It’s hard to define this season for Tricolores. There wasn’t any title to celebrate, not even a close challenge in league; yet, there’s a general satisfaction over 2018. Why exactly was it a good season for Grêmio if they couldn’t repeat last season’s astronomical success in Libertadores? Grêmio wasn’t even able to finish better than their arch-rivals Internacional! Yet, the fans are appreciative of the effort that Renato’s men made to get a second Libertadores title in a row, and still be competitive in Domestic League as well. Because of the club’s clear focus on Libertadores, there were many times where the lineup in league games was formed by reserve players only, sometimes even players coming from the youth ranks. Still, this second and sometimes third choices granted Grêmio enough points to get them a satisfying 4th place in the end.
After last season’s title in Libertadores, Grêmio aimed for a double consecutive. Tricolores gave total priority to the competition, and that saw them go as far as the semi-finals, where they finally fell to River Plate in a tie where they started with an away win; however, when playing at home, Grêmio felt too much the absence of some important players like Luan or Everton (only fit for some final minutes).
Everton Cebolinha had a great year, in 2018 to the point were Tite called him to take part on a couple of international games. Some big names from Europe such as Manchester United have been said to have a close eye on the talented winger. Luan, on the other hand, had yet another season filled with injury problems, having scored only once in domestic league, while founding the net three times in Libertadores. Kannemann had his definite season alongside the always impeccable Geromel, at the back. With so many youngster being regularly used, at least two of them seem to be destined to success: the midfielders Jean Pyerre and Matheus Henrique.
