In 1998,General Motors assumed this position, exposing numerous names ofvehicles throughout the partnership. At the beginning of the 21st century, Penalty left the club, with the ItalianKappa providing sports equipment.
In 2001, for the payment of debts, Grêmio closed an agreement with the state government ofRio Grande do Sul, exposingBanrisul banking mark on his shirt. However, after payment, it was Banrisul who assumed the payments and became the master sponsor of the club. In 2005 the contract with Kappa came to an end, after this, kits were the responsibility of another German in club history,Puma. Also from this era, Grêmio opened more spaces for smaller sponsors, with the first being Tramontina,Unimed,TIM and the return ofCoca-Cola. In 2011, once again changing the supplier of sports equipment occurs, this time taking the BrazilianTopper, under the value of €4.8 million per season, which operates in the South American market, with a contract until the end of 2014. Beginning in 2015 season, the British companyUmbro supplied sports equipment of Grêmio, paying the value of €6 million per year.[57]
Grêmio's original stadium was theEstádio da Baixada, built in 1904 at the upper-class neighbourhood ofMoinhos de Vento in Porto Alegre. It was made to please the city's growing colony ofGermans, who were concentrated in the region. The Estádio da Baixada hosted Grêmio until 1954.
The second stadium was theEstádio Olímpico Monumental. It was inaugurated on 19 September 1954 as Estádio Olímpico, located in the neighbourhood ofAzenha. At the time it was the largest private stadium inBrazil. Estádio Olímpico's first game was between Grêmio andNacional fromUruguay; Grêmio won by a score of 2–0, with both goals scored by Vítor.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 21 June 1980, when Grêmio beatVasco da Gama by a score of 1–0. The Olímpico Monumental has an attendance record of 98,421 people for the game againstPonte Preta on 26 April 1981.
By the 2000s, the board of directors start to study what to do with the aging Olímpico, the stadium did not meet the club's expectations, due to the construction's lifetime, high maintenance costs, low comfort standards, low quality of services, poor security, insufficient parking and a highly populated region.[58] The club instead decided to build a new stadium. The project was approved in 2008 and the construction of a new stadium started in September 2010.[59]
The first location for training used by Grêmio was the additional field built next door ofEstádio Olímpico Monumental. However, it can not be exactly characterized as a training centre. In 2000 the construction of the first training centre of the club, theCT Hélio Dourado, inEldorado do Sul, in the metropolitan region ofPorto Alegre was completed, but, because of it being located quite far away, it ended up being used forclub's Academy.
In 2014, the construction of the new training center of Grêmio, theCT Luiz Carvalho, located next to theArena do Grêmio, in Porto Alegre was finished. It is adjacent to theGuaíba River, and has one of the most beautiful views of the city with the stadium and a cable-stayed bridge in the background.
Grêmio fans in 1946, the year theMusketeer appeared as the club's mascot, along with the creation of the slogan "With Grêmio wherever Grêmio is". (Portuguese:Com o Grêmio onde estiver o Grêmio)
Grêmio fans are called "gremistas" or "tricolores". Originally, Grêmio was a club heavily supported byBrazilians of German descent ofRio Grande do Sul. Over time, that distinction has reduced, and today the fan base is very diverse. The club, together withInternacional, divide the population of Rio Grande do Sul;[62] Grêmio is also the most popular club in westernSanta Catarina and south-westParaná.[63] The club has around 8 million fans in the country, meaning that, in terms of ranking, the club is the 6th most supporters in theBrazil. The largest outside theRio de Janeiro-São Paulo axis.[64] A 2022 research pointed out that Grêmio has the most "loyal" fans in Brazil. The survey that measured the size of the fans in the country identified that 90.6% of Grêmio fans say they support Grêmio exclusively and that only 9.4% of Grêmio fans supported or sympathized with another Brazilian football team.[65] In 2023, Grêmio had more than 100,000sócios (club-members/associates).[66]
