The Grenal (also Gre-Nal, plural Grenais) is the rivalry between Grêmio and Internacional, the biggest Brazilian football clubs in the city of Porto Alegre. Ongoing since 1909, it is usually contested in the Campeonato Gaúcho, the Rio Grande do Sul premier state league that both teams have won regularly since 1940, and in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top-level national championship.
Being among the football derbies in Brazil, South America and the world, Grenais are considered a key cultural aspect of the Southern region of Brazil and particularly Rio Grande do Sul. High reactions and occasional violence accompany such matches.
In December 2020, FourFourTwo ranked the Grenal as the football world's 8th biggest derby.
History Many well-known players have contested the Grenal, including Everaldo, Tesourinha, Aírton, Falcão, Éder, Valdomiro, Renato Gaúcho, Cláudio Taffarel, Dunga, Emerson, Carlos Gamarra, Ronaldinho, Elías Figueroa, Andrés D'Alessandro, Lucas Leiva, Marcelo Moreno, Rafael Santos Borré, Nilmar, Pedro Geromel, Oscar, Walter Kannemann, Alexandre Pato, Alisson Becker, Arthur Melo, Everton Soares, Gabriel Mercado, Douglas Costa, Taison, Fernandão, Diego Forlán, Diego Costa, Martin Braithwaite and Luis Suárez, as well as world-famous coaches like Luiz Felipe Scolari, Abel Braga, Renato Gaúcho, Carlos Alberto Parreira, Telê Santana, Rubens Minelli, Valdir Espinosa, Paulo César Carpegiani and Ênio Andrade.
The first Grenal
On June 21, 1909, four representatives of Internacional met with their Grêmio equivalents in the Leopoldina Portoalegrense building 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 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 occurred on Sunday, July 18, 1909, at Grêmio's Baixada Stadium. 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 to be at 2000.
The referee was Waldemar Bromberg, assisted by João de Castro e Silva and H. Sommer, as well as "goal judges" Theobaldo Foernges Bugs and Theodoro. As there were no nets, said goal judges sat on a stool beside the goals indicating whether the ball had entered the goal or not.
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 confrontation between these rival clubs, and it is called "Grenal of the Century" due to 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 1989 Copa Libertadores. 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 a goal scored by Marcus Vinicius at 25 minutes. With the red card showed to Inter's right back Casemiro at 38 minutes by referee Arnaldo Cézar Coelho, Grêmio's victory seemed very close.
Inter got better in the second half. At 61 minutes, a free kick favored Inter. Midfielder 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, midfielder Maurício passed through two defenders and shot. The ball was going to 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.
Other matches The 435th Grenal, due to be held on Saturday, February 26, 2022, was postponed after fans of Internacional attacked Grêmio's bus with iron bars and rocks, which left Paraguayan Mathías Villasanti with a concussion. This would become the first-ever instance of a Grenal's postponement.
State rivalry
The rivalry of the Grenal reaches beyond football; it is a cultural reference for the Gaúchos. Football fans residing in Porto Alegre and rest the state of Rio Grande do Sul, as well as in much of Santa Catarina, Western Paraná and Northern Uruguay, identify strongly with either club, according to entrenched familial, cultural and social-demographic factors.
Grêmio was founded in 1903 by German immigrants from the Porto Alegre's industrious and commercial upper middle-class, mainly from the northern neighbourhoods from the city, who initially banned poor non-German players. Inter was founded by the children of Italian immigrants, in a meeting at the Second District, a bohemian, commercial and college neighborhood, so most of the first Inter players and supporters came from this reality: students from inner Rio Grande do Sul, Italian and Azorean immigrants that lived on the place. Inter has accepted black players since the early 1930s, while Grêmio only accepted black players such as Ronaldinho and Everaldo since the 1950s.
Statistics
Head to head results
Competition Matches Wins Draws GRE INT Campeonato Gaúcho 183 56 61 66Campeonato Citadino 102 39 44 19 Copa Sul 2 0 1 1Campeonato Sul-Brasileiro2 1 0 1 Copa Sul-Minas 1 0 0 1 Primeira Liga 1 0 0 1 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 75 25 26 24 Copa do Brasil 4 1 0 3 Seletiva Nacional da Libertadores 2 0 0 2 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores 2 1 0 1 Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana 4 1 1 2 Other friendly tournaments and games 76 20 33 23 All matches 454 144 166 144
Summary by decade Decade Matches Grêmiowins Interwins Draws1900–1909 1 1 0 01910–1919 12 7 5 01920–1929 18 11 4 31930–1939 30 14 10 61940–1949 49 7 32 101950–1959 40 11 16 131960–1969 42 16 13 131970–1979 59 12 24 231980–1989 50 16 13 211990–1999 43 14 12 172000–2009 34 10 13 112010–2019 44 13 14 172020–2029 32 12 10 9Total 454 144 166 144
Statistics in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
Summary by stadium Stadium MatchesGrêmiowinsDrawsInterwinsGrêmiogoalsIntergoalsBeira-Rio 41 14 6 21 34 43Olímpico Monumental 22 7 11 4 18 18Arena do Grêmio 10 4 6 0 17 5Centenário (Caxias do Sul) 1 0 1 0 2 2Couto Pereira (Curitiba) 1 0 0 1 0 1Total 75 25 24 26 71 69
Head-to-head ranking (2003–present) P.03040506070809101112131415161718192021222324251 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 23 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 45 5 5 56 6 6 6 67 7 7 78 8 89 9 9 910 1011 1112 12 1213 1314 141516 1617 17 17181920 20212223 24 24Série B1 12 2 2 • Total: Internacional 12 times higher, Grêmio 11 times higher.
