Eric de Oliveira Pereira (born 5 December 1985), known as Eric, is a Brazilian[3] former professional
footballer who played as an
attacking midfielder.
After starting out his career in native Brazil, he went on to amass numerous stints in Romania, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Qatar. He achieved most success in Romania, representing in the country
Gaz Metan Mediaș,
Pandurii Târgu Jiu,
Viitorul Constanța and
Voluntari.
With 66 goals in the
Liga I, Eric has been the top foreign goalscorer of the Romanian championship since 2020. Previously, he was named the
Foreign Player of the Year twice, in 2010 and 2013.
Career
Early career, Gaz Metan Mediaș and Karpaty Lviv
Eric de Oliveira was born on 5 December 1985 in
Nova Iguaçu, Brazil and started to play
futsal at his school's team, then moving to play for the town's team, winning the
Rio de Janeiro state tournament where he was the best player and goalscorer, his picture appearing in a local newspaper which was read by the director of
Flamengo who brought him to play junior level football at the club in 2002, staying until 2004 when he moved at senior level, playing in
Série C at
CFZ de Brasília.[4][5] In 2005 he was on an unsuccessful trial in
Mexico with
Alacranes de Durango, but in 2006 he was signed by
Série A club,
Paraná where did not get a chance to play as he got injured.[4][5]
He moved back to Série C, signing with
Metropolitano with whom in 2007 he went on a tournament in
Austria where he was noticed by Romanian
Liga II club,
Gaz Metan Mediaș who decided to transfer him on a one-season loan by paying $80.000, being presented at the team with fellow Brazilians
Cairo Lima and
Grillo Edson.[4][5][6][7][8] He made his Liga II debut in a 3–1 victory against
CSM Reșița, helping the team earn promotion to the first league by the end of the season under the guidance of coach
Cristian Pustai, Eric contributing with 10 goals scored, forming a successful trio in the offence with
Claudiu Boaru and
Ciprian Prodan.[2][9][10] He was bought by Gaz Metan from Metropolitano for €122.500, making his
Liga I debut on 27 July 2008 in the first round of the season in a 2–2 with
Oțelul Galați where he received a red card, he scored his first goals in the competition by the end of the season in a 2–1 win over
Gloria Buzău from two free kicks, however the season was rather unsuccessful as the team mathematically relegated, but managed to keep its position in the league because
Argeș Pitești was relegated by the
Romanian Football Federation for corruption of referees.[6][7][9][11][12] In the first half of the
2009–10 season Eric scored the only goal of a 1–0 home victory against
Dinamo București, starting to score more often in 2010, by the end of the second half of the season when he managed to score two consecutive braces in two victories against
Politehnica Timișoara and
Unirea Alba Iulia, then he started the
following season strong by scoring 7 goals in the first four rounds, including three doubles in the first three games against
Victoria Brănești, Politehnica Timișoara and
Astra Ploiești, also by the end of the year scoring the only goal of a 1–0 away victory against
Steaua București, all these performances helping him earn the 2010
Foreign Player of the Year award in front of
Júnior Moraes.[4][5][13][14] Overall in the
2010–11 season, with a personal record of 15 goals scored in 31 appearances, of which the last two were a brace in a 3–2 victory against
CFR Cluj, Eric was the second top-goalscorer of the season with three behind Politehnica Timișoara's
Ianis Zicu, which helped the team finish on the 7th place, that gained Gaz Metan's first ever qualification to the
Europa League, due to Politehnica Timișoara, who finished 2nd in the league table, being relegated by the Romanian Football Federation for not fulfilling the licence conditions to play in European competitions or Liga I.[2][4][15] In the 2011–12 campaign, he made his debut in European competitions, playing both legs of the 2–1 victory on aggregate against
KuPS.[2][9][16][17]
Shortly afterwards he left Gaz Metan to go on a trial with
Bundesliga side
VfL Wolfsburg but was not offered a contract, so he moved to Ukraine, signing with
Karpaty Lviv.[6][16][18] His one-season spell with The Lions was unsuccessful as he played only six league games there, returning in September 2012 to Gaz Metan where in the
