Brazil’s Incredible Hulk Set To Descend on St. Petersburg

By Daniel Kozin

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: September 5, 2012 (Issue # 1725)

After two years of minimal transfer activity, Zenit St. Petersburg rocked European sport headlines Monday after completing the two biggest transfers in Russian soccer history for a combined sum of 80 million euros.

Brazilian star striker Hulk and Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel will be arriving from the two Portuguese superclubs FC Porto and SL Benfica respectively on five-year deals.

Givanildo Vieira de Souza, 26, commonly known as Hulk for his impressive physique and explosive pace, scored 78 goals in 169 appearances for Porto, helping them lift the Europa League trophy in 2011. He is also a Brazil international, and was part of the silver-winning Olympic squad in London this summer.

Witsel, 23, was named best young player of the year in Belgium in 2008. He has 30 caps for the Belgian international team.

While aging European stars are not an uncommon sight in the Russian Premier League, the two transfers secure for Zenit two footballers of global stature at the peak of their careers. The signings are all the more remarkable in that Zenit outmuscled two European giants out of deals rumored to have been completed, beating Chelsea for the Brazilian and Real Madrid for the Belgian.

The double swoop came just hours before the Sept. 3 deadline for Champions League squads, leaving no doubt as to where Zenit’s ambitions lie this season.

Zenit president Alexander Dyukov reiterated the claims in an announcement to fans.

“We have ambitious goals, and to achieve them we needed quality additions [to the squad]… we are aiming to take the next step in the Champions League.”

Dyukov said that the transfers each cost 40 million euros, to be paid in increments during three years, so that “an increase in the budget of the club will not be necessary.”

Zenit kick-starts its European Champions League campaign away against Malaga on Sept. 18, with the first home game scheduled against AC Milan on Oct. 3 at Petrovsky stadium.