Opinion – Sandro Macedo: We need to talk about the Hulk

Forget Bruce Banner. Even Google has surrendered. The first to appear when searching for Hulk on the search engine is our dear Givanildo Vieira de Sousa, the best player in the Brazilian Championship and probably the symbol of Atlético Mineiro’s conquest, which is ever closer.

In the 3-0 victory against Corinthians, Hulk reached the 12th goal – a beautiful goal, by the way –, which puts him in the top scorer at the Brazilian, alongside Gilberto (from Bahia). And that’s not all: among the best assistants, the Atletican is in third, with 7; behind only Artur (Red Bull Bragantino), with 8, and Gustavo Scarpa, (Palmeiras), with 13.

You can’t say out loud that Atlético are champions simply because of the darn math. But it’s hard to imagine the team from Minas losing ten points in the next seven games, including Juventude at home and Grêmio (desperate or relegated) in the last round. The geniuses of the calendar also managed to put Athletico Paranaense, four days before a continental decision, and Palmeiras, four days before a continental decision, as rivals.

Some even point out the Uruguayan Arrascaeta as the most regular player in the tournament. Considering how Flamengo goes down without him, it could be. But considering also that Arrascaeta embezzles more than he plays, I’m going with the Hulk.

And at 35 years old – one more than Messi, one less than Cris Ronaldo –, Hulk never needed to show his strength as much as in his first season back in Brazil. The player has just reached his 60th game with Atlético. Before, the time I had played the most for a club was in the 2010/11 season, with 53 games for Porto.

But the question remains: is Hulk doing so well because the Brazilian Championship is very weak? Or is it going well because the stage is really good? Or both?

There are people who are already talking about a new chance for the striker in the Brazilian team for the 2022 World Cup, where we have practically a fixed spot for the best strikers who hardly score goals in the world: Gabriel Jesus and Roberto Firmino.

And what do you need to have a chance in the selection? Play well for the club? Apparently no. See the recall of Philippe Pequeno Couto.

But Hulk is also the one who was in the 2014 World Cup. In the same Mineirão that now shouts his name, he was an eyewitness of the 7-1 – he came out at halftime, when he was only 5-0. A friend sent me the video of Hulk this week losing his charge in the penalty shootout against Chile, for the round of 16, and that ended up not missing. In the recovery, Hulk gives a bomb in the middle of the goal. And the goalkeeper defends with his feet. The friend’s comment was: “He hit the ball so hard that the goalkeeper didn’t have time to jump to the side.” It’s not a lie.

But maybe Hulk is more calibrated…

Tite has already called up Hulk in those qualifiers, but it’s not yet possible to say that the striker has been field tested. It entered in the 39th minute of the second half against Peru (2-0 victory). If Tite has the patience to test little Couto, should he still give the Brazilian ace a chance? After all, Brazil only has a test going forward, and it needs a hero.