Brazilian striker Erik, 28, is making a name for himself in Asia in his first season with Machida Zelvia in Japan’s second division, the J2 League. In his team’s 3-2 victory over Omiya Ardija, Erik scored two decisive goals, taking his tally to seven goals in the last six games.
Thanks to his exceptional performances, he is now the top scorer and the player with the most direct participations in goals of the competition, totaling 19 contributions (13 goals and 6 assists). He is also a league scorer tied with the 32-year-old Spaniard of V-Varen Nagazaki, Juanma Delgado.
Erik expressed his satisfaction with his quick adaptation to the club and his desire to continue contributing to the Machida Zelvia project, which aims to reach the elite of Japanese football. “I hope to maintain this excellent period, continue to support the Machida and guide them to the heights of Japanese football. This is the club’s project, this is our goal,” Erik said enthusiastically.
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13 goals in 23 games this year
As a reminder, this season marks Erik’s fifth adventure in Asia, after playing for Yokohama Marinos in Japan for two years and Changchun Yatai in China for another two years. Having also played for Brazilian clubs such as Goiás, Palmeiras, Atlético Mineiro and Botafogo, Erik has already played 23 games for Machida Zelvia, where he scored 13 goals and provided six assists. The player feels motivated by his performance and says he will continue to work hard to improve his stats.
However, Erik remains focused on the development of the team and the collective goal of reaching the elite of Japanese football, stressing that “there is still a long way to go”, and also indicating that he is motivated to improve its performance. His team is now the leader of the Japanese second division at mid-season, 7 points ahead of Tokyo Verdy.
