DOHA, Dec 2, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Shanghai SIPG coach Vitor Pereira said out-
of-favour forward Hulk lacked the “right spirit” after a spat that may have
brought the Brazil international’s time at the club to a bad-tempered close.
Pereira dropped the powerfully built Hulk, 34, for the second straight
game on Tuesday, a surprise 4-0 thrashing by already-eliminated Sydney FC in
the AFC Champions League’s group phase.
It follows an exchange between the two after Hulk was subbed off during
last Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat by Yokohama F Marinos, when the Brazilian mouthed
off at Pereira before storming down the tunnel.
On Tuesday, Pereira was candid when asked about Hulk, a talisman for the
Shanghai side who has totted up 100 Chinese Super League appearances and
captained them to the domestic title in 2018.
“I want the players with the right spirit to play,” the Portuguese said
after the Sydney defeat. “This is my decision (not to play him) and that is
why he is not here.”
Hulk’s contract is up at the end of this year, and he posted what appeared
to be a valedictory message after the coronavirus-delayed Chinese season.
The 48-cap Brazil international signed from Zenit St. Petersburg in 2016
for a reported 55.8 million euros, then an Asian record.
On Monday, he posted a picture of himself in training on Chinese social
media, with the caption: “Physically I’m strong, but psychologically I’m even
stronger.”
SIPG are through to the knock-out phase in the Champions League, which is
being played in a bio-secure “bubble” in Doha.