Grenal

First Grenal derby

On June 21, 1909, four representatives of Internacional met with representatives of Grêmio in the Company's headquarters, Leopoldina Portoalegrense, to arrange the first meeting between the two clubs. Internacional, founded two months before, invited Grêmio to be its first opponents. The first match was held on June 27. With a game of Fuss-Ball previously arranged, Grêmio's President, Major Augusto Koch said that his team would face Internacional with the second table (reserve team). The leaders of Internacional demanded that their opponents played with their first team. Grêmio's board agreed. However, as the club's fixture list was full, the game would be held only in the following month.

The first Grenal derby occurred on July 18, 1909, on a Sunday, at the Baixada Stadium in Porto Alegre (which belonged to Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense). At 15:10, both teams entered the field of Baixada, preceded by the Presidents and the military band of the Brigade. The Grêmio players wore Sorority shirts divided vertically in half blue and half white, with black shorts. Internacional wore vertically striped shirts in red and white, with white shorts. The audience was estimated at 2000.

The referee of the match was Waldemar Bromberg, the assistents were João de Castro e Silva and H. Sommer, and goal judges Theobaldo Foernges Bugs and Theodoro. The goal judges sat on a stool beside the goal areas, indicating whether the ball entered the goal or not, because at the time there were no nets in the goals.

After 10 minutes, Edgar Booth scored the first goal of the game and in the history of the derby. Edgar Booth went on to score four more goals. Four goals were scored by Júlio Grünewald and one by Moreira. The match ended at 10-0 to Grêmio, the biggest win in the history of Grenal.

Grenal of the Century

This match took place at Beira-Rio Stadium on February 12, 1989, being the 297th confront between these rival clubs, and it is called "Grenal of the Century" due its unprecedented importance: it was the second leg of the semi-finals of 1988 Brazilian Championship, soon after the first leg, played at Olímpico Stadium had ended with no goals.

Both teams came from great campaigns in the league. Internacional had a slight advantage, for if the match ended in a draw, Inter would qualify for the finals and Libertadores Cup. Teasers and agitation ruled in Porto Alegre.

The attendance was 78.083, in spite of the scorching heat of the summer afternoon: the thermometers marked 40 °C (104 °F).

Grêmio started the match playing better and, at the end of the first half, was winning the match by 1-0 with goal scored by Marcus Vinicius at 25'. With the red card showed to Inter's right back Casemiro at 38' by referee Arnaldo Cézar Coelho, Grêmio's victory seemed very close.

Inter got better at the second half. At 61' a free kick favored Inter. Middle-fielder Edu Lima crossed the ball and Nílson, top scorer of the league, scored to make the match even.

It was Inter who kept pressing, and minutes after, in a counter-attack from the right side, middle-fielder Maurício passed through two defenders and shot. The ball was going the miss the goal when Nílson appeared behind the back of Grêmio's defense, to score again.

Internacional won the "Grenal of the Century" and qualified to the final match against Esporte Clube Bahia.