The incredible Hulk (The Incredible Hulk) appeared in comics in 1962, and since then his story has managed to throw many surprises for readers. He grew smarter, dull, changed color, became a gangster, took control of Bruce Banner, or passed under his control, defended the Microverse, fought with internal demons, managed to become a gladiator, king and conqueror, but for most readers he remains the embodiment of strength and fury ...
Bruce Banner was born into the family of the feisty non-drying scientist Brian Banner and his wife, kind and loving Rebecca. Brian hated his son. He was jealous that his son gets more attention than him, and suspected that due to work with radiation, the son was born a mutant. As a result, Brian killed his wife and was put in a psychiatric hospital, and Bruce was raised by a kind aunt. He went to college where he began studying radiation. There he met Tony Stark (future Iron Man) and Walter Langkowski (future Sasquatch). He subsequently took a job at a military base under the command of General Thaddeus Ross, where Bruce began developing a gamma bomb.
During the testing of the gamma bomb, a young guy, Rick Jones, went to the test site. Bruce ran to remove him from the landfill, instructing an employee, Igor Starsky, to keep the report. But, being a Soviet spy, Igor did not stop the countdown, hoping that Bruce would die in the explosion and the project would be frozen. Something went wrong. The bomb exploded, Bruce managed to push Rick into the ditch, but he himself received a powerful charge of gamma radiation. And that very evening he turned into the Hulk. Gray. Then the authors and artists decided that green looks cooler.
Marvel comics
At first, Bruce turned into the Hulk at night. The Hulk was still a brawler, so Bruce hid in the evening in a cave with an armored door that the Hulk could not get through. But over time, Bruce's body mutated in such a way that the Hulk appeared after an adrenaline rush, most often, after a flash of anger. However, it worked both ways: I got angry - I became a Hulk, I got even more angry - I became Banner again. The uncertainty was only aggravated by the fact that Bruce deliberately continued to irradiate himself with gamma radiation in order to turn into the Hulk when he needed it. True, he really did not manage to control the Hulk, it, in fact, was a separate person who despised Bruce for his weakness and craving for control.
In most cases, the Hulk just wanted to be left alone, but constantly ran into some kind of trouble. Then the aliens will try to take over the Earth. Then supervillains from China, Russia and other countries of potential opponents will attack. Then the heroes will be set on him (Ben Grimm from the Fantastic Four became the Hulk's constant rival). It was the Hulk, who became Loki's pawn, who became the reason for the creation of the Avengers team. He became one of the founders of the team, but left it pretty quickly, as the rest of the team did not particularly trust him.
The Hulk ran into both villains and heroes; villains like Mandarin or the Leader tried to use him as a pawn (and regretted it later). He was chased by the army, the Avengers and the X-Men ran up against him, he confronted the rulers of the underworld. In one of the adventures, he shrank and ended up in the microverse, where he fell in love (quite mutually) with Princess Jarella. She did not live long after that. But the Hulk has become a classic member of the Defenders team. (The Defenders), along with Doctor Strange, Silver Surfer and Namor.
Bruce Banner and the Hulk parted on several occasions, scientific or magical methods managed to separate the Hulk from Bruce. But each time it ended with the fact that, devoid of Banner's moralism, the Hulk began to destroy everything around him, and Bruce had to twist to be reunited. One of these ways did not so much separate Bruce and the Hulk as made the Hulk the dominant side. The Hulk stopped turning into Bruce Banner, his skin turned gray, he grew wiser and turned into gangsters.
Marvel comics Taking the nickname "Joe Fixit", Hulk worked for a casino owner for a while. The end of his criminal career came due to the machinations of a mafia organization known as Maggia. Shortly thereafter, the Hulk began to be torn apart by internal conflicts - his civilized, gray side, fought with a wild green essence. However, with the help of hypnosis, the mind of the Gray Hulk was combined with the power of the Green Hulk, resulting in an intelligent and powerful monster. The Hulk then temporarily joined the Pantheon. (Pantheon), the team of the demigods.
The questions of self-control in the life of the Hulk arose when he had a chance to fight the Maestro - the Hulk from the future, in which he killed all the heroes and became a tyrant. After that, Bruce began to fear losing control, he did not want to turn into a Maestro. Several times, when Betty, his wife, was wounded, he went to the boiling point. So much so that from a smart Hulk he turned into Bruce Banner with a human body and the mind of a wild, stupid Hulk. Subsequently, the Hulk sacrificed himself during the battle with Onslaught and was reborn in a pocket universe, where all the heroes were a little "different". But then everything returned to normal.
