Unique opportunity, historic triumph and new feat for Renato: what is the Gauchão final worth for Grêmio | Guild

But calm down, fan: that doesn’t mean that Grêmio is out of the fight for the Libertadores, Brasileirão and Copa do Brasil cups. It is simply a matter of time. With the long hiatus of football due to the coronavirus pandemic, all these competitions will only end in 2021. In other words, the cup will arrive now or, at best, only next year.

But there are also other brands and records at stake for the club and coach Renato Portaluppi. Thirsty for titles, the manager can achieve a new feat and mark his name more deeply in the club’s history. (look down). Too bad this time there will be no crowd at your side as the game will be closed doors due to security protocols.

– We wanted the fan in the Arena. But we have to adapt. There is no use worrying about an empty stadium, we have to forget the bad moment in the world and think about the title. It’s sad entering the stadium, a championship decision, and being empty. It’s the new normal. Or abnormal – Renato lamented.

The Centennial victory in the first leg gives Grêmio the chance to lose even by one goal difference to be champion. Any tie also stays with the cup with the Tricolor. If Caxias wins by two goals, the decision will be penalties.

Take a look at some brands and what Grêmio’s decision is worth:

Tri gaucho after 33 years

Grêmio can earn his 39th gaucho title and reduce Inter’s advantage in the number of cups, the rival has 45. But the club is also looking for another brand no less important: to be three times champion again after more than 30 years.

The last time this happened was in 1987. At that time, by the way, Tricolor didn’t stop at all three glasses. In a golden 1980s, the team ranked six consecutive victories between 1985 and 1990, and was close to the longest streak in history, the hepta won between 1962 and 1968.

As soon as he reached Grêmio, Renato won the Brazilian Cup in 2016. In the next, he lifted the Libertadores triple cup. In 2018 he was champion of the Recopa Sul-Americana and Gauchão. And in 2019 he won the Recopa Gaúcha and again the Gaúcho Championship. He received a statue in the Arena for his achievements as a Grêmio player and coach.

This Sunday, the coach will have the opportunity to put his name back in the club’s history and match Oswaldo Rolla as the second coach to be tri-state in a row. In the 1950s, Foguinho won the Gauchões of 56, 57, 58 and 59. In the club’s 116-year history, no one has repeated the sequence.

Longest series without losses

Under Renato’s command since 2016, Grêmio will also defend his biggest undefeated series with coach: there are already 16 games without losing, or exactly six months and eight days of undefeated. In 2018 and 2019, Tricolor remained a maximum of 10 matches without being defeated.

Curiously, the last defeat was precisely for the rival of this Sunday. On February 22, Tricolor lost the final of the first round of the state by 1 to 0, in the Centennial.

Although the doubt remains about the presence of Diego Souza in the decision, the center forward has an open path to be the top scorer do Gauchão. Sum eight goals in 10 games. Pepê comes close with three goals in 10 games. It remains to be seen whether he will be on the field after stopping for 10 days due to a muscle injury to his left thigh.

Caxias, on the other hand, has a remote chance of avoiding the feat of the Grêmio striker. Thiago Sales and Diogo Oliveira have three goals each. One of them would only pass Diego if he scored four times. It is not impossible. But the Grená team has not scored more than three goals in any game of the season.

GRÊMIO X CAXIAS – FINAL DO GAUCHÃO