Grêmio's only hope is to sit back and wait
Grêmio will be relying on the qualities of central defender Geromel, midfielder Arthurand versatile forward Luan.
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In Brazil, everyone is in agreement that Grêmio are currently the top team in the land. While Corinthians lifted the Brasileirão, Grêmio, under the orders of their spectacular former striker and now coach, Renato Gaúcho, are fully aware that for a club with a limited budget, you need to prioritize. And that's precisely why Grêmio ploughed all of their energies into the Copa Libertadores. Later today, they take on European champions, Zidane's Real Madrid.
Grêmio's key figures
Three players form the team's backbone: centre-back Geromel - a player with strength, intelligence and natural talent; midfielder Arthur - the best all-rounder to have emerged from the youth ranks since Paulinho; and Luan - an all-purpose forward blessed with exquisite technical ability and maturity way beyond his 24 years. But Gaúcho without be without Barça's dream target Arthur today. Similar, recent encounters would suggest that the most effective way for a modest, South American outfit to get the better of an affluent members of European football's aristocracy is to sit back, run down the clock and catch them on the counter attack. For that reason Gaúcho won't be doing any experimentation in Abu Dhabi today. He's not stupid - and even less so when he is without Arthur...