The history of Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense (commonly known as Grêmio and abbreviated as FBPA), a Brazilian football club based in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, began with its founding on September 15, 1903, by Candido Dias da Silva. It is regarded as one of the most prominent clubs in Brazil and South America. The club's colors are blue, black, and white. Grêmio is affectionately nicknamed Immortal Tricolor, Tricolor dos Pampas, Tricolor Gaúcho, King of Cups, and Club of All, reflecting its storied success, particularly in knockout competitions.
1903–1936: Foundation and amateur era
On the holiday of September 7, 1903, the Sport Club Rio Grande held an exhibition match in Porto Alegre, drawing a large crowd to an improvised field until the ball deflated. After the ball was rendered unusable, Candido Dias da Silva, a merchant from Sorocaba, São Paulo, lent his own ball. In gratitude, he received guidance on founding a football club. Eight days later, thirty-two men gathered at the Salão Grau, a restaurant in a hotel on Rua 15 de Novembro (now Rua José Montauri) in Porto Alegre's historic district, and established the Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense.
The club's first official headquarters was designated at Rua Santa Catarina, number 47 (now Rua Dr. Flores, in downtown Porto Alegre). Carlos Luiz Bohrer was appointed president. On September 30, the club's colors were chosen: jerseys would feature horizontal tan and blue stripes with a white waistband, paired with black shorts and socks. At the time, additional accessories, now obsolete, such as white ties and caps, were also specified.
The newly founded club's first match took place on March 6, 1904, against the FussBall Club Porto Alegre, established on the same day as Grêmio. In a doubleheader (two matches in one afternoon), Grêmio secured its first two victories, both by a score of 1–0. On July 20, 1904, the uniform was updated to a design split evenly between blue and black.
Without a stadium, early training sessions were held in various locations, including the Gravataí floodplain (now the site of the Salgado Filho International Airport), the Redenção floodplain near the Glória Grotto, Morro da Polícia, and the Floresta neighborhood.
In 1904, the club's leadership decided to build its own stadium. The chosen site was in the Moinhos de Vento neighborhood, near the Prado da Independência and the German Shooting Club (now the location of the Caixeiros Viajantes Club). The land belonged to Hemetério Mostardeiro, inherited from his father, Antônio José Gonçalves Mostardeiro, whose family owned much of the area, informally known as Mato Mostardeiro.
Traditionally, this was a locale frequented by Porto Alegre's affluent families. With a loan from the Brasilianische Bank Für Deutschland, the club purchased the property from the Mostardeiro family for ten contos de réis. The inaugural match at the stadium, held in August 1904, featured two Grêmio lineups competing against each other. In April 1911, after selling membership bonds for fifty thousand réis, Grêmio acquired an additional plot from the Mostardeiros, expanding the "Fortim da Baixada." The new pavilion, nicknamed Pombal, was completed in October 1912. In 1918, this pavilion was renovated, becoming the club's first owned headquarters.
The first competition Grêmio participated in was the Wanderpreis Cup, with its inaugural edition on March 6, 1904, which Grêmio won against the Fussball Club Porto Alegre.
Thus, a tradition began to take shape. A few years later, on July 18, 1909, Grêmio played its first match against Sport Club Internacional, which would later become its archrival, securing a 10–0 victory. The following year, Grêmio proposed the creation of the 1st Porto Alegre Clubs League. Subsequently, the Porto Alegre City Championship was established, which the Tricolor dominated from 1911 to 1915. Even as an amateur club, Grêmio competed against teams from other states and even countries. According to records from the Hermínio Bittencourt Memorial, in 1913, the first black player, Antunes, played for the team.
In the following decade, Grêmio's dominance persisted, with five consecutive metropolitan titles (1919–1923) and three Campeonato Gaúcho titles (1921, 1922, and 1926), a competition established in 1920. The 1930s further fueled Grêmio's growth, with achievements including four consecutive Porto Alegre championship titles (1930–1933) and two consecutive state titles (1931–1932).
The pinnacle of this era was 1935, marked by the Grenal Farroupilha, a name given to the entire city championship held to commemorate the centenary of the Farroupilha Revolution. By defeating its traditional rival, the Tricolor claimed the title. This match was the last for Eurico Lara, who began playing for the club in 1920 and became a club legend. Thus, this period not only brought titles but also laid the foundation for Grêmio's tradition and respect.
1937–1953: Professionalism at the club
Following a wave of football professionalization across South America in the early 1930s, Rio Grande do Sul also transitioned to this new model of football management. In 1937, the state established the Especializada, a professional department affiliated with the Brazilian Football Confederation. This body organized a metropolitan championship distinct from the previous city championship, which was managed by the Rio Grande do Sul Sports Federation (now the Federação Gaúcha de Futebol), affiliated with the Brazilian Sports Confederation. Until 1939, despite winning all three metropolitan championships, Grêmio did not qualify for the Campeonato Gaúcho due to this jurisdictional conflict, which was resolved in the 1940s. With the creation of the National Sports Council, professionalism was officially adopted by the Tricolor.
In late 1949, Grêmio became the first Rio Grande do Sul team to tour abroad, traveling to Central America. The following year, anticipating the need for a new stadium as the Baixada became inadequate, the club held a contest to select a stadium proposal. On January 8, 1951, the design by Plínio Oliveira Almeida, Naum Turquenitch, and Edison Ribeiro was chosen.
