There's still power in those legs: Hulk's free-kick brace you have to see

People tend to find many flaws in today's modern football: it's more business than sport, clubs spend immense amounts on players of questionable talent (especially compared to "maestros" from past times), lack of loyalty among players, too many tactics and not enough freedom for football magicians...

Because of nostalgia or something else, yet it often seems that the most important secondary thing in the world was way better 15, 20, or more years ago than nowadays.

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One of the aforementioned criticisms of modern football refers to free kicks, i.e., the few goals scored directly from them. Back in the day, there were free-kick masters like Juninho Pernambucano, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, David Beckham, Andrea Pirlo, etc.

After all, the only free-kick hat-trick was scored back in 1998, when Sinisa Mihajlovic "tormented" Sampdoria and their custodian Fabrizio Ferron in Lazio's 5-2 victory at Stadio Olimpico.

Well, last night, another football "old hand" wanted to remind all the fans of these glorious past days we all remember fondly...

Atletico Mineiro's Hulk netted a free-kick brace in his team's 3-2 defeat to Palmeiras in the 15th round of the Brazilian Serie A, showing that these meticulous masters of set-piece craft are still among us.

The legendary forward was close to completing a hat-trick and joining Mihajlovic on the pedestal, but Palmeiras' keeper Weverton stopped his magnificent strike in added time and saved his team's triumph.

In the end, Hulk's team did lose the match, but at least all the football nostalgists got a little flashback, which brought to mind days when football was more romantic, if nothing else.