The Hulk is a Brazilian footballer who is well known to Russian fans for his appearances for St. Petersburg “Zenith”. However, this summer the attacker left the team, and many are wondering where the Hulk is playing now. You will find the answer to this question in this article, however, there will be information here far from more than just that. The fact is that this player’s career was extremely rich and interesting, so it would be unreasonable to simply tell which club he is playing for. You will find out not only where the Hulk is playing now, but also where he played before, where he began his career and how he ended up in Russia.
Carier start
Many football fans are interested in where the Hulk plays, not even knowing where he came from at Zenit. But he had a long career path before reaching Peter. At the age of thirteen, the young Brazilian ended up in the academy of the Serrano club, where he stayed for two years, after which, together with his parents, he moved to Portugal, where he entered the Vilanovense football academy. However, he did not stay there for long either - pretty soon he was noticed by the junior scouts of the largest Brazilian club São Paulo, where he moved in 2002. But the very next year he was sent to the Vitoria Academy, since he did not fit São Paulo. It was with Vitoria, in whose structure he turned out to be 17 years old, a year later the Hulk, then known only by his real name Zivanildo Vieira de Souza, entered into a professional contract. Then he played in the position of extreme defender, which may seem striking to modern fans. But if you are asked about where the Hulk plays at the beginning of his career, then it is hardly worth a lot to talk about Brazil - after all, in “Vitoria” he spent only two matches. Six months after the conclusion of the contract, the Brazilian was sold to the Japanese club Kawasaki - in Japan at that time, many Brazilians played.
Japanese period
In Japan, the Brazilian was primarily transferred to the position of a midfielder, so it was already difficult to say exactly where the Hulk plays. The footballer played for Kawasaki, but has already changed his position from defender to midfielder. In this club, he spent 12 matches, scoring three goals, after which he was leased to another Japanese club, Consadole Sapporo. The team played in the second division, so the pressure on the young Brazilian was less, and he was able to take advantage of this by playing 41 matches and scoring 26 goals in them. How did he do it? The fact is that in the new club they saw a great striker in him and transferred him from midfield to attack. So the star of modern football was born - the next year the Hulk was rented at Tokyo Verdi, where he made a real extravaganza extravaganza, scoring 37 goals in 42 matches. But when he returned to Kawasaki, he still could not find a place at the base - when he played two more matches, he was sold to Tokyo, from which he had just returned. Thanks to the efforts of the Hulk, this team got out of the second division into the first, so the return of the Brazilian on an ongoing basis was greeted with universal happiness. However, the Hulk was not given the chance to help the capital club stay in the top division - in the first half of the season he played in 14 matches, scoring eight goals, after which the transfer window arrived in Europe. It was impossible not to notice such outstanding results, so in the summer of 2008, the 22-year-old Brazilian ended up in the Portuguese “Porto”, who paid 19 million euros for it - it was fabulous money for the club, which had just been selected in the top division, so the management agreed, and The Hulk himself, naturally, would like to play in Europe.
Performances at the Porto
Some fans of football simulations do not find the Hulk in FIFE's early editions at Zenith, so they immediately have questions. Where does the Hulk play in FIFE 11? Everything is simple - because at that time he had not yet transferred to the Russian club, but played in Porto. He devoted four years to the Portuguese club, winning with him three Portuguese championships, three Portuguese Cups and two Portuguese Super Cups. Moreover, in 2011, the Hulk managed to win the Europa League, and at the same time he was one of the key factors for the success of the team. The first two years he spent not too productively - in 75 matches he scored only 19 goals. But in the triumphant season of 10/11, as well as in the next following him, the Hulk actually shot - in 95 matches he scored 59 goals. As a result, he attracted the attention of St. Petersburg “Zenith”, which paid for him in 2012 an incredible 55 million euros. It was the most expensive transfer of that year - and still this transfer is among the twenty most expensive in history.
Go to Zenit
In “Zenith”, the Hulk spent four years, which turned out to be extremely productive - in 144 matches he scored 75 goals, making a serious contribution to the victory of the St. Petersburg club in the Russian Championship in 2015, as well as to the victory in the Cup and Super Cup of Russia in the next season. However, even then, many pointed out that once a poor Brazilian boy turned into a man hunting for money. Otherwise, the transition from a more successful “Port” to a less successful “Zenith” at the peak of a career was impossible to explain. This fact was confirmed in the summer of 2016.
Departure to China
In the past couple of years, the Chinese have very actively begun to conquer the football world, scattering huge sums of money for those players whom they would like to see in their league. And if most football players refused such offers, as they would like to play in prestigious leagues, the Hulk agreed to go to China to receive a huge salary. Zenit received back its 55 million euros, and now you know where the Hulk plays. Which team specifically? The Shanghai SIPG club paid the money for a 30-year-old striker who had already played three matches in the new championship, scoring two goals.
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