After Betty's death due to a blood transfusion of Abomination (Abomination changed the Hulk's blood to his own), Bruce went crazy and tried to commit suicide. Repeatedly. All is unsuccessful - before his death, he turned into the Hulk, and suicide did not work out. Abandoning unsuccessful suicide attempts, Bruce went to live as a hermit in Alaska. However, he was tracked down by Nick Fury and begged to go into space and deactivate Hydra's weapons capable of detonating all the atomic bombs of the world at the same time. But the trouble is - the shuttle, which was sent for the Hulk, did not go back to Earth, but to the depths of space - the superhero company of the Illuminati decided to seize the opportunity to remove the green monster away from Earth.
The shuttle with the Hulk hit the planet Sakaar, passing through a wormhole, which the Hulk significantly weakened. There he was forced to become a gladiator, but gradually regained strength and led a rebellion, as a result of which he became the new ruler of the planet. Shortly thereafter, the Hulk's shuttle exploded, killing several million of his subjects (and his pregnant wife), and enraged, the Hulk traveled to Earth in search of revenge. He pretty much piled on a bunch of heroes, but in the end he was blown away and was captured by SHIELD. Not for long - he escaped, managed to fight the new, Red Hulk, and take part in a space battle. In one of the battles, the Red Hulk pumped out all the gamma radiation from Bruce Banner's body, making him a normal person. Not for long, of course - during the confrontation with the AIM organization, Bruce had to absorb an unthinkable amount of gamma radiation, and he again became the Hulk.
Marvel comics When the Hammers of the Worthy fell to Earth, the Hulk found one of them and turned into Nula, the Crusher of Worlds. (Nul, Breaker of Worlds) ... He cheated a little, but didn't manage to make real problems - Thor threw Nul into orbit. After landing in Romania, Nul went to face off against Dracula. There, the Hulk overcame Noole's influence and again decided to get rid of Banner. To do this, he turned to Doctor Doom, removed a piece of the brain with Bruce's consciousness and transplanted it into Bruce's cloned body, not irradiated with gamma radiation. The Hulk went underground, and Bruce went nuts and started experimenting trying to transform into the Hulk.
It turned out that without Banner, the Hulk will get smarter, and without the Hulk, Banner will go crazy. In another conflict, Bruce Banner died, and his consciousness returned to the body of the Hulk. At the same time, the Hulk became a dominant personality - it was not Banner who turned into him out of anger, but he turned into Bruce when he calmed down. The Hulk aided the Avengers against the X-Men and began aiding SHIELD, both as the Hulk and as a genius inventor.
Bruce Banner was seriously injured when he was shot by an organization confident that his existence in the future would harm space and time. Tony Stark cured him with the Extremis Virus. After which the Hulk became incredibly smart, began to call himself "Doc Green", and decided to rid the world of gamma-mutated creatures such as himself. He developed a serum and went to deprive allies and enemies of the gamma forces, but in the end he realized that it was possible to turn into a Maestro, and gave up on this venture. Subsequently, he had to absorb excess radiation from the reactor that began to malfunction, and he was threatened with the possibility of exploding. The excess radiation (and the personality of the Hulk) was pumped out of Bruce and pumped into himself by the young genius Amadeus Cho, thus presenting the Hulk-Asian to the readers.
In the last comics, a young Inhuman appeared, able to see the future. Carol Danvers set about fixing the future by arresting criminals before they break the law. Another vision showed how the Hulk kills superheroes. Carol and the whole team went to Banner's house, and while Bruce tried to explain that this was a mistake, he was killed with a special arrow, which he presented to Hawkeye in case the Hulk suddenly got out of control.
Where has the Brazilian national team player gone and what is his new team? "Sports Day by Day" talks about the Chinese championship.
Scolari, Ericsson, Magat!
We can say that the Hulk falls into familiar tournament conditions. In the local super league, as in the Premier League, there are sixteen teams. At the end of the season, the top three get into the Asian Champions League, in addition, the winner of the National Cup also gets the opportunity to play in it. The two weakest teams are relegated to the Chinese FNL - League 1. If the Russian championship were still held according to the "spring - autumn" system, then the similarity would be even stronger. It is high season in China now, the first lap is over.
