Alright so here’s how I figured out Hulk the footballer’s entire club journey. Honestly, I just got super curious yesterday after seeing an old highlight reel. Wanted to track where he’s actually kicked a ball for money. Started totally from scratch.
The First Attempt Was Pure Noise
Just fired up the search bar, typed in “Hulk football clubs”. Bad idea. Seriously. Mostly got stuff about the Marvel character, fitness tips, and kids playing soccer in Hulk costumes. Scrolled through pages feeling pretty annoyed. Needed a better way.
Then I remembered his full name is actually Givanildo Vieira de Souza. Figured that might help cut through the nonsense. Typed in “Givanildo Vieira de Souza clubs”. Okay, much better! Actual football websites started popping up.
Connecting the Dots (With a Few Dead Ends)
Started scribbling notes. Earliest stuff talked about some Brazilian clubs way back when he was a kid. Found mentions of Vitória – thought that was Chelsea for a second! Wrong! Tiny club in Brazil, apparently his first real team. Learned he played there around 2004-2005. Young!
Then it got interesting. Heard rumors he went to Japan early on? Searched “Givanildo Vieira de Souza Japan”. Boom! Confirmed. Played for Kawasaki Frontale back in 2005-2006. Barely anyone outside Japan talks about this. Cool find.
But wait, it wasn’t just Kawasaki? Kept digging. Saw a snippet about Tokyo Verdy? Yep! Played there too around 2006-2007. Got confused myself with how many clubs popped up early on.
Then, hit the big one: FC Porto. Everyone knows about Porto! Searched specifics: “Hulk FC Porto years”. Found he landed there in 2008 and became an absolute beast. League titles, Europa League win… the guy was unstoppable for like four seasons. 2008-2012 felt solid.
The Tricky Russian and Chinese Years
Knew he went to Russia for big cash. Searched “Hulk transfer from Porto”. Led me straight to Zenit Saint Petersburg. Big contract in 2012. Played there a long time… checked stats… wow, yeah, stayed until 2016. Lots of goals in a tough league.
Next step was China. Remembered the buzz about that transfer. Searched “Hulk China club”. Instantly got Shanghai SIPG (now called Shanghai Port). Joined them in 2016. Found a couple of sources mentioning he smashed records over there. Long stint too, stayed until… 2021?
Felt a doubt. Thought maybe he had a super brief stop somewhere else. Searched “Hulk after Shanghai SIPG”. Confirmed he went back to Brazil in 2021, signing for Atletico Mineiro. Played there for a few seasons, won some stuff domestically.
Double-Checking Everything
By this point, my list looked messy:
- Vitória (Brazil – youth/first pro?)
- Kawasaki Frontale (Japan)
- Tokyo Verdy (Japan)
- FC Porto (Portugal)
- Zenit Saint Petersburg (Russia)
- Shanghai SIPG/Port (China)
- Atletico Mineiro (Brazil)
Went back for dates on each club, scouring different sites – league pages, some transfer databases, a couple of reliable news archives. Needed to confirm years because some sites had slightly conflicting info. Spent a good hour cross-referencing to lock in:
- Vitória: ~2004-2005
- Japan: ~2005-2008 (Kawasaki 05-06? Tokyo Verdy 06-07? Consolidated mostly as Japan years early on)
- Porto: Rock solid 2008-2012
- Zenit: Rock solid 2012-2016
- Shanghai: Rock solid 2016-2021
- Atletico Mineiro: Rock solid 2021-2023 (till he left Brazil again?)
And hey, discovered he landed back in Brazil late 2023 with yet another club! Added Cruzeiro to the list for the final step. Phew.
Putting It All Together
Compiled it chronologically, making sure those dates held up. The Japan part was the roughest, most websites kinda gloss over it. But yeah, that journey is wild! From tiny Brazilian clubs, to Japan, to dominating in Portugal, then chasing the big money in Russia and China, finally heading home to Brazil.
Took most of my afternoon, bouncing between sources, fixing wrong dates (almost mixed up his arrival at Zenit), and feeling pretty satisfied when the timeline finally clicked. Nothing beats figuring out a puzzle like this yourself! Hope his timeline helps someone else not waste hours searching like I did at the start.
