 Amongst these were his first club, Caxias.He returned to them in 1999, became champion of the 2000 Campeonato Gaúcho defeating Grêmio, which had Ronaldinho in its team.Due to the achievements with Caxias, Tite became the Grêmio coach in 2001, staying until 2003, where he won the 2001 Campeonato Gaúcho and the 2001 Copa do Brasil.