Hulk (footballer)

Givanildo Vieira de Sousa (born 25 July 1986), known as Hulk (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈhuwki]), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Shanghai SIPG as a forward, though he can also operate as a winger.

This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is Vieira and the second or paternal family name is de Sousa.
Hulk
Hulk with Zenit in 2014
Personal information
Full name Givanildo Vieira de Sousa[1]
Date of birth (1986-07-25) 25 July 1986
Place of birth Campina Grande, Brazil
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Playing position(s) Forward / Winger
Club information
Current team
 Shanghai SIPG
Number 10
Youth career
2001–2002 Vilanovense
2002 São Paulo
2003–2004 Vitória
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2005 Vitória 2 (0)
2005 → Kawasaki Frontale (loan) 9 (1)
2006–2008 Kawasaki Frontale 2 (0)
2006 → Consadole Sapporo (loan) 38 (25)
2007 → Tokyo Verdy (loan) 42 (37)
2008 Tokyo Verdy 13 (7)
2008–2012 Porto 99 (54)
2012–2016 Zenit Saint Petersburg 97 (56)
2016– Shanghai SIPG 84 (45)
National team‡
2012 Brazil Olympic 6 (1)
2009– Brazil 47 (11)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 December 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 March 2016

After starting out professionally with Vitória and then playing three years in Japan, he went on to play several seasons in Portugal with Porto, winning ten titles – including the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League and three national championships – and being crowned the league's top scorer once. In 2012, he joined Russian Premier League side Zenit Saint Petersburg for €60 million, winning all three domestic honours and being named the competition's best player and being top scorer, once each. He was transferred to Shanghai SIPG for an Asian record €58.6 million in 2016.

Hulk made his international debut in 2009, and played for Brazil at the 2012 Summer Olympics as one of the three permitted over-age players. He went on to represent the Brazilian senior team in their victory at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and fourth-place finish at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

He is described by FIFA's official website as "a direct powerhouse of a centre- or wide-forward who knows his way around the box".[3] He is strongly built for a footballer and acquired his nickname due to his likeness to actor Lou Ferrigno, who played the Incredible Hulk on the eponymous television show in the 1970s.[4]

Club career

Brazil and Japan

Born in Campina Grande, Paraíba, Hulk started playing professionally with Esporte Clube Vitória in Salvador, Bahia, then went on loan to Japan to play for Kawasaki Frontale.[5] Despite having been purchased on 15 January 2006,[6] he was loaned to second division Consadole Sapporo, effective on 1 February,[6] where he played all the 2006 season and scored 25 goals, one less than the top scorer.

In 2007, he was loaned again to a second division team, Tokyo Verdy,[7] where he was even more effective, scoring 37 goals in 42 matches and being the top goalscorer of the season. He briefly returned[8] to Kawasaki in 2008, but rejoined Verdy[9] after only 18 matches.

Porto

After Hulk's stay in Japan, he moved to Portugal to join defending champions Porto,[10] who purchased 50% of his playing rights for €5.5 million from Uruguayan side Rentistas,[11] with the transfer fee being received by an unnamed investor.

When Moroccan teammate Tarik Sektioui suffered an injury, Hulk was given an opportunity to play forward and scored his first official domestic league goal for Porto in a 2–0 home win against C.F. Os Belenenses, later adding against F.C. Paços de Ferreira (same venue and result), both as a second-half substitute. As the season advanced, he became an undisputed starter, forming an attacking trio with Cristian Rodríguez and Lisandro López, with the trio often shifting positions. After some stellar performances in the season's UEFA Champions League, he was elected as one of the Top 10 Rising Stars by UEFA.com.[12] In late August 2009, he extended his contract to June 2014, with a buy-out clause increased to €100 million.[13]

In the 2009–10 season, Hulk established as an automatic first-choice. However, following a tunnel brawl during the league loss against S.L. Benfica (1–0) on 20 December 2009, he received a four-month ban (if the disciplinary hearing upheld the ban, he faced up to three years on the sidelines), only for the domestic competitions, as did his teammate Cristian Săpunaru.[14] The ban was later reduced to four matches, and the player returned to league action on 28 March 2010 after missing 3 months and 18 matches, scoring in a 3–0 win at Belenenses. One week later, he also scored in a 4–1 home victory over C.S. Marítimo. With six less matches played than the previous season, he ended with five league goals.

