Batalha dos Aflitos

The Batalha dos Aflitos (English: Battle of the Afflicted) is a name used by the Brazilian press to refer to a memorable Campeonato Brasileiro Série B play-off match played on Saturday, 26 November 2005 between Náutico and Grêmio. The name, Batalha dos Aflitos, is used in reference to Náutico's stadium, the Estádio dos Aflitos, in the city of Recife, where the match was played and also to the enormous tension demonstrated by both clubs during the game, hence the term, Batalha (English: Battle). The eventual winners, in the occasion Grêmio, would be promoted to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in 2006.

Background

Grêmio, considered one of the most important football teams in Brazil, was under a very delicate moment on its history, with financial problems and disputing the second division of Brazilian football after a traumatic Brazilian Championship in 2004. On the other hand, Náutico, also a very popular club in Brazil, was trying to return to the main division of Brazilian Championship after 11 years.

The Série B Championship was in the final round, in which the best 4 teams through the championship played against each other to define the champion - both champion and runner-up would be promoted back to the main division in the next year. Before the sixth round, Grêmio was leading with 9 points, with Santa Cruz, also from Recife, in second with 7 points, Náutico with 6 points and Portuguesa, from São Paulo, in last position with 5. The last game between Santa Cruz and Portuguesa was being played simultaneously, and finished 2-1 to Santa Cruz.

Match details

Due to the situation of both team, the match was very tense through most of the time. Still in first half, Náutico had the chance to score through a penalty kick, but Bruno Carvalho missed it by hitting the post. On the other hand, Grêmio was using a more defensive strategy, favoured by the best position in the table and the result of the other match (which finished the first half 2-1).

The game returned for the second half even more tense and violent. At 55 minutes, Escalona received a red card because of a hand ball. When Santa Cruz scored the second goal in the other match, Grêmio was losing the first position in the group, but would still be promoted to the first division.

The match kept that pace, with Náutico seeking for the goal and Grêmio holding back, counting on the talent of Anderson for an eventual counter-attack. It would end up like a normal decisive match, until a contested penalty was signalled against Grêmio at 71'. In the move of Nunes, the referee understood that a hand ball happened, and the player also was sent off.

A big confusion then started in the field. Grêmio players surrounded the referee to complain about the penalty, some of them in an aggressive manner. The matched was stopped for about 20 minutes, and two other players of Grêmio were sent off: the defender Domingos and the right-back Patrício.

After the confusion had settled, the game restarted with the penalty kick. The situation made the match even more tense, and the players of both teams were feeling the pressure. The left wing from Náutico, Ademar, was chosen to take the penalty kick, but Grêmio's goalkeeper Galatto saved it with his legs, preventing another tragic moment in the history of the club.

Although the saved penalty helped to recover the morale of the players, Grêmio still had to hold the opponent for 10 more minutes, counting with only six outfield players and the keeper, and Náutico had the possession of the ball for a corner kick. But, in the sequence of the play Anderson got control of the ball and tried to start a counter-attack for Grêmio, which was stopped by a violent foul by Náutico's defender Batata. For that foul, Batata was sent off for two yellow cards. Taking advantage of an apparent lack of organization of Náutico's defense, Marcelo Costa played the free kick to Anderson, who passed two defenders and the keeper and scored the goal that would define the match.

Details

26 November 2005 15:00 UTC−03	Náutico	0 – 1	Grêmio	Estádio dos Aflitos, Recife Attendance: 29,891 Referee: Djalma Beltrami
	Bruno Carvalho 33' Ademar 90+15'		Anderson  90+16'

Náutico

Grêmio

NÁUTICO: GK 1 Rodolfo RB - Bruno Carvalho CB - Tuca CB - Batata  17', 90+16' LB 6 Ademar RM - Cleisson CM - Tozo CM - David LM - Danilo CF - Kuki CF - Paulo Matos Substitutes: MF 16 Beto 79' FW 17 Miltinho 46 - Romualdo  ?? Manager: Roberto Cavalo

GRÊMIO: GK 1 Rodrigo Galatto RB 2 Patrício CB 3 Domingos  31', 76' CB 4 Pereira 61' LB 6 Alejandro Escalona  23', 55' RM 5 Nunes  71' CM 8 Sandro Goiano (c) CM 10 Marcelo Costa LM 11 Marcel 51' 86' CF 9 Marcelo Lipatin CF 7 Ricardinho 46' Substitutes: MF 15 Lucas 46' MF 17 Anderson 51' Manager: Mano Menezes

Curiosities

• That team of Grêmio revealed important names for international football in 2005. Both substitutes that entered the match in the second half are currently playing in English football: [[Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira|Anderson]com o apelido de "andershow" no Porto de Portugal ] at Manchester United and Lucas at Liverpool. Also, the manager Mano Menezes is the current manager of Brazilian national football team.

• The "Batalha dos Aflitos" was so memorable to Grêmio's fans that a documentary was made about it. "Inacreditável - A Batalha dos Aflitos" was released in 2007, and tells the story of that year's championship, focusing on the 71 seconds between the saved penalty and the decisive goal.

References

External links

• Text at uol (Portuguese)
• Text at globo.com (Portuguese)