In 1952, Grêmio signed Tesourinha from Vasco. However, as early as the 1910s, the club had black players: Antunes (1912), Adão Lima (1925–1935), Hélio and Mário Carioca (both in the 1940s), and Hermes da Conceição (1947–1950) had previously played for the Tricolor.
In 1953 and 1954, Grêmio embarked on its second international tour, this time to Mexico, Ecuador, and Colombia. The tour began in April 1953 and concluded in 1954. Telêmaco Frazão de Lima was the coach.
1954–1980: Inauguration of the Olímpico and eleven Gaúcho titles
On September 19, 1954, Grêmio inaugurated its most significant project since its founding: the Olímpico Stadium. With a capacity of 38,000, it featured a single tier. In the opening match, Grêmio defeated Nacional 2–0. The president at the time was Saturnino Vanzelotti.
In the following years, Grêmio competed in thirteen championships and won twelve. The club secured five Gaúcho and metropolitan championship titles in a row (1956–1960) and eleven Gaúcho titles (1962–1968), the longest streak of state titles in its history. In the 1956 Gaúcho, Grêmio defeated Pelotas; in subsequent years, it overcame Bagé, Guarany de Bagé, and Clube Esportivo Aimoré, respectively. The 1960 championship was decided in a four-team playoff (Grêmio, Pelotas, 14 de Julho, and Nacional).
The Tricolor also participated in the Taça Brasil, which featured state champions, in nearly all these years, reaching the semifinals three times (1959, 1963, and 1967). It also competed in the Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa, peaking in 1967, when it reached the finals but finished fourth. This era also saw the club win the 1962 South Brazilian Championship undefeated. Following the example set by Cruzeiro of Porto Alegre, which toured Europe in 1953, Grêmio traveled to the Old Continent in 1961 and 1962.
In 1970, Grêmio had its first player called up to the Brazil national football team in a World Cup-winning year. Everaldo was selected for the squad and earned a star on the Tricolor flag. After the early 1970s saw dominance by its rival in the Campeonato Gaúcho, Grêmio turned the tide in 1977, reclaiming the state title after nine years. The Tricolor defeated Internacional 1–0 in the final, with a goal by André Catimba, securing the trophy. This victory marked a resurgence for Grêmio, leading to significant achievements in the 1980s.
1981–1982: A prelude to triumphs The 1980s began promisingly for Grêmio. In 1980, the team won the Gauchão. In the Brazilian Championship, it achieved a sixth-place finish, though this was below its best performances in the previous decade (fifth in 1973 and 1974). On the infrastructure front, the Olímpico Stadium was expanded, becoming the "Olímpico Monumental" due to the grandeur of the construction. The president at the time was Hélio Dourado.
In 1981, despite not winning the state championship, Grêmio had its best year since its founding: it clinched the Brasileirão, which then featured forty-four teams. The final was a memorable match against São Paulo at the Estádio do Morumbi, where Grêmio won 1–0 with a goal by Baltazar. This victory marked the beginning of an era of ascent for Grêmio.
1983–1990: World title and unprecedented national titles
In 1982, Grêmio was the Brazilian Championship runner-up, losing to Flamengo in the final, which required a rematch. In its first participation in the Copa Libertadores, the team was eliminated in the first phase but gained valuable experience for the following year's competition.
It can be argued that 1983 was the most successful year in the club's history in terms of titles. During this period, Grêmio won the 1983 Copa Libertadores and the 1983 Intercontinental Cup, both unprecedented titles for Rio Grande do Sul. The Libertadores triumph was achieved in stages: in the first phase, the Tricolor topped its group and avenged the previous year's Brasileirão loss by eliminating Flamengo, which failed to advance; in the second phase, Grêmio competed in a group of three teams with Estudiantes de La Plata (in a match known as the Battle of La Plata, where Grêmio was forced to settle for a draw after leading 3–1 due to unsafe conditions) and América de Cali; having won the previous group, the final was set against Peñarol, which Grêmio defeated 3–2 on aggregate (1–1 and 2–1), with standout performances by Tita (who scored in Montevideo), César (who netted the decisive goal in Porto Alegre), and Renato Portaluppi (who provided the assist for César's goal).
With the Libertadores victory, Grêmio qualified for the Club World Cup in Tokyo against Hamburg, which had won the European Cup (predecessor to the UEFA Champions League) by defeating Juventus in the final. Prioritizing the World Cup, Grêmio finished third in the 1983 Campeonato Gaúcho. The historic match took place on December 11, 1983, at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium. After taking the lead with a goal by Renato Portaluppi, the Tricolor conceded an equalizer to the Germans in the final minutes. The match went to extra time, where Portaluppi shone, scoring the winning goal three minutes in. As it was not sudden death, Grêmio held the lead until the end, celebrating the club's greatest title. Renato, the match's hero, was named man of the match. Grêmio became the first Rio Grande do Sul team to be recognized as World Champions by FIFA. In Porto Alegre, the fans celebrated in ecstasy. On the return journey, Grêmio also won the Los Angeles Cup in Los Angeles, defeating Club América 4–3 on penalties after a 2–2 draw. Upon arriving in Porto Alegre, the champion delegation paraded through the streets in a fire truck.