Hulk fighting for the ball in Porto's Europa League match against Rapid Wien in 2010

Hulk started the 2010–11 season scoring 16 times in his first 16 official matches, including a hat-trick against K.R.C. Genk in the UEFA Europa League play-off stage, on 26 August 2010 (4–2 home win, 7–2 on aggregate).[15] From September to January, he won the Portuguese Championship Player of the Month, making him the only player to have won the award six times. On 7 November 2010, he scored the last two goals as Porto trounced Benfica 5–0 at home, creating a ten-point difference between the two teams,[16] with the northerners leading the league, and eventually winning it, with the player leading the goalscoring charts.

On 13 May 2011, Porto paid €13.5 million to Rentistas for another 40% of Hulk's playing rights, bringing their total stake to 85% (Porto sold back 5% after renewing his contract in 2009), with the player signing a new contract valid until 2016 and with a buy-out clause of €100 million.[17][18] He finished the season with 36 goals in 53 official matches, with his team winning four major titles, including a league/cup double.

On 7 April 2012, Hulk scored the solitary goal as Porto defeated S.C. Braga away to go four points clear at the top of the Primeira Liga table.[19] He scored six goals in the following three matches, including a brace in a 2–0 home defeat of Sporting CP,[20] and finished the 2011–12 season with 16 league goals as his team won another national championship. In May 2012, he was voted the Player of the Month for April for a record sixth time,[21] and he added 11 assists, a competition best.[22]

On 17 February 2014, Hulk was ordered to pay a €45,000 fine for assaulting two stewards at the Estádio da Luz.[23][24][25]

Zenit

On 3 September 2012, Hulk completed a transfer of €60 million, with Porto receiving €40 million,[fn 1] to Russian Premier League club FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, reuniting with former Porto teammate Bruno Alves.[26] This transfer fee caused a lot of debate and a great stir since Mitrofanov, General director from Zenit denied publicly.[28] Russian media R-Sport even claimed that Mitrofanov had shown the media the sales contract and the fee on the contract was €40 million and not €60 million.[29][30] However, Porto also confirmed in its unaudited quarterly report in Q1 2012–13 that the club did not pay for third parties ownership (15%), agent fee nor solidarity contribution (5%), which all normally included in the transfer fee, as in the case of Radamel Falcao.[31]

Hulk scored his first goal for his new club in only his second league match, against FC Krylia Sovetov Samara, finding the net with a trademark shot from outside the box in a 2–2 away draw.[32]

In the second half of September, media speculation reported that teammates Igor Denisov and Aleksandr Kerzhakov were unsatisfied with Hulk's wage, and that they demanded renegotiation of their contracts. As a result, they were sent to the youth squad.[33][34] Denisov replied in an interview with Sport Express stating that his stand-off with club management was over "the proper organisation of the team. And respect for the Russian players which Zenit has always relied upon".[32] A few days after the feud, he scored and assisted in a 2–1 win against FC Baltika Kaliningrad for the fifth round of the Russian Cup. A few weeks later, he scored his first Champions League goal for Zenit and provided an assist in a 3–2 loss against A.C. Milan in the second matchday of group stage.

Hulk playing for Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2015

After falling out with head coach Luciano Spalletti, Hulk declared he was seeking to leave the club in January. However, FIFA regulations ban players from playing for more than two clubs in a season, forcing him to stay in Russia at least until June 2013.[35] Eventually, he revealed he made amends with the club's management and that things have been resolved.[36] In a 3–1 loss against Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk, he suffered a head injury after falling under a challenge and connecting his head with a Shakhtar defender's studs in the second half. He was then taken to a local Dubai hospital[37] Following Zenit's third-place finish in the Champions League group stage, the club entered into the Europa League. He scored a goal in each leg of Zenit's knockout phase match to eliminate English side Liverpool from the Europa League in the round of 32 by away goals, despite losing 3–1 in the second leg.[38] On 4 May 2013, he scored his first hat-trick of his Zenit career and assisted a goal, in a 4–0 win over league strugglers Alania Vladikavkaz.[39]

On 16 February 2015, Hulk signed two-year contract extension with the club.[40] On 17 May, his free kick in a 1–1 draw at FC Ufa gave Zenit the league title with two matches to spare.[41]

Hulk was due to be an assistant at the draw for 2018 World Cup qualification in Saint Petersburg, but withdrew due to commitments with Zenit, being replaced by Alexey Smertin.[42]

Hulk was named by UEFA as one of the top XI players of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League group stage.[43][44]