2012–13 season he played 22 games with four goals scored, being the team's captain.[2][6][9][19]
Pandurii Târgu Jiu and Asian spells
On 12 July 2013, Eric de Oliveira was transferred from
Gaz Metan Mediaș to
Pandurii Târgu Jiu for a transfer fee of €400.000 in the same day as
Nicandro Breeveld, reuniting with their former coach from Gaz Metan,
Cristian Pustai.[6][20] He debuted for Pandurii only a few days later after his transfer, appearing in the first leg of the
2013–14 Europa League second qualifying round against
Levadia Tallinn, the game ending 0–0 but he impressed with his technique and dribbling abilities, providing two assists in the 4–0 win from the second leg.[21] With Eric in a good shape, the club also managed to eliminate
Hapoel Tel Aviv against whom he scored a goal and
Braga, reaching the group stage where the campaign ended, but Eric still managed to make a good impression as he scored a goal from a penalty against
Dnipro and a very spectacular one from a
scissors kick against
Fiorentina.[22] Eric scored his first league goal for Pandurii in a 2–1 win over
Oțelul Galați, other important goals being the winning goal in the 2–1 victory against
Dinamo București, the only goal of the team in the 1–1 with
CFR Cluj and two doubles in wins against
Botoșani and
Brașov, netting the goal 14 times and providing 12 assists by the end of the first half of the season in all competitions.[23][24] All these performances earned him the 2013
Foreign Player of the Year award.[4][13]
In January 2014, Eric was transferred for a fee of €1.25 million from Pandurii to
Al-Ahli signing a contract for one year and a half.[6][23][25] He scored his first goal in the league in a 1–1 with
Al-Shoulla, also scoring a brace in a 3–0 win over
Al-Orobah in the
King Cup, a competition in which the team reached the final, losing 3–0 in front of
Al-Shabab, but Eric did not play in it as one month earlier during a game with
Al-Ettifaq he suffered a ligament injury which kept him off the field over six months.[4][23][26]
In January 2015, he returned to Pandurii Târgu Jiu, reaching the
Cupa Ligii final where coach
Edward Iordănescu sent him on the field in the 78th minute in order to replace
Filip Mrzljak, however three minutes later he got injured, the team remaining in 10 players, eventually losing 3–0 in front of
Steaua București.[6][4][23][27]
On 30 June 2015, Japan's
Matsumoto Yamaga announced the signing of Eric de Oliveira from Pandurii, however even do he impressed during the training sessions, Eric never got to play in any official games for them.[6][28] He then went back to play in the Saudi Professional League, this time at
Najran, scoring four goals in 12 league appearances, his best game being a 4–3 victory against
Al Nassr in which he scored two goals and provided two assists.[2][6][29]
Gaz Metan Mediaș, Viitorul Constanța, Al-Markhiya and Voluntari
In June 2016, Eric came for a third spell at
Gaz Metan Mediaș where he was wanted very much by the coach from his first spell,
Cristian Pustai.[6][30] In the
2016–17 season, he made 34 appearances and scored 6 goals, impressing in the final matches of the season when he scored two doubles in two victories against
Voluntari and
Poli Timișoara, helping his side avoid relegation.[2][31]
On 8 July 2017, Eric signed a one-year contract with the champions of the last season,
Viitorul Constanța where he worked with coach
Gheorghe Hagi.[6][32] In the first half of the season Eric scored 7 goals and provided 5 assists, including scoring two spectacular goals in two 1–0 wins over
FCSB and
CFR Cluj, also appearing in the
extra time of the 4–0 loss in front of
APOEL Nicosia from the second leg of the third qualifying round from the
2017–18 Champions League, failing to help his side qualify to the next round even do he had some important opportunities to score.[2][6][33][34]
In January 2018 Viitorul sold him for €100.000 to
Al-Markhiya in the
Qatar Stars League.[6][33][35][36] He scored three goals in 9 league appearances, including a brace against
Al-Gharafa, however the team relegated to the
second division by the end of the season.[2][35][37] He stayed with the club in the second league, scoring a goal directly from a corner kick against
Muaither, also bringing former Gaz Metan and Pandurii teammate
Nicandro Breeveld to the club.[38]
