Grêmio Esportivo Brasil

Football club infobox
clubname = Brasil de Pelotas


fullname = Grêmio Esportivo Brasil
nickname = "Xavante" and "Rubro-Negro"
founded = September 7, 1911
ground = Bento Freitas, Pelotas, Brazil
capacity = 18,000
chairman = Helder Lopes
manager = Luiz Carlos de Lorenzi
league = Campeonato Gaúcho Série A
season = 2007
position = Campeonato Gaúcho, 10th
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leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=E4382E

Grêmio Esportivo Brasil, also known as Brasil de Pelotas, is a Brazilian football team in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul.

History

Grêmio Esportivo Brasil was founded after a divergency between players and directors of Sport Club Cruzeiro do Sul, which was supported and managed by employees of Cervejaria Haertel. On September 7, 1911, the Brazilian Independence anniversary, the club was founded at Santa Cruz street, in the residence of José Moreira de Brito, father of one of the former members of Cruzeiro do Sul, after a meeting between him and the other former members. The colors chosen were yellow and green, which are the colors of Brazil. Later, the club changed its colors to red and black, after Clube Diamantinos, a defunct club. The colors were also changed because Esporte Club Pelotas, rival of Brasil has similar colors.

The greatest moment in the club's history came during the 1985 Brazilian League, when Brasil managed to reach the semifinals after moving past giants such as Flamengo. However, the club from Pelotas did not manage to defeat Bangu from Rio de Janeiro and ended up missing the glory of taking part in the final match.

The following years were not nearly as successful. Even though the club was frequently invited to take part in the Brazilian League due to their fanatic crowd, performances were usually disappointing. In the league of Rio Grande do Sul, the club spent a few years in the second division. In 2004, Brasil won the second division of the regional league, the first title in many years.

Titles

*Campeonato Gaúcho: 1919.
*Campeonato Gaúcho Second Division: 1961, and 2004.
*Copa Governador: 1972.
*Campeonato Citadino: 1917, 1919, 1921, 1926, 1927, 1931, 1937, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1970, and 1977.

tadium

Brasil de Pelotas's home stadium is Estádio Bento Freitas, inaugurated in 1943, with a maximum capacity of 18,000 people.

Current Squad

"As of February 29 2008"

Idols

*flagicon|Brazil Alvariza
*flagicon|Brazil Luizinho
*flagicon|Uruguay Claudio Milar

Rival

Brasil's greatest rival is Pelotas. The derby between the clubs is called Bra-Pel.

Ultra groups

There are many ultra groups supporting Brasil. The following are the most popular ones:

*Garra Xavante (also known as Charanga): was founded on September 7, 1979, by Vanderlei Freitas da Silva.

*TOB (or Torcida Organizada do Brasil): was founded on August 24, 1981, being the oldest ultras supporting Brasil de Pelotas.

*Máfia Xavante: is the largest ultra group supporting Brasil.

*Torcida Ultras do Brasil: it is the first virtual ultra group supporting Brasil, and was founded on February 27, 1999.

Other ultra groups are:

*Comando Rubro-Negro
*Comando Vermelho
*Gang da Farinha
*Gaviões da Baixada
*Índio Xavante
*Mancha Rubro-Negra
*Paz Xavante
*Torcida Animal Xavante
*Torcida Independente Rubro-Negra
*Torcida Jovem
*Torcida Organizada Feminina
*Torcida Raça Xavante

Anthem

The lyrics of the club's anthem were composed by José Costa, and sang by a local musical group called Os Santos.

The mascot

The club's mascot is a xavante Indian with stereotyped Indian features, like the Indian cockade and a spear. He is wearing the club home kit with a ball under his naked right foot.

External links

* [http://www.brasildepelotas.com/ Official Website]
* [http://www.gebrasil.hpg.ig.com.br/ Unofficial Website]
* [http://www.gebrasil.hpg.ig.com.br/index2.html Another Unofficial Website]