Yesterday, August 10, Grêmio played Cuiabá in a match valid for the twenty-second round of the Brazilian league.
The game, played at the iconic Arena Pantanal in Cuiabá, Brazil, held great significance not only for it being an important game in Brazil’s relegation fight but also because it marked Martin Braithwaite’s debut.
Martin Braithwaite is a 33-year-old Danish striker and Grêmio’s most recent acquisition. He was brought by the “Tricolor Gaúcho” to substitute Luis Suárez, who left the team at the end of last season.
Braithwaite’s arrival in Brazil was seen as a very random thing, and many fans and pundits wondered if he would be able to excel in the Brazilian league but This last Saturday, we were able to get a taste of what is to come from the Dane’s presence in Brazil.
The game’s final score was 3-1 favoring Grêmio, but the shocking part comes with the fact that Martin directly participated in every single goal—not just Grêmio’s goals, but every goal in the match.
For starters, the first goal of the game, scored by Gustavo Nunes in the twenty-third minute, came from a rebound from a shot by Martin Braithwaite.
His shot was a capable strike from the right side of the box, but it wasn’t enough to beat Cuiabá’s keeper Walter, though it was enough for it to be splashed back into the box where Gustavo could capitalize on it.
The next goal of the match was scored by Braithwaite—the only thing is, it wasn’t in Grêmio’s favor.
At 52 minutes into the match, Martin unintentionally scored an own goal after a deflection that resulted from trying to defend a corner.
Although Braithwaite clearly tried to clear the ball, it ended up going into his own net. This moment was a huge setback in Grêmio’s game; what was being a win quickly turned into a tie, and it happened in the worst way possible—at their own hands.
For Martin Braithwaite, the moment was just as disastrous. It put a lot of pressure on the striker and made what already was a high-pressure game into an even more complicated situation for the Danish forward—but as time would tell, Braithwaite was only getting started with putting balls in the back of the net.
The next goal of the game was also scored by Martin Braithwaite, as all the ones to come also were, and thankfully, this one was in the correct goal.
At 64 minutes in, Martin redeemed himself by scoring a precise right-footed goal into the bottom left corner.
The goal, assisted by Miguel Monsalve, not only gave Grêmio the 2-1 lead but also demonstrated Braithwaite’s ability to be decisive under pressure and to resolve unresolved games.
The fourth goal of the game, and Martin’s third, came at minute 86, when Martin—yes, always him—sealed Cuiabá’s coffin with a left-footed shot from the left side of the six-yard box.
The shot was a very deadly strike that went straight into the top right corner, leaving no chance for Walter to save and making it impossible for Cuiabá to react.
Grêmio’s third goal fully secured the win for the team from Rio Grande do Sul and also did a number in representing just how talented of a striker Braithwaite truly is. He scored with both feet, and even for both teams. He demonstrated just how good his positioning is and how quick his reaction time inside the box can be.
Yesterday’s performance by the Danish striker served as a message to all the critics—a message that in all capital letters said that Grêmio is in good hands.
Braithwaite showed the world that he is more than just a replacement for Suárez. He showed that he is indeed capable of great things, that he is indeed capable of handling the pressure, and that he is indeed capable of bringing great things to the “Immortal,” as Grêmio is commonly referred to in Brazil.
In more ways than one, Martin’s crazy debut can be seen as symbolic of what the Danish striker is able to bring to Grêmio—unpredictability, resilience, and the drama that makes us fall in love with the game day in and day out.
If this was how Braithwaite’s journey at Grêmio starts, one can only imagine what’s to come.
Yesterday, Martin Braithwaite showed he’s not just here to be a Suárez for the team, but that in fact he’s here to create his own legacy with the Immortal from Rio Grande do Sul.
And if you want to keep up with all stories that have to do with the Brazilian league and others of the sort, you know where to do that—the Roadrunner.
