Portuguese boss Luís Castro lifts Gauchão championship with Grêmio: “The great partnership between hard work and victory” | OneFootball

Castro already has his first trophy (Getty Images)

The State Championships in Brazil have yielded great success for Portuguese managers in 2026 with three major regional titles lifted by Luso coaches at some of the country’s biggest clubs, headlined by current powerhouses Flamengo and Palmeiras enjoying glory under Leonardo Jardim and Abel Ferreira respectively.

For Rio Grande do Sul giants Grêmio, victory over fierce rivals Internacional may have been predicted by many neutrals given it earned an 8th title in the last 10 years, but the achievement is certainly not taken for granted. With a 44th Gauchão triumph, Grêmio closed the gap on the all-time leaderboard between themselves and Inter, who remain ahead on 46.

The trophy is early reward for new coach Luís Castro, who took charge in December and has battled a short pre-season and the tough schedule of the state championships continuing amid the start of the Brazilian league season, which began early this year due to the upcoming World Cup.

The damage in the two-legged final was done in the first meeting, where Grêmio dispatched their rivals 3-0 in the home clash. An early red card issued to Inter’s Alexandro Bernabei for a last-man foul shaped the match, after which Grêmio went ahead through a great strike by Jose Enamorado and a second by forward Amazu. After the break, ex-Benfica man Carlos Vinicius forced an own goal by Victor Gabriel to give Grêmio a commanding advantage in the tie.

Inter began the second leg at Beira-Rio stadium with a lot of intent, but wasted chances early in the showdown were followed by a penalty overturned by VAR which seemed to deflate the home crowd. Grêmio then took the lead on the stroke of half time through young defender Gustavo Martins, which rendered a second-half penalty by Alan Patrick inconsequential in a 4-1 aggregate socreline.

“The great partnership in our lives: one hand on the work, the other on victories,” Castro said after the match. “If we can go that way, we'll be balanced. Without victories, we can't make progress. Validation through victories is extremely important. Players look to competitive matches to validate what we do.

“The players were the main actors in what we achieved. Then there's the fans, who have always supported us a lot and throughout the whole season have been an unconditional support. This has made us very happy because with them we are clearly stronger and they are the heart of the stadium, and that heart beats very strongly for us to experience situations like the ones we experienced today.”

Watch: the Grêmio players made sure Castro celebrated properly:

Critical of medal procedure

The meeting between the clubs was not without plenty of hostilities. Some believe the derby dubbed Gre-Nal is the most hotly-contested in Brazilian football, but a directive agreed beforehand for Inter players to receive their runners-up medals in the dressing room rather than take part in the crowning ceremony did not sit well with Castro.

"I've never been in a final where the opponent didn't receive a medal,” he said. “It was the first time in my life that I've been in a final where the opponent didn't receive a medal. It was an organisational failure; they should have had medals.

“When we lost here (in the first phase of Gauchão), I congratulated our rival, they were better, we deserved to lose. I put my opinion aside, left, and went to think about why I lost the Gre-Nal.”

Praise for Castro

The appointment of Castro by the Grêmio board saw him return to Brazil for a second time, having previously coached Botafogo. Castro’s work in Rio de Janeiro was impressive; the former Porto man was on-course to win the national championship with Botafogo until he was tempted away mid-season by Al Nassr, where he linked up with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Now back in the country, Castro received praise from major news company Globo for his work in delivering an early trophy with his new club. The outlet points to several aspects of the success which they say means “Grêmio's 44th Gaucho championship title had a Portuguese flavour”.

Firstly, Castro is complimented for the fact that despite a commanding lead for much of the tie, he “at no point resorted to unsportsmanlike conduct or abandon the attacking approach” while also praising wider aspects of his management. The 64-year-old is further commended for adapting to setbacks, taking responsibility to make changes, trusting young players and being consistent with a dominant play style.

Attention will quickly shift to the league campaign, where Grêmio have won two and lost two of their opening four matches, leaving them in 8th