The main football league of the Celestial Empire also has a limit on legionnaires. In the application of each club there can be no more than five foreign players, and one legionnaire must necessarily represent Asia. Only four foreigners are allowed on the field at the same time, so the fifth is forced to start the match on the bench.
The Hulk was given a four-year contract with a salary of twenty million euros a year, that is, three times more than the Brazilian earned in St. Petersburg. Naturally, the ex Zenith is far from the first to be offered crazy conditions in the most populous country in the world. There is a lot of money now spinning in Chinese football, super-league clubs are making super-expensive transfers, and salaries are offered to players and coaches to the envy of others.
The strongest team in China at the moment is Guangzhou Evergrande, which has won the last five national championships. In addition to her, after the formation of the Super League in 2004, Shandong Luneng (three titles), Beingjing Guoan, Changchun Yatai, as well as a couple of other clubs that are no longer in the elite, became gold medalists. In addition, Guangzhou Evergrande won the Asian Champions League twice in 2013 and 2015. In the first case, under the leadership of the famous Italian Marcelo Lippi, and last season, under the leadership of the equally famous Brazilian Luis Felipe Scolari.
Today, the Chinese Super League employs such specialists as Scolari, Swede Sven-Eran Eriksson (Hulk coach at Shanghai SIPG), Spaniard Gregorio Manzano (Shanghai Shenhua), Serb Dragan Stojkovic (Guangzhou Fuli). In June, the former coach of the Brazilian national team Mano Menezes was replaced in Shandong Luneng by the legendary German Felix Magath. In addition, during the championship, Alberto Zaccheroni was fired from Beingjing Guoan, and Dan Petrescu unexpectedly broke his contract with Jiangsu Suning a month ago and returned to Kuban. While the Italian and the Romanian are being replaced by local "temporary workers".
Martinez, Lavessi, Bah!
There are also enough familiar names among the legionnaires. For example, the new Hulk team includes ex-Udinese and Sunderland striker, Ghana national team player Asamoah Gyan. The Argentinean Dario Konca, who has never played in Europe, became famous for being the highest paid football player in the world in 2011 by Guangzhou Evergrande with a salary of fifteen million euros a year.
Jackson Martinez (Porto, Atlético, Colombia national team), Paulinho (Tottenham, Brazilian national team) are playing today in Guangzhou Evergrande itself. In Hebei China Fortune - Ezequiel Lavessi (Napoli, PSG, Argentina national team), midfielder Stefan Mbia (Sevilla, Cameroon national team), Gervinho (Arsenal, Roma, Ivory Coast national team), Gael Kakuta (Chelsea). In Jiangsu Suning - midfielder Ramirez (Chelsea, Brazilian national team), Jo (CSKA), Alex Teixeira (Shakhtar). In Shanghai Shenhua - Demba Ba (Chelsea, Senegal national team), Freddie Guarin (Inter, Colombia national team), Obafemi Martins (Rubin, Inter, Wolfsburg, Nigeria national team). In Beingjing Guoan - Renato Augusto (Bayer Leverkusen, Brazilian national team), Burak Yilmaz (Galatasaray, Turkey national team). In Guangzhou Fuli - Eran Zahavi (Palermo, Israel national team). In Shijiazhuang Yongchan - Mateus (Dnipro, Braga), Ruben Mikael (Porto, Portugal national team). In Changchun Yatai - Marcelo Moreno (Shakhtar, Werder Bremen, Bolivia national team). Hangzhou Greentown - Tim Cahill (Everton, Australia). In Shandong Luneng - Zhusiley, Diego Tardelli (both - Anji, Brazilian national team).
In general, there are more than enough big names. True, not all of them meet expectations and investments. For example, dear newcomers Alex Teixeira and Gervinho have not yet scored so many points on the goal-plus-pass system, while Martinez, Lavessi and Yilmaz missed part of the championship altogether due to injuries. But Ba scored fourteen goals in sixteen matches and confidently tops the list of league scorers, proving that he came to China not to play the fool. But the best assistant at the moment, oddly enough, is the Chinese - thirty-year-old midfielder of Guangzhou Evergrande and the national team Gao Lin, who has already given seven assists. At the same time, the average salary of local players, as they say, is not gigantic - about twenty thousand euros per month. Although they cost unreasonably high due to the limit on foreign players, transfers with the participation of local players surprise with the sums no less than transfers of foreign top masters. ...