On 12 January 2019, Eric de Oliveira returned at Viitorul Constanța, helping the team win the
2018–19 Cupa României by the end of the season, scoring in
extra time the decisive goal of the 2–1 victory against
Astra Giurgiu from the
final.[2][6][39][40] He started the
following season strong by scoring five goals in the first five rounds but then an injury and his physical condition made Hagi keep him off the field for most of the first half of the season.[2][6][41]
In January 2020 he signed with
Voluntari where in a 2–0 win over
Hermannstadt he scored from a penalty kick his 65th
Liga I goal which made him the best foreign goalscorer of the competition, surpassing fellow Brazilian
Wesley.[6][42] One year later Eric left Voluntari and signed a six months contract for a fourth spell with
Gaz Metan Mediaș, however this time he did not make a single appearance for the team because of an injury.[43][44][45] Eric de Oliveira has total of 222 games in Liga I with 66 goals scored and 48 assists provided, also having 17 appearances with 3 goals in European competitions.[2][44][46][47]
In 2022, after Gaz Metan Mediaș got dissolved, Eric was one of the founding members of the town's new club,
ACS Mediaș.[48]
Personal life
In July 2011, Eric and Romanian
handball player Cosmina Dancu had their first son, whom they named Deric.[49] Eric married Cosmina two years later and their second son, Anthony was born in 2015.[50] Eric's cousin,
Vitinho, was also a professional footballer, they played together for a while at Gaz Metan Mediaș.[51]
After he ended his playing career, Eric de Oliveira settled in Romania, being very attached to the country, saying in an interview:"I am 50 percent Brazilian, 50 percent Romanian, actually Transylvanian. I'm Eric from Mediaș, not from somewhere else. I don't have citizenship yet, but I can apply, I will as soon as possible, now it is clear that I will spend my life here."[46]
^"Sărbătoare pentru Gaz Metan!" [Celebration for Gaz Metan!] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 11 May 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2023. "S-au răzgândit" [They changed their minds] (in Romanian). Tribuna.ro. 24 May 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
Eric de Oliveira Pereira (born 5 December 1985), known as Eric, is a Brazilian[3] former professional
footballer who played as an
attacking midfielder.
After starting out his career in native Brazil, he went on to amass numerous stints in Romania, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Qatar. He achieved most success in Romania, representing in the country
Gaz Metan Mediaș,
Pandurii Târgu Jiu,
Viitorul Constanța and
Voluntari.
With 66 goals in the
Liga I, Eric has been the top foreign goalscorer of the Romanian championship since 2020. Previously, he was named the
Foreign Player of the Year twice, in 2010 and 2013.
Career
Early career, Gaz Metan Mediaș and Karpaty Lviv
Eric de Oliveira was born on 5 December 1985 in
Nova Iguaçu, Brazil and started to play
futsal at his school's team, then moving to play for the town's team, winning the
Rio de Janeiro state tournament where he was the best player and goalscorer, his picture appearing in a local newspaper which was read by the director of
Flamengo who brought him to play junior level football at the club in 2002, staying until 2004 when he moved at senior level, playing in
Série C at
CFZ de Brasília.[4][5] In 2005 he was on an unsuccessful trial in
Mexico with
Alacranes de Durango, but in 2006 he was signed by
Série A club,
Paraná where did not get a chance to play as he got injured.[4][5]
He moved back to Série C, signing with
Metropolitano with whom in 2007 he went on a tournament in
Austria where he was noticed by Romanian
Liga II club,
Gaz Metan Mediaș who decided to transfer him on a one-season loan by paying $80.000, being presented at the team with fellow Brazilians
Cairo Lima and
Grillo Edson.[4][5][6][7][8] He made his Liga II debut in a 3–1 victory against
CSM Reșița, helping the team earn promotion to the first league by the end of the season under the guidance of coach
Cristian Pustai, Eric contributing with 10 goals scored, forming a successful trio in the offence with
Claudiu Boaru and
Ciprian Prodan.[2][9][10] He was bought by Gaz Metan from Metropolitano for €122.500, making his
Liga I debut on 27 July 2008 in the first round of the season in a 2–2 with
