20 years since the Battle of Aflitos: relive Grêmio’s epic victory

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Gazeta Esportiva.com

·26 November 2025

20 years since the Battle of Aflitos: relive Grêmio’s epic victory

20 years ago, Náutico and Grêmio starred in the Battle of the Aflitos at the Estádio dos Aflitos. In a final-like atmosphere, on November 26, 2005, the two teams were fighting for a spot in the Brazilian Série A. In a match with five red cards and two missed penalties, the Tricolor won the game 1-0 and returned to the top tier of the Brasileirão.

Grêmio was managed by Mano Menezes at the time and, coincidentally, still is today.

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Remember how the match went

Náutico and Grêmio were playing the last round of the final quadrangular of Série B. The winner would return to the top flight, while the loser would spend another year in the second division. The Tricolor had the advantage of a draw.

In front of a packed stadium, Náutico missed a great chance to take the lead in the first half. At 31 minutes, Bruno Carvalho hit the post.

In the second half, the game got even more heated. At the 34th minute, the referee awarded a controversial penalty to the home team, sparking a mass brawl that resulted in four red cards for the team from Rio Grande do Sul. The match was halted for 25 minutes until tempers cooled down.

When play resumed, Galatto saved Ademar’s penalty, keeping the score at zero. Later, Batata from Náutico was sent off and Anderson, on a counterattack, broke away alone and scored the winning goal for Grêmio at the 61st minute of the second half, sealing the score of this epic clash.

Battle of the Aflitos Match Sheet

Náutico 0x1 Grêmio – Série B 2005 – last round of the final quadrangular

• Date: November 26, 2005

• Venue: Estádio dos Aflitos (Recife)

• Referee: Djalma Beltrami (RJ)

• Náutico: Rodolpho; Bruno Carvalho (Miltinho), Tuca, Batata and Ademar; Tozo (Betinho), Cleisson, David (Romualdo) and Danilo; Kuki and Paulo Matos Coach: Roberto Cavalo.

• Grêmio: Galatto; Patrício, Domingos, Pereira and Escalona; Nunes, Sandro Goiano, Marcelo Costa and Marcel (Anderson); Ricardinho (Lucas Leiva) and Marcelo Lipatín (Marcelo Oliveira) Coach: Mano Menezes.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.