- At 40 years and 45 days, the striker became the oldest player to score and assist in the same match in CONMEBOL competitions.
- Since his return to South America in February 2021, nobody has provided more assists than him in CONMEBOL competitions (14).
Forty years and 45 days. That is the number Hulk etched into the Maracanã after setting up Nonato in the 21st minute and scoring Fluminense's second goal in the 31st minute of the first half, in the first leg of the CONMEBOL Libertadores quarterfinals against Platense. At that age, the striker became the oldest player to score and assist in the same match in CONMEBOL competitions since 2013. The previous holder of the mark was Carlos Saucedo, who had done it for San José at 39 years and 226 days, against Peñarol, in the 2019 CONMEBOL Libertadores. Hulk beat him by six months.
The record also has a second layer. Since his return to South America in February 2021, no player has provided more assists in CONMEBOL competitions than him: 14 in total, thirteen in an Atlético Mineiro shirt and one, on Tuesday night, in the 'Flu's'. The pass that left Nonato facing goal after a mistake in Platense's build-up was not an exception but a habit. In his later years, Hulk has become one of the best playmaking partners on the continent.
His night in Rio showed both sides of the player. First, the provider who reads the moment: the ball fell to him in midfield and, instead of taking on his man, he released it in time, with a pass that took the Argentine defense out of the play with a single touch. Second, the goalscorer he has always been: 10 minutes later, Paulo Henrique Ganso played him in, he cut into the box down the left and finished across goal with his left foot, leaving Juan Pablo Cozzani with no chance. When Marcão took him off 32 minutes into the second half, the Maracanã sent him off with a standing ovation. It was his first quarterfinal match for Fluminense, and he closed it in masterful fashion.
For five years, Hulk had been Atlético Mineiro's standard-bearer: he arrived in 2021 and won the Copa do Brasil and the Brasileirão in his first season. At the end of April this year, with 22 matches, five goals and three assists in the season, he terminated his contract with the 'Galo' and signed with Fluminense through mid-2028.
The context in which he plays is also singular. Fluminense fielded the oldest starting XI of the current CONMEBOL Libertadores against Platense, with an average age of 33 years and 124 days, and in that team Hulk is not the oldest: Fábio, the goalkeeper, is 45; Thiago Silva, the captain, 41. Already in the return leg of the Round of 16 against Independiente Rivadavia, the stat emerged that eight players had featured in this edition aged 40 or over, and that three of them started for the Rio side that night in Mendoza: Fábio, Thiago Silva and a Hulk who had just turned 40, on July 25, only 17 days earlier. Tonight, a month and a half older on paper, he turned that number into a record.
For Fluminense, the match had a value beyond the 2-0. The 'Flu' ended a run of six matches without a win against Argentine teams in CONMEBOL competitions, with two draws and four defeats; their previous victory had come against Boca, in the 2023 CONMEBOL Libertadores final, also at the Maracanã. And they upheld two trends that make them strong at home: just one defeat in their last 29 home matches in CONMEBOL competitions and seven clean sheets in their last eleven games at their stadium.
Next up is Vicente López, next week, with Platense needing to win by two goals to force penalties and by three to go through. Fluminense will travel with the advantage and with a striker who, at 40, keeps deciding matches. Hulk signed a contract through 2028. If the night at the Maracanã is any indication, age does not seem to be the clock that hurries him.