Oțelul Galați where he received a red card, he scored his first goals in the competition by the end of the season in a 2–1 win over
Gloria Buzău from two free kicks, however the season was rather unsuccessful as the team mathematically relegated, but managed to keep its position in the league because
Argeș Pitești was relegated by the
Romanian Football Federation for corruption of referees.[6][7][9][11][12] In the first half of the
2009–10 season Eric scored the only goal of a 1–0 home victory against
Dinamo București, starting to score more often in 2010, by the end of the second half of the season when he managed to score two consecutive braces in two victories against
Politehnica Timișoara and
Unirea Alba Iulia, then he started the
following season strong by scoring 7 goals in the first four rounds, including three doubles in the first three games against
Victoria Brănești, Politehnica Timișoara and
Astra Ploiești, also by the end of the year scoring the only goal of a 1–0 away victory against
Steaua București, all these performances helping him earn the 2010
Foreign Player of the Year award in front of
Júnior Moraes.[4][5][13][14] Overall in the
2010–11 season, with a personal record of 15 goals scored in 31 appearances, of which the last two were a brace in a 3–2 victory against
CFR Cluj, Eric was the second top-goalscorer of the season with three behind Politehnica Timișoara's
Ianis Zicu, which helped the team finish on the 7th place, that gained Gaz Metan's first ever qualification to the
Europa League, due to Politehnica Timișoara, who finished 2nd in the league table, being relegated by the Romanian Football Federation for not fulfilling the licence conditions to play in European competitions or Liga I.[2][4][15] In the 2011–12 campaign, he made his debut in European competitions, playing both legs of the 2–1 victory on aggregate against
KuPS.[2][9][16][17]
Shortly afterwards he left Gaz Metan to go on a trial with
Bundesliga side
VfL Wolfsburg but was not offered a contract, so he moved to Ukraine, signing with
Karpaty Lviv.[6][16][18] His one-season spell with The Lions was unsuccessful as he played only six league games there, returning in September 2012 to Gaz Metan where in the
2012–13 season he played 22 games with four goals scored, being the team's captain.[2][6][9][19]
Pandurii Târgu Jiu and Asian spells
On 12 July 2013, Eric de Oliveira was transferred from
Gaz Metan Mediaș to
Pandurii Târgu Jiu for a transfer fee of €400.000 in the same day as
Nicandro Breeveld, reuniting with their former coach from Gaz Metan,
Cristian Pustai.[6][20] He debuted for Pandurii only a few days later after his transfer, appearing in the first leg of the
2013–14 Europa League second qualifying round against
Levadia Tallinn, the game ending 0–0 but he impressed with his technique and dribbling abilities, providing two assists in the 4–0 win from the second leg.[21] With Eric in a good shape, the club also managed to eliminate
Hapoel Tel Aviv against whom he scored a goal and
Braga, reaching the group stage where the campaign ended, but Eric still managed to make a good impression as he scored a goal from a penalty against
Dnipro and a very spectacular one from a
scissors kick against
Fiorentina.[22] Eric scored his first league goal for Pandurii in a 2–1 win over
Oțelul Galați, other important goals being the winning goal in the 2–1 victory against
Dinamo București, the only goal of the team in the 1–1 with
CFR Cluj and two doubles in wins against
Botoșani and
Brașov, netting the goal 14 times and providing 12 assists by the end of the first half of the season in all competitions.[23][24] All these performances earned him the 2013
Foreign Player of the Year award.[4][13]
In January 2014, Eric was transferred for a fee of €1.25 million from Pandurii to
Al-Ahli signing a contract for one year and a half.[6][23][25] He scored his first goal in the league in a 1–1 with
Al-Shoulla, also scoring a brace in a 3–0 win over
Al-Orobah in the
King Cup, a competition in which the team reached the final, losing 3–0 in front of
Al-Shabab, but Eric did not play in it as one month earlier during a game with
Al-Ettifaq he suffered a ligament injury which kept him off the field over six months.[4][23][26]
In January 2015, he returned to Pandurii Târgu Jiu, reaching the
Cupa Ligii final where coach
Edward Iordănescu sent him on the field in the 78th minute in order to replace
