Grêmio face Montevideo City Torque, once coached by Paulo Pezzolano, in Sudamericana opener | OneFootball

Grêmio open their Sudamericana campaign on Wednesday against Montevideo City Torque, run by the group behind Manchester City and Bahia. According to Globo.com, the Uruguayans were once coached by Paulo Pezzolano, now in charge at Inter, Grêmio's arch-rival.

In 2017 the then Club Atlético Torque, founded 10 years earlier, were sold to a UAE-led conglomerate. Known as Los Ciudadanos, they were in the second tier seeking a first promotion under the young Pezzolano.

At 34, the former midfielder had just retired with Torque before taking the job. He promptly won the Uruguayan second division title.

He left soon after. The club made their top flight debut but were relegated, then returned the following year. In early 2020 they adopted the Montevideo City Torque name and in 2021 made their Sudamericana debut.

In 2022 Torque reached the Libertadores qualifiers for the first time. Meanwhile Pezzolano began in Brazilian football at Cruzeiro and again led a team to Série A as the club entered the SAF era with Ronaldo Fenômeno.

In recent seasons Montevideo City Torque dropped to the second tier again, then returned and stabilised. They now face Grêmio at 21:30 Brasília time at the Centenário in the Group F opener.

Source: Globo.com