Grêmio Cooks Fish at Olímpico
Tricolor Takes 2-0 Lead to Vila Belmiro

Grêmio took a huge step towards the Libertadores Cup finals after beating Santos 2-0 in Game 1 of their semifinal series. Bolstered by a sellout crowd of 46,000, the Tricolor utterly dominated the previously unbeaten Fish and maintained the mystique of not allowing a goal at Olímpico. The result means only a 3-0 loss in Game 2 would prevent Grêmio from makimng its first finals appearance since 1995. A 2-0 Santos win would send the series to penalty kicks. If Grêmio scores at Vila Belmiro, the Fish will have to score at least four in order to advance.

Grêmio showed Santos it was in for a battle right from kickoff. Every time a Santos player touched the ball, he was surrounded by three Gremistas. But despite the intense pressure, the Fish produced the first scoring opportunity of the game. In the 12th minute, Kléber crossed into the area to Marcos Aurélio, who shot from the left side of the goal and forced Saja to make a huge save. This gave the visitors a morale boost, but little did they know that it was the last real opportunity they would get.

After being held for the first 30 minutes, Grêmio finally began to impose its will. In the 31st, Diego Souza broke into the area but shot right at the goalkeeper. A minute later, he received the ball with his back to the goal and, as he tried to turn, was pulled down by Ávalos. Referee Sergio Pezzotta awarded a penalty kick that Tcheco converted with ease: Grêmio, 1-0.

The fans were still celebrating when the ball was passed back to Adaílton in the Santos backfield. The defender tried to advance with the ball but had it stolen by Carlos Eduardo. The emerging star raced unopposed towards the goal and, as Fábio Costa came forward to challenge, slipped the ball into the lower right corner: Grêmio, 2-0. The Tricolor almost added another in the 39th when Fábio Costa saved a point blank shot by Tuta following some confusion inside the area.

Mano Menezes had to pull Tcheco at halftime, but he had already left his mark. Vanderlei Luxemburgo also made alterations to his lineup, putting in Rodrigo Tabata and Pedrinho in place of Alessandro and Jonas. This allowed Santos to have greater possession in the second half, but they were facing a stingy Grêmio defense. William and Teco were solid, and Saja made what plays were necessary. In fact, it was Grêmio who produced the best scoring opportunity of the final period. In the 34th, Lúcio crossed into the area from the left and Ramón missed on a header from point blank range.

While Grêmio obtained an important result, they are not in the finals yet. A 2-0 lead is nothing, as Grêmio themselves demonstrated against Defensor in the quarterfinals. The Tricolor will have to play much better at Vila Belmiro than they have thus far on the road. After winning its opener at Cerro Porteño 1-0, Grêmio has racked up four consecutive losses and managed only one goal away from Olímpico. But if they can play half as well as they did tonight, they’ll be guaranteed passage into the finals.

Até a pé nós iremos . . .

Grêmio (2)	Santos (0)
Tcheco (34' PK) Carlos Eduardo (37')
Tuta (39') Patrício (41') Sandro Goiano (46+') Lúcio (72')	Ávalos (32') Rodrigo Tabata (57')
Venue:  Olímpico Stadium, Porto Alegre (RS)
Grêmio: Saja; Patrício, Teco, William and Lúcio; Sandro, Gavilán, Diego Souza (Edmílson, 79') and Tcheco (Ramón, HT); Tuta and Carlos Eduardo. Coach: Mano Menezes	Santos: Fábio Costa; Alessandro (Rodrigo Tabata, HT), Adaílton, Ávalos and Kléber; Rodrigo Souto, Maldonado, Cléber Santana (Moraes, 64') Zé Roberto; Jonas (Pedrinho, HT) and Marcos Aurélio. Coach: Wanderley Luxemburgo