The largest group of Grêmio supporters is Geral do Grêmio, the first and largest Brazilianbarra brava,[67] movement similar to Europeanultras and Brazil's owntorcidas organizadas, but with unique characteristics of Latin America. The group was created during the year 2001 with Grêmio fans watching games from the seats behind the southern goal atEstádio Olímpico Monumental (an area of the stands called "Geral", as in "general", where tickets had lower costs). The fans were inspired by neighbouringArgentina's andUruguay'shinchadas and barras bravas, an experience coming from trips toCopa Libertadores away games and cultural links betweenRio Grande do Sul and those countries. As well a period of decadence of Grêmio's traditional Brazilian-styletorcidas organizadas in the 1990s.[68] Over the following years, more people joined the movement, and they decided to collectively call themselves by the name of the area from where they watched the games. A unique and traditional feature of the crowd is running down the stand (a movement called the "avalanche"), pressing against the fence when a goal is scored as a way to also embrace the players in celebration.[68]
Being abarra brava, the Geral do Grêmio has differences with the ultras and thetorcidas organizadas. They are a free membership group (which means that they do not charge a monthly fee), do not have their own uniforms, nor control over who participates. On games they bring a band consisting of percussion and brass instruments, dictating the rhythm of thechants throughout the game, never stopping or sitting. Banners and flags are exhibited in the length of the sector in which they are located inside the stadium, bringing a unique identity to their supporters. Also, wherever possible, they useflare,smoke bombs,fire extinguishers, among other materials to encourage the team on the field. In theArena do Grêmio, which opened in December 2012, the lower northern stand was built with no chairs, with the Geral crowd and its "avalanche" celebration in mind. However, in January 2013 on a game againstL.D.U. Quito the avalanche resulted on the fence breaking and many fans falling into the trench that separated the stands from the pitch.Safety barriers were installed to make the avalanche impossible.[69]
The Geral enjoys good relationships with some other torcidas organizadas in Brazil, but due the inspiration on the platineanbarra bravas, the Geral has a strong bond withNacional'sLa Banda Del Parque. Members of both groups frequently do confraternizations together, and members frequently attend each other's games.[70]
Othersupporters group includes the Torcida Jovem do Grêmio (Young Grêmio supporters), the oldest in operation, founded in 1977 and was considered the main supporters group until the late 1990s;[71] Rasta do Grêmio, Super Raça Gremista, Garra Tricolor, Máfia Tricolor and the Velha Escola (Old School, a schism from the Geral). There are also exclusively female supporters group, such as the Núcleo de Mulheres Gremistas and theElis Vive Collective.[72]
Another historically important group is Coligay, recognized to be Brazil's firstLGBT supporter group.[73][74] The group was founded in 1977 and suffered of homophobic attacks from rival team's fans and repression by theBrazilian military dictatorship's government.[73][74] However, the group was relatively accepted by Grêmio's regular fans and supporters as their founding coincided with the end of a long drought and a streak of titles, which gave Goligay the fame of being a "lucky charm".[73][74] The group closed in 1983 but its legacy has since been adopted by newer fans.[73]
As the years went on, Grêmio and another important football club fromPorto Alegre,Internacional, started to form a rivalry. Soon the games between these two clubs got their own name, Grenal, and resulted in record attendance. The rivalry divides the state ofRio Grande do Sul and the city of Porto Alegre in half. It is one of the fiercest football rivalries in Brazil, South America and the world. It is accompanied by high levels of emotion, competition and occasional violence.[75]
The first match was held in 1909, Grêmio won the first Grenal in history by the score of 10 to 0. The team led the statistics of Grenais in the first years of dispute until they were surpassed in 1945 by Internacional, which held the advantage in victories until today.[76]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 months later as a result of the fatigue from that game. Lara has been immortalized in the club anthem.
Gre-Ju is another rivalry ofRio Grande do Sul, between Grêmio andJuventude fromCaxias do Sul. For most of its history, the rivalry was one-sided as Juventude was traditionally a weaker team, but it heated up in the 1990s as Juventude grew to be the third powerhouse of the state.[77][78]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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