Doubles in the Série A (2003–present) +Season Team Home result Away result2004 Internacional 2–0 1–32007 Grêmio 1–0 0–22024 Internacional 1–0 0–1
List of finals between the clubs
SeasonCompetitionDateMatchScoreWinner1950Campeonato Citadino de Porto Alegre27 December 1950Inter – Grêmio4–3Internacional30 December 1950 Grêmio – Inter 0–11962 Campeonato Gaúcho 7 February 1963 Grêmio – Inter 4–2 Grêmio1976 Campeonato Gaúcho 22 August 1976 Inter – Grêmio 2–0 Internacional1977 Campeonato Gaúcho 25 September 1977 Grêmio – Inter 1–0 Grêmio1978 Campeonato Gaúcho 17 December 1978 Grêmio – Inter 1–2 Internacional1991Campeonato Gaúcho1 December 1991 Grêmio – Inter 0–1Internacional8 December 1991 Inter – Grêmio 0–2 15 December 1991 Inter – Grêmio 0–01992Campeonato Gaúcho20 December 1992 Grêmio – Inter 1–3Internacional23 December 1992 Inter – Grêmio 0–01995Campeonato Gaúcho6 August 1995 Inter – Grêmio 1–1Grêmio13 August 1995 Grêmio – Inter 2–11997Campeonato Gaúcho29 June 1997 Grêmio – Inter 1–1Internacional2 July 1997 Inter – Grêmio 1–01999Campeonato Gaúcho13 June 1999 Inter – Grêmio 1–0Grêmio16 June 1999 Grêmio – Inter 2–020 June 1999 Grêmio – Inter 1–02006Campeonato Gaúcho1 April 2006 Grêmio – Inter 0–0Grêmio9 April 2006 Inter – Grêmio 1–12010Campeonato Gaúcho25 April 2010 Inter – Grêmio 0–2Grêmio2 May 2010 Grêmio – Inter 0–12011Campeonato Gaúcho8 May 2011 Inter – Grêmio 2–3Internacional15 May 2011 Grêmio – Inter 2–3 (4–5 p)2014Campeonato Gaúcho30 March 2014 Grêmio – Inter 1–2Internacional13 April 2014 Inter – Grêmio 4–12015Campeonato Gaúcho26 April 2015 Grêmio – Inter 0–0Internacional3 May 2015 Inter – Grêmio 2–12019Campeonato Gaúcho14 April 2019 Inter – Grêmio0–0Grêmio17 April 2019 Grêmio – Inter 0–0 (3–2 p)2021Campeonato Gaúcho16 May 2021 Inter – Grêmio1–2Grêmio23 May 2021 Grêmio – Inter 1–12025Campeonato Gaúcho8 March 2025 Grêmio – Inter 0–2Internacional16 March 2025 Inter – Grêmio 1–12026 Campeonato Gaúcho 1 March 2026 Grêmio – Inter3–0Grêmio8 March 2026 Inter – Grêmio 1–1
• Finals won: Internacional 10, Grêmio 9.
Records Largest wins +Winning marginResultDateCompetition10 Grêmio 10–0 Internacional 18 July 1909 Friendly match9 Internacional 1–10 Grêmio 18 June 1911 Campeonato Citadino7 Grêmio 0–7 Internacional 17 October 1948 Campeonato Citadino6Grêmio 6–0 Internacional 23 June 1912 Campeonato CitadinoGrêmio 0–6 Internacional 1 November 1938 Taça Martel5Grêmio 5–0 Internacional 17 July 1910 Campeonato CitadinoInternacional 6–1 Grêmio 30 July 1916 Campeonato CitadinoGrêmio 1–6 Internacional 4 January 1940 Campeonato CitadinoGrêmio 5–0 Internacional 9 August 2015 Campeonato Brasileiro
Longest unbeaten runs
+GamesClubPeriodResults17 Internacional 17 October 1971 – 13 July 1975 10 wins and 7 draws16 Internacional 1 May 1947 – 7 September 1949 11 wins and 5 draws13 Grêmio 16 June 1999 – 26 October 2002 8 wins and 5 draws12Internacional 11 January 1942 – 28 May 1944 9 wins and 3 drawsGrêmio 31 May 1987 – 9 February 1989 6 wins and 6 draws11Internacional 17 August 1952 – 9 January 1955 7 wins and 4 drawsGrêmio 17 March 2019 – 3 October 2020 6 wins and 5 draws
Most consecutive wins GamesClubPeriod6 Grêmio 18 July 1909 – 8 June 1913 Grêmio 14 September 1919 – 27 April 1924 Grêmio 28 July 1931 – 13 August 1933 Grêmio 14 August 1977 – 20 August 1978 5Internacional 11 July 1943 – 28 May 1944 Internacional 1 May 1947 – 26 October 1947 Internacional 1 November 1953 – 26 September 1954 Internacional24 March 1974 – 13 July 1975
All-time top scorers
+GoalsPlayerClub40 Carlitos Internacional 21 Villalba Internacional 18 Luiz Carvalho Grêmio 16Adãozinho Internacional Tesourinha Internacional 12Alcindo Grêmio 11Acácio Internacional Bodinho Internacional Foguinho Grêmio
Highest attendances
At the Beira-Rio Stadium (Internacional): Internacional 1–1 Grêmio; 85,075; 30 May 1971; Campeonato Gaúcho. At the Olímpico Stadium (Grêmio): Grêmio 1–1 Internacional, 72,893; 29 November 1981; Campeonato Gaúcho. At the Arena do Grêmio (Grêmio): Grêmio 3–1 Internacional, 55,376; 3 September 2026; Copa do Brasil.
Honours