Grêmio Clinches Libertadores Cup Berth

A little less than a year after returning to Série A, Grêmio is back in the Libertadores Cup. The Tricolor beat Santa Cruz 3-1 at Olímpico Stadium to clinch a berth in South America’s premier club competition. The goal now is to secure a bye into the group stage and avoid playing in the preliminary round. A win in one of its final two games will ensure that Grêmio (64 pts) finishes ahead of fourth-place Santos (60 pts) and earns Brazil’s final group stage berth. The Fish, who tied 1-1 with Cruzeiro, can clinch a preliminary round berth this weekend with a tie against fifth-place Vasco (57 pts).

Already relegated to Série B, Santa Cruz came to Porto Alegre looking to play the spoiler. The Coral Snakes produced the first scoring opportunity, a distance shot by Jorge Henrique in the 14th minute that forced Galatto to layout to make the save. But Santa Cruz was unable to contain Grêmio’s superiority for long. In the 22nd, Sandro Goiano took a distance shot of his own that was saved by Anderson. Eight minutes later, it was Bruno Teles’ turn at the long bomb. This time, Anderson was not so lucky. The shot glanced off the head of Wilson Surubim, changing the ball’s trajectory and taking the keeper out of the play: Grêmio, 1-0.

The goal animated Grêmio and deflated Santa Cruz. In the 34th, following a bombardment of the Santa Cruz area, Patrício headed in a second after Hugo’s shot hit the goalpost and rebounded to the wingback: Grêmio, 2-0. Hugo, who just missed scoring on that play, hit home in the 42nd with a crossing shot from the top of the area: Grêmio, 3-0.

With nothing to lose, Fito Neves put in Fabrício Ceará, another striker, for the second half. The move paid off as the forward took advantage of a blunder by the Grêmio defense in the 15th to prevent the shutout: Grêmio, 3-1. Four minutes later, Santa Cruz almost made it interesting when Nenê beat the off-sides trap and broke into the area where he was taken down by Galatto. The referee, however, saw it as a dive and did not award the penalty. After that, Grêmio merely worked down the clock. The Libertadores Cup berth was in hand.

The victory, which comes one day after the anniversary of Grêmio’s 2-0 win over the same Santa Cruz that put the Tricolor in position to win the Série B title, marks the end of a rivalry. The teams battled five times in 2005, with Grêmio having the better – 3 wins, 1 tie and only 1 loss. That lone defeat was what really “heated” the rivalry as it came on a day when temperatures exceeded 90 F – and Santa Cruz failed to provide water in the visitors’ locker room. But the top two teams of the Série B in 2005 took different paths this year in Série A. While Grêmio turned out to be one of the league’s best teams, Santa Cruz is on its way back to the second division. It was a short-lived rivalry, but a memorable one. On the bright side, maybe now Santa Cruz can win the title it let get away last year. Good luck in Série B in 2007.

Grêmio (3)	Santa Cruz (1)
Bruno Teles (30') Patrício (34') Hugo (42')	Fabrício Ceará (60')
Evaldo (83')	Nenê (2')
Venue:  Olímpico Stadium, Porto Alegre (RS)
Grêmio: Galatto; Patrício, Evaldo, William and Bruno Teles; Jeovânio, Sandro, Tcheco, Alessandro (Rudnei, 90') and Hugo (Aloísio, 86'); Rômulo (Ramón, 82'). Coach: Mano Menezes	Santa Cruz: Anderson; Wilson Surubim, Hugo (Fabrício Ceará, HT) and Sidraílson; Osmar, Bruno Lança, Júnior Maranhão, Jairo (Jamesson, 65') and Reginaldo Araújo; Jorge Henrique and Nenê. Coach: Fito Neves