Chinese businessmen and major corporations are investing a lot of money in the Super League and League 1. What makes them do this? Of course, at the moment there can be no question of real income. Basically, this is an attempt to please the authorities, because football in the country is under serious control of the top. The leaders of the state dream of seeing their national team first at the World Cup one day. Friendship with the mighty of this world is a prerequisite for a successful business in China. In addition, this is an investment in a market that has incredible potential due to the size of the population of the Middle Kingdom. To involve millions and millions of people in football is a long-term goal.
So far, the attendance is not as high as it could be, given the capacity of the stadiums and the size of the audience. So, in 2015, it averaged 22,193 viewers. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, in recent seasons, Chinese clubs have often moved from place to place, changed their names. In addition, not so long ago, local football was shaken by corruption scandals, of course, many fans after that were disappointed with what was happening. However, now in China they are doing everything possible to make the Super League look clean and attractive. Finally, the national team is rarely happy on the international stage, which would be an additional incentive for the fans. Maybe it will go to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Her group includes Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Qatar and Syria. In September, the start of qualification: you need to get into the two or through the "joints" from the third place.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic turned down an offer from the Chinese authorities to play in the Super League in the summer, having received a contract with a fantastic salary of more than a million euros a week. Chose MU. But the Hulk could not respond with a refusal to the solid offer of the Shanghai SIPG. The ex-Zenit player must help the team get into the top three and compete for victory in the Asian Champions League. Shanghai SIPG have already reached the quarterfinals, while Guangzhou Evergrande sensationally dropped out in the group stage. If the new Hulk team wins the Champions League, Zenit will receive another couple of million euros for his transfer.
Hulk was born into a large (7 children) family of Jovan Sousa and Maria do Socorro Sousa. He spent his childhood in the José Pineiro area of Campina Grande. From early childhood, he began to work as the only boy in a family that included six sisters, Nayara, Jessica, Angelica, Zhilvania, Corrinho and Nilda: the Hulk helped the parents who kept the meat tent in the market. However, Givanild himself did not like this occupation. According to another version, his family was engaged in the sale of cars. Like many Brazilians, Hulk loved football and at the age of 12 he joined the Ze do Egito children's team.
Givanildo Vieira di Sousa, better known as the Hulk (nicknamed by his father as a child for being very fond of imitating the comic book character of the same name), began his football career at Brazilian Vitoria, signing a contract with this team at the age of 16. In this team, the player first played on the left flank of the defense, then in the midfield and only then in the attack. The first game of the footballer was a friendly match against Fluminense. The Hulk's debut match for the main squad of Vitoria, on September 19, 2004 against Internacional, remained the only official match played by the footballer for the club.
In February 2005, Givanildo was bought by the Japanese club Kawasaki Frontale, in which the footballer played along with his compatriots Juninho, Marcus and Augusto, who had joined the club a little earlier than the Hulk. The Hulk made his debut on April 17 against Nagoya Grampus, and the first goal for Kawasaki Frontale was scored by the Hulk on July 2 against Jubilo Iwata. At the end of the season, in which Givanildo, who played as a midfielder, played 12 matches and scored 3 goals, Kawasaki bought the Brazilian's contract.
In 2006, Hulk was loaned to Consadole Sapporo, where he was promoted to forward. During the year in the Japanese championship of the second division, he scored 25 goals in 38 matches, finishing second in the number of goals behind his compatriot Borges. Moreover, the Hulk scored four goals on September 26 in the match against Shonan Belmare. He also spent 2007 on loan, in the club of the second Japanese division "Tokyo Verdi". In 42 appearances for the club he scored 37 goals, which helped his team to reach the J-League, and he himself became the top scorer of the championship. During the season, the Hulk scored three hat-tricks. After returning to Kawasaki Frontale on April 1, 2008, it was sold for 5 billion Japanese yen to Tokyo Verdi. In the first division, he managed to score 7 goals in 13 matches.
Porto
On July 26, 2008, Hulk signed a four-year contract with Portuguese Porto. The transfer amount was 5.5 million euros. The club bought only 50% of the rights to the player, the remaining rights were owned by the club from Uruguay "Rentistas" and the Argentine investment company. According to the Brazilian himself, “a DVD with my games fell into the hands of the Porto executives. They liked it, after that they sent the breeder to see me live. And then they themselves came to Japan and signed a contract with me. " The Hulk's debut game was the Portuguese Super Cup match, in which his team lost 0: 2 to Sporting. In this team, the Hulk was transferred to the right edge of the attack, as conceived by the head coach of the team, Jesualdo Ferreira, who had a great influence on the Brazilian.
