Hulk (footballer)

Hulk
Hulk playing for Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2015
Personal information
Full name Givanildo Vieira de Sousa[1]
Date of birth (1986-07-25) 25 July 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth Campina Grande, Brazil
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Atlético Mineiro
Number 7
Youth career
1998–2000 Serrano-PB
2000 Campinense
2001–2002 Vilanovense
2002 São Paulo
2003–2004 Vitória
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2006 Vitória 2 (0)
2005Kawasaki Frontale (loan) 9 (1)
2006–2008 Kawasaki Frontale 2 (0)
2006Consadole Sapporo (loan) 38 (25)
2007Tokyo Verdy (loan) 42 (37)
2008 Tokyo Verdy 11 (7)
2008–2012 Porto 99 (54)
2012–2016 Zenit Saint Petersburg 97 (56)
2016–2020 Shanghai SIPG 100 (51)
2021– Atlético Mineiro 152 (86)
International career
2012 Brazil Olympic (O.P.) 6 (1)
2009–2021 Brazil 49 (11)
Medal record
Representing  Brazil
Men's football
FIFA Confederations Cup
Winner 2013 Brazil
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2012 London Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:05, 20 October 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 September 2021

Givanildo Vieira de Sousa (born 25 July 1986), mononymously known as Hulk (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈʁuwki]), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Atlético Mineiro.

After starting out professionally with Vitória and then playing three years in Japan, he played several seasons in Portugal with Porto, winning ten titles – including the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League and three national championships. He was 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 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup victory 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 series in the 1970s.[4]

  1. ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of players: Brazil" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Hulk". FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  3. ^ "HULK". FIFA. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  4. ^ "Career of Chelsea target Hulk is more incredible than how he was named". The Guardian. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2021.