Porto Alegre: The World Cup in Brazil has achieved the seemingly impossible task of uniting two sworn enemies, Gremio and Internacional. Fans of the two top clubs in Porto Alegre took advantage of the period of calm enforced by the World Cup to exchange pleasantries during the Algeria-Germany last 16 match at Internacional’s Beira-Rio stadium on Monday. Gremio were founded in 1903 and Internacional six years later. Falcao is one of the all-time greats of Internacional. Ronaldinho started his career with Gremio where current Brazil boss Luiz Felipe Scolari had enjoyed fruitful stints as coach.
The rivalry between Gremio and Internacional is one of the fiercest in Brazil. Internacional fan Marco explained why. “Our club is a symbol of the masses. Internacional have always been inclusive. We were the first club in Porto Alegre to give opportunities to black players. Gremio, on the other hand, are for the rich and snobbish,” he added.
People wearing the jerseys Gremio (blue-black-white) and Internacional (red) easily outnumbered national colours of Algeria, Germany and Brazil on the last match of the World Cup in Porto Alegre. Marco said he has been interacting with Gremio fans for the first time in his life inside Estadio Beira-Rio.
“During derbies, Gremio fans have no chance of mingling with us because they have a separate way to come to the stadium. They have an exclusive area to watch the match. The streets are full of police on the day of the derby,” he added.
When Aline Ramires, a Gremio fan, joined the group of Inter supporters led by Marco, there was a lot of fun as both sides started trading barbs. Marco set the ball rolling. “Fifa knew the biggest club in Porto Alegre were Internacional. That’s why our stadium was chosen for all the matches of the 2014 World Cup,” he said.
Aline put up a brave face even though she had to face the “ignominy” of coming to the home of her team’s rivals to watch a Cup match. “Our stadium is brand new. When Fifa awarded the World Cup to Brazil, it wasn’t ready. Anyway, the greatest club in Porto Alegre don’t need Fifa’s seal of approval,” she said.
While Aline was arguing the case of Gremio, Marco covered his face in ‘shock’. “Yes, Gremio are the greatest because they had been relegated twice,” he said, causing a lot of mirth in his group. Aline countered it saying she was prouder of the way her club fought back from the second division than the trophies they have won. “We overcame conspiracies to return to the top division. There is no shame in losing. Life is all about how you respond to losing,” she said.
Aline said German star Bastian Schweinsteiger showed to the world who were the bigger club in Porto Alegre by wearing Gremio’s jersey when he visited his former Bayern Munich teammate, Ze Roberto, a couple of days ago. There were so many talking points in the GreNal rivalry that the debate was threatening to run beyond the Algeria-Germany match. Marco announced a truce. “Please remember it’s in force only for a day,” he told Aline amidst guffaws all-around.