Shanghai SIPG

On 30 June 2016, Hulk joined Chinese club Shanghai SIPG from Zenit for a reported £45 million, an Asian football record. He would earn £320,000 per week, accumulating to £16.6 million per year.[45] On 10 July, Hulk forced Ryan McGowan's own goal nine minutes into his debut in a 5–0 win over Henan Jianye. However, just 12 minutes later, he was stretchered off the pitch with a muscle injury.[46][47] On 9 September, Hulk scored his first two goals for Shanghai SIPG against Beijing Guoan after a two-month injury lay-off.[48]

International career
Hulk playing for Brazil at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Hulk made his debut for Brazil on 14 November 2009 in a friendly match against England in Doha, as the Seleção managed a 1–0 victory.[49] On 26 May 2012, he scored his first three international goals in a 3–1 win against Denmark at the Imtech Arena, Hamburg.[50]

On 9 June 2012, in a friendly with Argentina, Hulk scored in a 3–4 loss.[51] In July, he was named as one of three overaged players for Mano Menezes' Brazilian squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London,[52] and he appeared in all but one of the matches during the tournament, netting in the 1–2 final loss against Mexico.[53]

In June 2013, Hulk represented Brazil at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. He played in every match as the team's starting right-winger, including the final, where Brazil defeated world champions Spain to win its fourth Confederations Cup title.

At the 2014 World Cup, in the round of 16 match against Chile in Belo Horizonte, Hulk had a goal disallowed for a handball. In the shootout, he had his penalty saved by Claudio Bravo, although Brazil nonetheless advanced.[54]

Career statistics

Club
As of 28 January 2020.[55]
Season Club League League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2004Vitória Série A 20————20
Brazil total 20————20
2005Kawasaki Frontale J1 League 912210——123
2006Consadole Sapporo (loan) J2 League 382531———4126
2007Tokyo Verdy (loan) 423700———4237
2008Kawasaki Frontale J1 League 200000——20
Tokyo Verdy 1170031——148
Japan total 102705341——11174
2008–09Porto Primeira Liga 258711010010449
2009–10 195320083103110
2010–11 26237431167105335
2011–12 2616102184203921
2012–13 320000000032
Portugal total 99541876242145017077
2012–13Zenit Russian Premier League 18731—93—3011
2013–14241700—105003422
2014–15281520—156—4521
2015–16271742—74103923
Russia total 975693—41181014877
2016 Shanghai SIPG Chinese Super League 7500—10—85
2017 271764—119—4430
2018 251321—83—3517
2019 251031—86103717
2020 0000—11—11
China Total 8445116—29191012570
Career total 38422543191031125170556298

International
Brazil
YearAppsGoals
200920
201160
2012106
2013142
201481
201542
201630
Total4711

International goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
01. 26 May 2012 Volksparkstadion, Altona, Hamburg, Germany  Denmark 1–0
3–1
Friendly
02. 3-0
03. 9 June 2012 MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA  Argentina 3–2 3–4
04. 7 September 2012 Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil  South Africa 1–0 1–0
05. 10 September 2012 Estádio do Arruda, Recife, Brazil  China PR 4–0 8–0
06. 11 October 2012 Swedbank Stadion, Malmö, Sweden  Iraq 4–0 6–0
07. 16 November 2013 Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Florida, United States  Honduras 5–0 5–0
08. 19 November 2013 Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada  Chile 1–0 2–1
09. 3 June 2014 Estádio Serra Dourada, Goiânia, Brazil  Panama 3–0 4–0
10. 5 September 2015 Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States  Costa Rica 1–0 1–0
11. 8 September 2015 Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, United States  United States 1–0 4–1

Goals in the Summer Olympics
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
01. 11 August 2012 Wembley Stadium, London, England  Mexico 1–2 1–2 2012 Summer Olympics

Honours

Club
Porto
  • Primeira Liga: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13[56]
  • Taça de Portugal: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
  • Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2009, 2010, 2011
  • UEFA Europa League: 2010–11
Zenit Saint Petersburg
  • Russian Football Premier League: 2014–15
  • Russian Cup: 2015–16
  • Russian Super Cup: 2015
Shanghai SIPG
  • Chinese Super League: 2018
  • Chinese FA Super Cup: 2019