On February 19, 2010, Hulk was suspended for 4 months for attacking the stewards after the match of the 14th round of the Portuguese championship, in which Porto lost 0-1 to Benfica.
In the 2010/11 season, Hulk became the top scorer of the Portuguese championship, having chalked up 23 goals, 7 of which from the penalty spot; the Brazilian scored 5 more goals in the Europa League. At the end of the season, Hulk was named the best player in the Portuguese championship. In May, the club bought out 40% of the rights to the player, which belonged to Rentistas, for 13.5 million euros and extended the contract with the footballer until June 30, 2016. At the end of the season, many European clubs became interested in the player, but the player himself said: “I will only leave Porto for a really strong club. In order for me to leave here, I need an extremely tempting offer that I cannot refuse. " In July, the Russian “Anji” became interested in the Hulk, offering the Brazilian a salary of 10 million euros per year. According to the footballer's agent Teodoro Fonseca, in the same offseason, a club offered 80 million euros for the Hulk, but Porto refused to sell the player.
"Zenith"
On September 3, 2012, Hulk moved to Zenit. The transfer amount, according to Transfermarkt, is 40 million euros. According to RTP and the player's agent, the total amount of the transfer was 60 million, of which 40 million went to Porto, 9 million to Rentistas, who owned 15% of the player's transfer, the club that raised the player received 5% of the amount, and the remaining money (more than 10 million Euro) - the footballer himself and his agent, Constantin-Teodor Panagopoulos, who is also known as Teodoro Fonseca and Constantino Teodoro. Also, the sum of 60 million was announced by the top manager of Porto, Urgel Martins. The salary of the Brazilian was, according to one information, 4 million, according to another 5 million, and on the third 6.5 million euros per year. The Hulk took number 29. On September 14, the forward made his debut with Zenit in the match against Terek, in which his team lost 0: 2. On September 22, Hulk scored his debut goal for Zenit, hitting the gates of Krylia Sovetov Samara in the 65th minute of the match. The match ended in a draw - 2: 2. On September 25, an assist and a goal from the Hulk allowed Zenit to defeat Baltika in the Russian Cup with a score of 2: 1. In the 1/8 finals in the match against Mordovia, Hulk scored two assists. The Hulk also scored a goal in the match against Spartak Moscow on November 30, 2012 (4: 2).
On 14 February 2013, the Hulk opened the scoring in the first leg of 1/16 of the Europa League against Liverpool (2-0), breaking through very hard from a distance. The ball hit the "nine" of the gate. In the return leg, the Brazilian also distinguished himself by robbing Carragher in the center and hitting the bottom right corner of the goal in close combat with Reina. On March 17, 2013, in a match of the 21st round of the Russian Championship, he scored a goal against Mordovia. On April 7, 2013, in a match of the 23rd round of the Russian Championship, he scored the winning goal against Krylia Sovetov from a penalty spot. On May 4, Hulk scored a hat-trick against Alania.
As the summer approached, rumors about the possible departure of the Hulk from the club began to gain momentum. Interest in the striker was expressed by Chelsea, Monaco, later they were joined by Real Madrid, which was ready to pay about 45 million euros for the player. [ ]
On August 16, Hulk changed his play number to 7. On August 17 he scored a goal against Anji (3: 0). In the same match, he was injured (stretching the muscles of the back of the thigh) and was eliminated for three weeks. In the 9th round match against Rostov he scored a goal in the 77th minute. In the next 14 games of the championship, he entered the field 11 times and scored 8 goals.
In two years of playing at Zenit, he took one of the first places in terms of the number of goals scored and became the main event of the Russian championship. In 2014 he received the TOP 50. Most Famous People of St. Petersburg award in the Sport category.
On September 16, 2014, in the Champions League away match against Benfica, he opened the scoring already in the 5th minute, becoming the author of the first goal of the group stage. In the away Champions League match against Valencia, he scored a double. The match ended with the victory of "Zenith" with a score of 3: 2.
On October 3, 2015, in the 11th round of the Russian championship at home against Rostov, he made 3 assists.
