Hulk hails progress, praises Bernard, eyes turnaround at Atlético

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·25 September 2025

Hulk hails progress, praises Bernard, eyes turnaround at Atlético

Striker Hulk spoke after Atlético’s 1-0 victory over Bolívar (BOL) on Wednesday night (24th) at Arena MRV. The result secured Galo’s place in the semifinals of the Copa Sudamericana. The decisive goal was scored by Bernard in the 47th minute of the second half, in a match that broke a bad streak for the Minas Gerais team this season.

After a 2-2 draw at the altitude of La Paz in the first leg, the triumph in Belo Horizonte confirmed the black-and-white team’s spot in the semifinals against Independiente del Valle (ECU), who eliminated Once Caldas (COL) on penalties in Colombia. In a mixed zone interview, Hulk highlighted Bernard’s role, spoke about the adaptation process to Jorge Sampaoli’s work, and acknowledged the need for the team to improve in the Brasileirão.

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The number 7 made a point of praising the 33-year-old midfielder, who scored the qualifying goal: “We see every day how much he gives, how much he respects Atlético, and how much he respects wearing Galo’s shirt. So we’re very happy, I’m very happy that he got us this qualification and gave us some peace of mind, so we can work better in the upcoming league matches.”, he said.

Adapting to Sampaoli’s Work

Hulk also commented on the process of assimilating the Argentine coach’s ideas.

We’ve been working, it’s a new project from Sampaoli. We’re trying to adapt as quickly as possible, he’s a guy who really understands football. (…) When everything clicks, it will work. Today I feel that sometimes I’m alone up front, there’s a bit of a lack of support. (…) But the most important thing is that the whole group is focused and prepared to put into practice what we’re training. I’m sure our team will improve.

The striker also said he hopes the victory will serve as fuel for the upcoming matches: “We hope so. We trust that today’s win will be a turning point, motivating us for the important league games ahead. We know that if we leave it for later, everything gets harder. We need to get back to winning, and I believe that starting Saturday (against Mirassol), we’ll get back to winning in the league.”

Individual Moment

Asked about his current form, the striker acknowledged that collective performance directly influences the individual:

If I were scoring goals every game, we wouldn’t be in this bad moment. When the team is doing badly, the individual also suffers, you lose confidence. (…) Of course, the bad phase lasted a long time and that affected the individual. But I’m very calm about it. I’ve seen Cristiano Ronaldo being criticized at Real Madrid. Criticism exists, but I never take it personally or bring it home. Soon the goals will come and things will change.

With qualification secured, Atlético now shifts focus to the Brasileirão. Next Saturday, Galo faces Mirassol, also at Arena MRV, looking to bounce back in the national championship. Kickoff is at 9:00 p.m.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.