Hulk’s last dance in the Copa Libertadores

The boy Givanildo Vieira de Souza (Paraíba, 1986) went around his house in Campina Grande in Brazil lifting things to emulate his great hero. A character with whom he became so obsessed that he asked his parents to name him after him. His parents, seeing the little boy’s habits, decided to grant him his wish. But Givanildo, or Hulkhe has lacked the strength or perseverance in his career that his idol has always shown in the Marvel comics or in the television series The Incredible Hulk which he saw with delight.

This Saturday, the 38-year-old forward faces his last opportunity to become the hero he has raised so much. He will not do it painted green, but with the shirt of Atlético Mineiro, a Brazilian club he joined after his Chinese adventure in 2021. The Copa Libertadores, which will face Botafogo, also from Rio, could be a finishing touch to a strange and with ups and downs.

It is rare that a child chooses Hulk as an idol ahead of Superman, Batman o Spidermanbut this Brazilian has never been conventional, in fact he is married to his niece-in-law. Thus, he barely played two games in his country of origin before taking a trial with Porto, who ruled him out “for being chubby.” Thus, the footballer had to emigrate to Japan where he began to earn a great reputation as a scorer. In the country of the rising sun he played a total of 111 games in which he scored 74 goals, 0.66 per game.

The footballer’s growth was not only sporting, in which his speed and powerful shot stood out, but also physical. Givanildo He transformed his body until it resembled that of his hero. Hence his colleagues like Marcelo y David Luizcompanions of the canarinha in which he spent 9 years and with which he won the Confederations Cup in 2013, have said that “an elbow from him leaves you bent” or that “you have to be careful when he takes a race because it is like trying to stop a locomotive.” A video recently went viral of a run-in with Franco de Paula Ferreira in the Brasileirao and the flight that the Uberlandia player gave.

His numbers in Japan earned him a new call from Porto. It was more a redemption for president Pinto da Costa than for the footballer himself. They bought their rights for 5.5 million and in Portugal they formed a world star, who blended perfectly with other big names such as Falcona couple with whom he scored 74 goals in one season, or James Rodriguez.

In those years, not only did he achieve great titles at a collective level such as several Portuguese leagues, cups and super cups as well as a Europa League, but his individual performance also earned him several distinctions such as his selection in the UEFA Top 10 Rising Stars. The footballer was called to make it big but… it never happened or he never wanted to.

From his football astonishment in Porto, where not all were glorious chapters and it is worth remembering his legendary fight in the locker room tunnel against the Benfica players that led to a four-match ban, he moved on to the market. Hulk He chose Zenith Saint Petersburg as the next step in his career, although all of Europe was yearning for his services.

His football was forgotten as well as his gallant figure and he decided to become the most expensive signing in the history of Chinese football. In those years, before the football economic bubble that was formed as a result of the transfer of Neymar al PSG, Hulk He had been one of the players who had moved the most money in transfers with 115 million. Today it is, just barely, among the top 50.

At 35 years old, Hulk He decided to return to Brazil, a country where he had only played 7 minutes as a professional in two games. The striker joined Jorge Sampaoli’s Atlético Mineiro and continued doing what he does best, which is scoring goals. There have been 113 in 214 games, a little more than one every two games and this year, together with Deyverson, and with the legendary central defender of the Spanish league Gabi Milito at the controls, he is one of the great threats of the Brazilian team.

In the final of the Libertadores, Hulk History must change, of the 50 previous duels, Botafogo has won 24 to Mineiro’s 15. This season, in fact, they have won one duel and tied the other, but in both games there were expulsions, so a very tense final is expected. With football and blows… Hulk has the advantage, but he must choose his first option to honor his childhood hero.