Hércules: Fluminense’s Driving Force in Midfield

After shining in the Club World Cup back in June and July, Fluminense have made it to the final stages of the Copa Sudamericana as one of the big favorites. And one of their most used players this season (clocking over 2,200 minutes) is starting to make a name for himself: Hércules Pereira, a central midfielder with an unusual career path who’s now emerging as one of the best in South America in his position.

Born in the Brazilian state of Piauí, Hércules didn’t get on the radar of a professional club until 2021, when Fortaleza signed him after he impressed in the regional leagues with Atlético Cearense. Since then, his rise has been meteoric.

In his first season with the first team (2022), he played 39 matches and quickly showed he was a hard-working midfielder, capable of winning lots of duels and even making runs into the box. He finished the year with five goals—pretty impressive for someone in his position.

2023 brought a setback with an ACL injury, but he came back even stronger in 2024. So much so that Fluminense snapped him up to fill the gap left by André Trindade (sold to Wolverhampton) and Alexander Gomes (Al Ahli).

Hércules isn’t a copy of André: he moves a lot after passing the ball, presses high with intensity, and isn’t afraid to go into tackles up the pitch. When he plays alongside midfielders like Facundo Bernal or Martinelli, you see him roaming more as a number 8, while his teammates cover behind him to help build from the back.

Focusing on Hércules’ impact in individual pressing, the numbers speak for themselves. The 24-year-old midfielder has stood out a lot in our ‘Arrigo’ metrics. This year, across Série A and the Copa Sudamericana, he averages 9.08 atrong on-ball pressures per 90 minutes (pressures within 2 meters of the player with the ball). He’s also well above average in more traditional stats, like successful tackles.

But what really catches the eye is his play on the ball. Despite being such a dynamic and mobile player, he keeps an impressive passing accuracy even under pressure. Whether it’s passes under pressure (opponent 2–4 meters away) or passes under strong pressure (opponent under 2 meters), Fluminense’s #35 proves highly reliable, hitting 90.4% and 84.8% accuracy in each scenario.

Besides being able to take on a lot of passes in different areas of the pitch and being a key contributor defensively, one thing that really stands out about Hércules is his ability to arrive in scoring positions from the second line.

He doesn’t take a huge number of shots (0.98 per 90), but he usually picks the right moments to get into those dangerous zones and finishes with real threat. In the 74 matches he’s played over the last two years across Série A, Copa do Brasil, and Copa Sudamericana, he’s scored 10 goals from chances that our models estimated at 4.5 expected goals (xG). Two of those goals were decisive, helping eliminate Inter Milan and Al Hilal in direct knockout games at the Club World Cup.

All in all, Hércules is a player to keep a close eye on in the coming years, whether he stays in Brazil or makes the jump to one of Europe’s top leagues.