quarta-feira, 24 de novembro de 2010

City prepara oferta de 23.5 milhões por Hulk

Segundo diário britânico “Mirror”
 

O jornal inglês “Mirror” noticia esta quarta-feira que o Manchester City está disposto a oferecer uma proposta na ordem dos 23,5 milhões de euros por Hulk, avançado brasileiro do FC Porto.

O técnico dos citizens, o italiano Roberto Mancini, está disposto a encontrar uma alternativa ao argentino Carlos Tévez para a frente de ataque, depois do avançado togolês Adebayor ter afirmado recentemente o seu desejo em abandonar a formação de Manchester, segundo afirma a publicação britânica.

Hulk chegou ao FC Porto em 2008, oriundo do Tóquio Verdy, e até ao momento é o melhor marcador da Liga portuguesa, com um incrível registo de 11 golos após 11 jornadas disputadas. O craque dos dragões tem uma clausula de rescisão fixada em 100 milhões de euros.

in "record.pt"

Top 10 things you need to know about Manchester City target Hulk plus watch him in action


With the transfer window just over a month away from opening, Manchester City are getting their giant cheque book and over-sized pen at the ready and preparing to do some shopping.

The latest player in their cross-hairs is Porto striker Hulk . But who is he? Allow MirrorFootball to enlighten you with our 10 point need-to-know guide.

1) Sadly, but perhaps unsurprisingly, Hulk is not his real name. He full name is in fact the slightly less snappy Givanildo Vieira de Souza, and he was born in the Brazilian city Campina Grande in 1986, making him 24.

2) He got his nickname because of his striking resemblance to Lou Ferrigno, the American actor who portrayed the Incredible Hulk in the 1970s TV series, and he registered with UEFA under his new moniker in 2008 when he joined Porto after a spell in Japan with Tokyo Verdy - who play in green.

3) He is 5ft 11in tall and is a powerful and pacy striker with a good touch and shot. Former Porto great Mario Jardel describes him as, " very strong with an incredible work-rate," while one-time Porto team-mate Bruno Alves said: "Hulk is a player with great ability. He's strong and has very high technical quality. He has a fabulous left foot. He's very well prepared, he's at training every day, he works very well and is very direct. Hulk has what it takes to play at the greatest level."

And all those attributes help him do stuff like this...

4) If he does sign for Manchester City, he won't have had the most direct route to the Premier League. He began his career with Brazilian club Esporte Clube Vitória but he struggled to make an impact there so left to find his fortune in Japan when he was 19. After spells with Kawasaki Frontale, Consadole Sapporo and Tokyo Verdy (they of the Hulk-like green strip), he finally got his big-time move to Europe in 2008 when he signed for Porto. Here is a vid of some of his exploits in the far east.

5) A solid first season in Portugal saw him win a place in the first team in the second half of the season and he soon came to the attention of the rest of Europe with his all-action displays in the Champions League. A Porto insider enthused about him when he was first making his way with the club. "Hulk is incredible, physically. He is so broad and he looks as if he can score every time he comes on," he said.

6) All was going well for him until he got involved in a tunnel brawl and hit a steward after a 1-0 defeat to Benfica, which you can see in this clip (the action doesn't really get going until the 4min 18sec mark). He told you not to make him angry etc etc and so on...

The Portuguese Football Federation took rather a dim view of his antics and initially banned him from domestic competition for four months, or for 17 games. His ban was eventually reduced to just three games, but not before he had already sat out 14 matches, causing an almighty row between Porto and the PFF, resulting in the resignation of league president Herminio Loureiro.

7) Hulk will already be known to a number of City players as Gareth Barry, Wayne Bridge, Joleon Lescott, Shaun Wright-Phillips and James Milner faced him while playing for England against Brazil in November 2009. Hulk made his international debut when he came on in the second half of the match in Doha, Qatar, which ended in a 1-0 win for Brazil. He has since won just one more cap for his country.

8) He has already played in England as well, having faced Arsenal in last season's Champions League at The Emirates. He was unable to prevent Porto being thumped 5-0 by the Gunners, although he did have the best chance of the game for the visitors. Before the match the Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was asked about the striker. He said: “Hulk is a powerful boy and I know he has been suspended in the Portuguese League for six months. But he has tremendous pace and power so we will want to keep him quiet.” Wenger's complimentary words prompted a wave of rumours that the Frenchman was about to try and sign him, but no move ever materialised.

9) As well as Manchester City, fellow Premier League big-spenders Chelsea are also thought to be interested in bringing the hitman to England. But in a statement released by his club earlier this month, the Porto directors insisted he would not be leaving in January. "No footballers will be leaving our club in January. If we receive any proposals, they will be studied at the end of the season," they said.

His agent, Teodoro Fonseca, also says his client will not be leaving in the transfer window, unless it is for the deal of a lifetime. "(He will) only move if the club believe that we are facing a deal of lifetime, but our thinking does not entail a transfer at this time. The biggest clubs in world football are watching. They send observers," he said, before adding: "but that does not mess with Hulk." Well, nobody does Todoro, nobody does.

10) And finally, here are a few more glimpses of the Portuguese powerhouse doing what he does best.

in "mirror,com"

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