Hulk: The Marvellous & Misunderstood Brazilian Forward Who Never Played in Europe's Top Leagues

Being in the right place at the right time is part and parcel of what makes some forwards great. For some, it's the only way they get goals.

Just imagine if ​Sergio Agüero hadn't been on the receiving end of ​Mario Balotelli's pass back in 2012. The most intense title race in Premier League history wouldn't have been immortalised, and Agüero would only have the one 'o' in his surname.

Givanildo Vieira de Sousa, otherwise known as Hulk, is one such player who comes to mind. A truly extraordinary forward who has played in relatively ordinary leagues, the Brazilian has embarked on a strange career during his 16 years in the professional game.

Hulk has never graced the Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1 or Serie A, and instead decided to spend the prime years of his career in Russia and China. And at 33 years old, it's starting to look like the endgame for Hulk.

Throughout his career, Hulk has been marvellous, misunderstood, and his whole career has been a missed opportunity. He's not your average footballer; you need only take one look at him to understand that.

Hulk's physicality is a gift from the gods. He's probably devoured chicken breasts in truckloads over the years and used those trucks as his dumbbells, with the Brazilian's moulded physical stature striking fear into any opposition defender.

But this Hulk wasn't created in a laboratory. This man's career started at Brazilian club Vitória, but he failed to make a lasting impression and was shipped out to Japan in 2005.

It meant Hulk would learn his craft in the J1 League, which all things considered probably wouldn't be the first choice for an up-and-coming starlet. Three clubs and 74 goals later and he found himself exploding onto the scene, and in 2008 he moved to Portuguese giants Porto.

It was in Portugal where the football world would start to take notice of the colossus. A man who would sprint down the wing at pace, brushing defenders away at ease, he'd then fire left-footed rockets past flapping Liga NOS goalkeepers.

During his time at Porto, Hulk struck up a bountiful partnership with Radamel Falcao and in the 2010/11 season they conjured up 74 goals between them. The pair were instrumental in Porto's 1-0 victory over Braga in the 2011 Europa League final, with Falcao scoring the winning goal.

Falcao was rewarded for his hard work with a move to Atlético Madrid and got to play his football in La Liga, one of Europe's most coveted leagues. Hulk, in typical FIFA career mode fashion, made the €60m move to Zenit Saint Petersburg.

Sure, the transfer earned Hulk plenty of cash, but putting things into perspective it's clear to see that this was never the right move for the Brazilian.

The Premier League or Bundesliga would have welcomed Hulk with open arms. The man had way too much talent for away trips to Anzhi Makhachkala.

The Russian league has been criticised for a number of racist incidents over the years, and this was something Hulk frequently encountered while at Zenit. Rival fans would often make discriminatory chants and gestures towards the Brazilian.

It never seemed to impact the forward's performances and while at the club he enjoyed some very memorable moments. Helping knock out Liverpool from the Europa League was undoubtedly one of those moments, as Hulk scored in each leg of the clash with the Reds in 2013. He also bagged the title-winning goal for Zenit in 2015.

When his time in Russia looked to be coming to an end, everyone wanted to know where Hulk would end up next. The football community wanted to know if the big man could do it on the big stage.

But once again Hulk followed the paper trail and ended up signing for Chinese Super League team Shanghai SIPG in 2016. In fairness, the weekly wage of £320,000 would be hard to turn down for any footballer.

Hulk is still at Shanghai SIPG, and the 33-year-old is now club captain and gets to play his football with compatriot Oscar.

It seems like such a wasted career when you consider just how many teams were interested in securing his services over the years. Can you imagine the type of damage Hulk would have caused in a Chelsea or a Real Madrid shirt? Why didn't he make the big move?

Nobody can answer for sure. Maybe it's something to do with his mentality, or perhaps Hulk never felt the need to succumb to the pressure of modern-day football.

Over the years, Hulk has seemed happy playing the beautiful game in football's most obscure leagues, and by now probably has enough money to buy a small country. Yet in a strange sort of way, Hulk's unconventional career has been inspirational.

The Brazilian deserves plenty of credit for what he has achieved in his career; not many modern-day footballers would last four years in the Russian league. And not every footballer is created equal; some are destined to play for European giants and others must find their way on the outskirts.