The best footballer of Russia in 2015 according to the Football weekly.
Shanghai SIPG
During the 2015/2016 winter transfer window, the Hulk was interested in a number of Chinese clubs, including Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai SIPG and Shanghai Shenhua, but Zenit declined these offers. The Hulk himself said that he is focused on the game:
| “I played for Porto for four years, and all this time the same talk was heard there. But I try to concentrate on my game, I try to develop, and everything that happens outside the field is dealt with by my agents. And I am sure that they will do everything in the best way for me. My task is to keep working. And in order for me to really move somewhere, the proposal must suit, firstly, myself, and secondly, the club. " |
During the time the Brazilian footballer played for Zenit St. Petersburg, he gained a lot of fans among Russian fans. Hulk is not only a talented striker, but also just a charming person who quickly joined the football club of St. Petersburg and made many friends in our country.
Hulk, career
In the biography of the Hulk, football played a decisive role, and thanks to this sport, the Brazilian became famous throughout the world. Givanildo Vieira de Sousa, known throughout the football world as the Hulk, was born in Campina Grande on July 25, 1986 into a large family, and to help his parents, he started earning money very early, and in his free time he chased the ball with friends.
In the photo - Hulk
This hobby so captured the Hulk that he decided to connect his life with him. At the age of twelve, Givanildo joined the local children's team, and at the age of sixteen he signed his first contract with the Brazilian club Vitoria. As part of this team, Hulk entered the field first as a defender, then as a midfielder, and only then became a striker.
He played his official debut match for Vitoria against Fluminense, and a year later the Hulk was sold to the Japanese club Kawasaki Frontale, in which he showed his outstanding qualities and proved himself from the very best side. At the age of nineteen, the Brazilian became a real star of Japanese football and managed to play in two more clubs - Tokyo Verdi and Consadole Sapporo, to which Kawasaki gave him on loan.
In the photo - the wife of the Hulk Iran
Later, Tokyo Verdi bought the Hulk for five billion yen.
After three years in Japan, the Brazilian footballer went on contract to Portuguese Porto, while the club bought only fifty percent of the rights to the Hulk, and the other half was from Uruguay's Rentistas and an Argentine investment company.
Hulk with his wife
During his four years at Porto, the Brazilian center-forward played ninety-nine matches, scoring fifty-four goals, and earning the title of Portugal's top scorer.
He came to Russia in 2012, having signed a four-year contract with Zenit St. Petersburg, in which at first it was not as smooth as we would like. The footballer did not like the way the coach worked, and the Hulk himself was repeatedly reproached for not being very diligent in his duties.
But all these frictions continued only during the first season of the Brazilian's stay at Zenit, and then everything changed for the better, and the Russian team became truly dear to the Hulk. The footballer admitted that he learned a lot while playing for Zenit, and he will never forget about life in St. Petersburg.
In the photo - the Hulk family
After the end of the contract with the St. Petersburg club, Hulk began to play in the Chinese "Shanghai SIPG". Compensation for this transition was a record for the domestic Premier League and amounted to almost sixty million euros.
Zenith earned forty-five million euros from the sale of the Hulk, including two million in bonus euros for his successful play at Shanghai.
Unfortunately, the start of the game in the Chinese championship for the Brazilian was not very successful - in the first match he was injured, and he was carried away from the field on a stretcher.
And last summer, he was disqualified for two matches for supporting his former teammate, who provoked a fight in one of the championship matches.
Hulk's personal life
The Brazilian footballer met his future wife during his stay in Japan. Hulk's wife Iran bore him two sons - Ian and Thiago.
In 2016, the family already had three children - the couple adopted a girl named Alicia. The footballer's family follows him everywhere, and this is the best support for the Hulk.
The Hulk is one of those footballers whose name almost never disappears from the headlines. He is strong and fast, his strikes are aimed and accurate. Watching him on the field, it seems that he is the perfect forward. He appeared at the base of Zenit St. Petersburg and the Brazilian national team. But is this all there is to know about a footballer? What kind of person is the Hulk and how did his career on the football field develop? This topic is fascinating and intriguing. That is why today we decided to slightly open the veil of secrecy.Childhood and adolescence of the Hulk
The future famous football player was born into a large family and became the only boy among the seven children of Jovan and Maria de Sousa. His family did not live well. In many ways, this is why he always felt responsible for the life and health of his loved ones. Even in early childhood, the boy began to help his parents, who ran a butcher in the market. He was strong and enduring, and therefore there was always plenty of work for him.As the footballer himself admitted, he never liked working in a butcher's shop, and in order to diversify his day a little, he imagined himself the Hulk, his favorite comic book character, thus mixing work with the game. The boy was strong and sturdy, which again made him related to a fantastic superhero. Having learned about his son's addiction to a muscular and slightly ferocious comic book character, the father of the future football player began to call him Hulk.