Filip Mrzljak, however three minutes later he got injured, the team remaining in 10 players, eventually losing 3–0 in front of
Steaua București.[6][4][23][27]
On 30 June 2015, Japan's
Matsumoto Yamaga announced the signing of Eric de Oliveira from Pandurii, however even do he impressed during the training sessions, Eric never got to play in any official games for them.[6][28] He then went back to play in the Saudi Professional League, this time at
Najran, scoring four goals in 12 league appearances, his best game being a 4–3 victory against
Al Nassr in which he scored two goals and provided two assists.[2][6][29]
Gaz Metan Mediaș, Viitorul Constanța, Al-Markhiya and Voluntari
In June 2016, Eric came for a third spell at
Gaz Metan Mediaș where he was wanted very much by the coach from his first spell,
Cristian Pustai.[6][30] In the
2016–17 season, he made 34 appearances and scored 6 goals, impressing in the final matches of the season when he scored two doubles in two victories against
Voluntari and
Poli Timișoara, helping his side avoid relegation.[2][31]
On 8 July 2017, Eric signed a one-year contract with the champions of the last season,
Viitorul Constanța where he worked with coach
Gheorghe Hagi.[6][32] In the first half of the season Eric scored 7 goals and provided 5 assists, including scoring two spectacular goals in two 1–0 wins over
FCSB and
CFR Cluj, also appearing in the
extra time of the 4–0 loss in front of
APOEL Nicosia from the second leg of the third qualifying round from the
2017–18 Champions League, failing to help his side qualify to the next round even do he had some important opportunities to score.[2][6][33][34]
In January 2018 Viitorul sold him for €100.000 to
Al-Markhiya in the
Qatar Stars League.[6][33][35][36] He scored three goals in 9 league appearances, including a brace against
Al-Gharafa, however the team relegated to the
second division by the end of the season.[2][35][37] He stayed with the club in the second league, scoring a goal directly from a corner kick against
Muaither, also bringing former Gaz Metan and Pandurii teammate
Nicandro Breeveld to the club.[38]
On 12 January 2019, Eric de Oliveira returned at Viitorul Constanța, helping the team win the
2018–19 Cupa României by the end of the season, scoring in
extra time the decisive goal of the 2–1 victory against
Astra Giurgiu from the
final.[2][6][39][40] He started the
following season strong by scoring five goals in the first five rounds but then an injury and his physical condition made Hagi keep him off the field for most of the first half of the season.[2][6][41]
In January 2020 he signed with
Voluntari where in a 2–0 win over
Hermannstadt he scored from a penalty kick his 65th
Liga I goal which made him the best foreign goalscorer of the competition, surpassing fellow Brazilian
Wesley.[6][42] One year later Eric left Voluntari and signed a six months contract for a fourth spell with
Gaz Metan Mediaș, however this time he did not make a single appearance for the team because of an injury.[43][44][45] Eric de Oliveira has total of 222 games in Liga I with 66 goals scored and 48 assists provided, also having 17 appearances with 3 goals in European competitions.[2][44][46][47]
In 2022, after Gaz Metan Mediaș got dissolved, Eric was one of the founding members of the town's new club,
ACS Mediaș.[48]
Personal life
In July 2011, Eric and Romanian
handball player Cosmina Dancu had their first son, whom they named Deric.[49] Eric married Cosmina two years later and their second son, Anthony was born in 2015.[50] Eric's cousin,
Vitinho, was also a professional footballer, they played together for a while at Gaz Metan Mediaș.[51]
After he ended his playing career, Eric de Oliveira settled in Romania, being very attached to the country, saying in an interview:"I am 50 percent Brazilian, 50 percent Romanian, actually Transylvanian. I'm Eric from Mediaș, not from somewhere else. I don't have citizenship yet, but I can apply, I will as soon as possible, now it is clear that I will spend my life here."[46]
^"Sărbătoare pentru Gaz Metan!" [Celebration for Gaz Metan!] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 11 May 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2023. "S-au răzgândit" [They changed their minds] (in Romanian). Tribuna.ro. 24 May 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2023.