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Goal.com 50: Hulk (23)
Goal.com's countdown of the best 50 players of 2010-11 continues with the powerful Brazilian forward, who played a pivotal role in his club Porto’s treble-winning campaign
7 Aug 2011 10:40:00
By Luis Mira
Welcome to the Goal.com 50! In this special series, Goal.com editors worldwide vote for the top 50 players of 2010-11. We count down to the announcement of the winner on August 21 with profiles of each and every player who made it into the top 50...
It did not take long before Hulk’s talent was recognised by Brazil’s then coach Dunga, who called the striker up for two friendly matches in October of 2009, against England and Oman. An undisputed starter for Porto and a member of the Brazil national team, the sky seemed to be the limit for Hulk, but his second season in Portugal would prove to be one of stagnation, because of one particular match.
But Hulk's contribution to his side's cause has always gone beyond mere goals. The Brazilian's technique and pace, coupled with his incredible strength, make him a unique figure in football. His squad role assumed special importance towards the middle of the season, when striker Radamel Falcao was out for almost two months with a knee injury. During that period, he scored four goals and spearheaded Porto's attack to make sure his side did not derail.
And though his finishing touch was not as sharp as the season reached its latter stages, the powerful striker still played a leading role in the squad's treble of Portuguese League, Portuguese Cup and Europa League, with a staggering 36 goals in 54 official matches. Still, that apparently was not enough to convince Brazil coach Mano Menezes to include him in his Copa America plans. With Menezes forced to rethink his strategy after a frustrating campaign in the competition, the Brazilian tactician may be lining up an influential role for Hulk in the future.
Porto's biggest internal challenge may well be to keep Hulk happy in the squad. As the Brazilian is about to enter his fourth season at the club, one cannot help but think he may be considering a new challenge at the end of the campaign. However, his €100m (£87m) price-tag immediately puts off any potential suitors, and the huge difference between his release clause and that of Falcao (€45m or £39.2m) - Porto's other widely coveted attacker - may provoke some instability within the squad.
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Rarely before has a player required so little time to affirm himself amongst the world’s best and brightest after taking so long to burst onto the scene like Hulk did. In 2008, the striker, then 22 years old, joined Porto as an unknown figure, even in his homeland, and just one year later he had the world at his feet.
In his first season at the Estadio do Dragao, Hulk, who had cost Porto €5.5 million (£4.8m), formed an impressive attacking trio with Lisandro Lopez and Cristian Rodriguez and pulled off some eye-catching displays in the Champions League, especially against Atletico Madrid, which earned him comparisons in the Spanish media with Ronaldo.
Having realised all the buzz that Hulk was generating in Europe after just one year at the club, Porto offered him a two-year contract extension, while upping his release clause from €40m (£34.9m) to €100m (£87m) - the highest buy-out clause ever used in Portugal.
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"It may sound like a heresy, but I would not trade Hulk for Cristiano Ronaldo." - Pinto da Costa, Porto president |
It did not take long before Hulk’s talent was recognised by Brazil’s then coach Dunga, who called the striker up for two friendly matches in October of 2009, against England and Oman. An undisputed starter for Porto and a member of the Brazil national team, the sky seemed to be the limit for Hulk, but his second season in Portugal would prove to be one of stagnation, because of one particular match.
| MOMENT OF THE SEASON |
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| Europa League PORTO 5-0 BENFICA |
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| Hulk paved the way to one of the season's most shocking results with an incredible sprint down the right flank, which left David Luiz miles away, before assisting Varela. He still had time to score two goals to round off an incredible display. |
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On 20 December. 2009, Hulk attacked a steward in a 1-0 loss at Benfica following a tunnel brawl, an incident captured on CCTV images. The Brazilian was initially suspended for four months, but in March, the Justice Council of the Portuguese Football Federation reduced the ban to just three matches, when the player had already sat out 17 games. As a result of his initial ban, Hulk only took part in eight domestic matches in the second half of the season and was left out of Dunga's plans for the World Cup in South Africa.
After such a frustrating year, Hulk headed into the 2010-11 season determined to prove that Porto's fortunes in the previous campaign would have been much different, had he not been handed what he called an "unfair ban".
Hulk's quest for revenge began against Benfica, the winners of the Portuguese League, in the Super Cup, a 2-0 victory in what looked to be an auspicious start to life for the new coach, Andre Villas-Boas, and his men. And if Hulk did not score in this match, he made up for that in the following four encounters with seven goals, including a hat-trick in the 4-2 Europa League win against Genk.But Hulk's contribution to his side's cause has always gone beyond mere goals. The Brazilian's technique and pace, coupled with his incredible strength, make him a unique figure in football. His squad role assumed special importance towards the middle of the season, when striker Radamel Falcao was out for almost two months with a knee injury. During that period, he scored four goals and spearheaded Porto's attack to make sure his side did not derail.
| "Hulk's technique and pace, coupled with his incredible strength, make him a unique figure in football" |
And though his finishing touch was not as sharp as the season reached its latter stages, the powerful striker still played a leading role in the squad's treble of Portuguese League, Portuguese Cup and Europa League, with a staggering 36 goals in 54 official matches. Still, that apparently was not enough to convince Brazil coach Mano Menezes to include him in his Copa America plans. With Menezes forced to rethink his strategy after a frustrating campaign in the competition, the Brazilian tactician may be lining up an influential role for Hulk in the future.
Porto's biggest internal challenge may well be to keep Hulk happy in the squad. As the Brazilian is about to enter his fourth season at the club, one cannot help but think he may be considering a new challenge at the end of the campaign. However, his €100m (£87m) price-tag immediately puts off any potential suitors, and the huge difference between his release clause and that of Falcao (€45m or £39.2m) - Porto's other widely coveted attacker - may provoke some instability within the squad.
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