Grêmio Beats São José-PA in Danrlei’s Return to Olímpico

Grêmio began the second half of the Gaúcho Championship season the same way it began the first: with a 1-0 win over São José-PA. Grêmio (25 pts) won for the eighth time in nine games to move 10 points clear in Group 2. But while the Tricolor won the game, most of the applause was directed at an opposing player. Danrlei, Grêmio’s winningest player of all time, made his first return to Olímpico since parting ways with the Tricolor in 2003. Although he made some spectacular saves, he was unable to prevent his team from suffering another loss as São José-PA (8 pts) dropped into 8th place.

The first half was played almost exclusively on São José-PA’s side of the field. Grêmio created numerous scoring chances, but without an experienced forward was unable to make its dominance pay off. Éverton was a no-show as Ramón and Diego Souza were the ones who gave the São José defense the most work. Grêmio’s best chance came in the 39th when Tcheco sent a free kick into the area to Diego Souza. The midfielder connected on a header that surely would have gone in but for a spectacular leaping save by Danrlei.

São José-PA gave the Tricolor a scare in the opening minute of the second half when Jefferson’s blast came within inches of Saja’s goal. But that was the extent of their offense. The Zequinha would lose Glauber in the 15th after his second booking, making the game even more one-sided. Two minutes later, Patrício beat Danrlei and hit the upper right corner for the game’s lone score: Grêmio, 1-0. The Tricolor pressured for another goal but to no avail as the São José-PA defense held. So, in a lackluster game, the praise of the fans was reserved for Danrlei, who brought them so much joy and so many titles during his run with the Tricolor.

Grêmio (1)	São José-PA (0)
Patrício (62')
Nunes (22') Tcheco (37') Sandro Goiano (86')	Glauber (36') Júnior Negrão (37') Glauber (60') Marcelo Müller (87')
Venue:  Olímpico Stadium, Porto Alegre (RS)
Grêmio: Saja; Patrício, Schiavi, Teco and Lúcio; Nunes (Aloísio, 60'), Diego Souza (Itaqui, 73'), Lucas, Tcheco and Ramón; Éverton (Sandro Goiano, 79'). Coach: Mano Menezes	São José-PA: Danrlei; Pansera (Rafael Xavier, 76'), Bruno, Glauber and Cleber; Fábio Negrão, Zé Luís, Jefferson and Marcelo Müller; Roni (Rafael Logerian, 63') and Franciel (Walter, 72'). Coach: Bagé