- The striker assisted Nonato and scored at the Maracanã, and in Vicente López he led the counterattack and provided the pass for Agustín Canobbio's goal that made it 3-2 on aggregate.
- He joined Fluminense at the end of April on a free transfer, after terminating his contract with Atlético Mineiro.
Fluminense scored three goals in the 180 minutes of the tie against Platense, and Hulk was involved in all of them. He assisted Nonato at the Maracanã, scored the second that night with his left foot and, on Tuesday in Vicente López, when the 'Flu' had lost their lead and had not managed a shot on target in 45 minutes, he led the counterattack that ended in Agustín Canobbio's goal. Less than five months after arriving on a free transfer, and having turned 40, the striker is the shortest explanation of why Fluminense are in the semifinals of the CONMEBOL Libertadores.
The decisive play in Vicente López was his from start to finish, except for the shot. Twelve minutes into the second half, with the tie level at 2-2 on aggregate and Platense pushing, a mistake in midfield left him with the ball. Hulk brought it under control, drove through the middle with the ball at his feet as the opposition backed off and, at exactly the right moment, played it with his left foot to Canobbio, who cut inside in the box and finished with his right. It was Fluminense's first shot on target of the night and the one that secured qualification, 3-2 on aggregate despite the 2-1 defeat. Marcão took him off in the 90th minute, in one of his last substitutions, with the tie settled.
The pass confirms a trend Opta had already highlighted after the first leg. Since his return to South America in February 2021, no player has provided more assists in CONMEBOL competitions than Hulk: 14 up to the match at the Maracanã, 13 with Atlético Mineiro and one with Fluminense, to which the one in Vicente López is now added. And that night in Rio, at 40 years and 45 days, he had become the oldest player to score and assist in the same match in CONMEBOL competitions since records began in 2013, surpassing Carlos Saucedo, who had done it for San José at 39 years and 226 days in 2019.
The context of his arrival gives the moment another dimension. At the end of April, after five seasons at Atlético Mineiro, where he won the Brasileirão and the Copa do Brasil in 2021, Hulk terminated his contract with the 'Galo' with 22 matches, five goals and three assists on the year, and signed with Fluminense through mid-2028 on a free transfer.
The numbers from his first months in Rio back it up. The Paraíba-born striker came into the tie with five goals and three assists in 13 matches for Fluminense, and with four goals and two assists in the six games since Marcão took over in August, an average of one direct goal involvement per match under the new coach.
There is also a team-level reading. In the first leg against Platense, Fluminense fielded the oldest starting eleven of the edition, with an average age of 33 years and 124 days, and in that group Hulk sits alongside Fábio, 45, who held the result together at the end in Vicente López, and Thiago Silva, 41. It is a squad that leans on experience when a tie turns against it, and in Vicente López, when Platense were one goal away from going through, it was the most experienced of the forwards who chose to slow down, lift his head and pick out the pass.
Next come the semifinals, against the winner of Liga de Quito-Palmeiras, and a question Fluminense have been answering every week since April: how much can a 40-year-old striker give in the Copa. The tie against Platense left a partial answer. Three goals for the 'Flu', three involvements from Hulk.