International
Brazil

Individual
  • J2 League Top scorer: 2007
  • SJPF Player of the Month: February 2009, September 2010, October 2010, December 2010, January 2011, April 2012 (record)
  • Primeira Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2008–09
  • Primeira Liga Top scorer: 2010–11
  • Primeira Liga Player of the Year: 2010–11, 2011–12
  • O Jogo Team of the Year: 2012
  • Russian Premier League Best Right Winger: 2012–13,[57] 2013–14
  • Russian Premier League Player of the Month: September 2013
  • Russian Premier League Top Scorer: 2014–15 (15 goals)
  • Footballer of the Year in Russia (Sport-Express): 2015
  • Footballer of the Year in Russia (Futbol): 2015
  • UEFA Champions League Team of the Group Stage: 2015[58]
  • Chinese Super League Team of the Year: 2017, 2018

Footnotes
  1. Based on Porto did not had obligation to pay for third parties ownership (15%), agent fee (€8M) and solidarity contribution (5%),[26] total for €20 million[27]

References
  1. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of players: Brazil" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 6. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  2. "Hulk". Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  3. "HULK". FIFA. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  4. "The best (and worst) nicknames in football". 17 August 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  5. フッキ選手獲得のお知らせ (Press release) (in Japanese). Kawasaki Frontale. 10 February 2005. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  6. フッキ選手移籍のお知らせ (Press release) (in Japanese). Kawasaki Frontale. 15 January 2006. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  7. フッキ選手期限付き移籍加入のお知らせ(1/9) (Press release) (in Japanese). Tokyo Verdy. 9 January 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  8. フッキ選手期限付き移籍期間満了のお知らせ (Press release) (in Japanese). Tokyo Verdy. 19 December 2007. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  9. フッキ選手加入のお知らせ(4/2) (Press release) (in Japanese). Tokyo Verdy. 2 April 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  10. フッキ選手移籍のお知らせ(7/27) (Press release) (in Japanese). Tokyo Verdy. 27 July 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  11. "Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF) (in Portuguese). FC Porto. 25 July 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 August 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
  12. "Top ten rising stars". UEFA.com. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
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  15. Porto 4–2 Genk (7–2 Agg.): Hulk hits hat-trick for dominant Dragons; Goal.com, 26 August 2010
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  20. Porto 2–0 Sporting; PortuGOAL, 5 May 2012
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  22. ; Mais Futebol (Portuguese)
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  29. "Hulk and Witsel Cost €40 M Each – Zenit". RIA Novosti. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  30. "Zenit St Petersburg spend £64m to sign Hulk and Witsel". BBC Sport. 4 September 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  31. quarterly report on 30 September 2012 Archived 23 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine FC Porto official site (Portuguese)
  32. "Zenit's $130m dilemma". ESPN FC. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  33. "Zenit: Denisov went on strike over pay". RIA Novosti. 23 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
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  41. "FC Ufa 1-1 Zenit St P". BBC Sport. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  42. "Hulk pulls out of World Cup qualifying draw in St Petersburg". Sky Sports. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  43. "Champions League team of the group stage: Ronaldo leads UEFA XI". Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  44. uefa.com (15 December 2015). "UEFA Champions League - News – UEFA.com". Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  45. "Brazil striker Hulk joins Shanghai in £320,000-a-week deal". Associated Press. 30 June 2016 – via The Guardian.
  46. "Hulk marca em estreia na China, sofre lesão e rodada tem show de brasileiros" (in Portuguese). Globo. 10 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  47. 屋漏偏逢连夜雨！胡尔克首秀进球被认定对手乌龙 [A series of unfortunate event: Hulk debut goal was corrected as own goal] (in Chinese). Sina. 10 July 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  48. "Shanghai Hulk hailed by Sven-Goran Eriksson after netting brace". ESPN FC. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  49. White, Duncan (14 November 2009). "England 0 Brazil 1: match report". The Daily Telegraph.
  50. Denmark 1–3 Brazil: Hulk delivers clinical double to hamper Euro 2012 plans of Olsen's men; Goal.com, 26 May 2012
  51. "Brazil 3 Argentina 4: Hat-trick hero Messi steals the show in thriller". London: Daily Mail. 9 June 2012.
  52. "Hulk, Marcelo named in Brazil squad". FIFA.com. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  53. "Peralta's double secures gold for Mexico". FIFA.com. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  54. Ornstein, David (28 June 2014). "Brazil 1–1 Chile". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  55. "Hulk". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  56. https://www.zerozero.pt/player.php?id=5696
  57. "В списке 33-х лучших девять игроков ЦСКА". Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  58. "Champions League team of the group stage". UEFA. 15 December 2015.
  • Hulk at ForaDeJogo
  • Hulk at Soccerway
  • Hulk at National-Football-Teams.com
  • Hulk – FIFA competition record
  • Hulk at J.League (in Japanese)
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