Givanildo did not mind, and therefore the new nickname very soon stuck to the young footballer. It is worth noting that the habit of playing under assumed names is quite popular among Brazilian players (Kaka, Paulinho, Fred, etc.). Therefore, the nickname Hulk became the second name for Givanildo de Sousa for many years.
The Hulk's first steps in football
It seems impossible to live in Brazil and not love football. The Hulk was no exception to this rule. At the age of 12, she began studying at the Ze do Egito children's academy. She was followed by other youth teams - Vilanovense, Sao Paulo, Vitoria (Salvador).At the age of sixteen, the footballer signed a contract with his first "adult" club and began to play for the first team of Brazilian Vitoria. It is very noteworthy that in this team, Hulk initially played on the edge of the defense, then in the support zone, and only after that he began to advance into the attack.
The club from Salvador set itself ambitious goals, and therefore young footballers were not always given a chance to prove themselves. Hulk has participated in a number of friendly matches and once took to the field in a Brazilian championship match. After that, the young player ended up in the reserve for a long time and did not even always get into the application for matches.
In such circumstances, the offer of the Japanese club "Kawasaki Frontale" to buy a player seemed like a real salvation.
Career in Japan
Hulk moved to Japan in 2005. His debut in the local J-League took place on April 17 against the Nagoya Grampus team. On July 2, Hulk, then an attacking midfielder, scored his first goal. By the end of the season, the Hulk had only three accurate shots, however, despite this, the Japanese team offered him a new contract.The following year, the Kawasaki Frontale roster added a number of new players, and the Hulk began to lose his place in the team. In 2006, he was loaned to a club from the second division "Consadole Sapporo". Here the player began to receive stable playing practice and began to constantly act as a center-forward. In the second-strongest Japanese division, the Hulk scored 25 goals in 38 matches in a year and took second place in the consolidated rating of scorers.
The next year, Hulk spent on loan at another club in the second division, Tokyo Verdi. With 37 goals in 42 appearances, Givanildo de Sousa helped the team advance to the top division and became the club's top scorer. Soon the footballer returned to the Kawasaki Frontale club, which owned the rights to the player. However, in this team, he again lingered for a short time. On April 1, 2008, the Hulk was bought by the Tokyo Verdi club for 5.5 billion Japanese yen.
Playing for his "new old" club, he has scored seven goals in thirteen Japanese Major League games. Immediately after that, the Hulk moved to Europe.
The rise of the Hulk's career
In the summer of 2008, Hulk signed a contract with FC Porto. As the footballer himself notes, the Portuguese superclub looked closely at him for a long time before proposing a contract. Breeders watched numerous games with the participation of the player, European specialists specially came to the matches of the Japanese championship, who personally watched the forward's performance.The first day of the Hulk in St. Petersburg
The purchase of a young and unknown player from the outsider team of the Japanese league seemed a risky gamble. However, in the end, the Portuguese superclub was right, and the 5.5 million euros invested in the player's acquisition returned a hundredfold.
In the team of Jesualdo Ferreira, then coach of Porto, the Hulk began to play on the edge of the attack. The ramming striker, with one look, instilled fear in the defenders of the opponent, and very soon moved to a leading role in Porto. Together with the Portuguese super club, Hulk won the championship, cup and super cup of Portugal three times. In 2011, Porto, led by a formidable striker, became a Europa League triumph.
Such successes did not go unnoticed by the coaches of the Brazilian national team, and since 2009, Hulk has been regularly involved in the games of the main team of his country.
Many of Europe's leading clubs have begun the hunt for the forward. Rumors regularly appeared in the press about the forward's possible transition to one or another superclub. However, in September 2012, the Hulk ended up at Zenit St. Petersburg. In total, the Russian club paid a tidy sum of 60 million euros for the transfer of the Brazilian forward. Hulk has become one of the highest paid players in the Russian championship and today regularly plays in the main squad of his team.
