Eron (footballer, born 1998)

Overview

Eron — full name Eronildo dos Santos Rocha — is a Brazilian footballer, a forward born on 16 July 1998 in Salvador, Bahia (Bahia Notícias). He is best known for a remarkable 2023 season with Caxias, in which he finished as the top scorer of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série D with 14 goals — the most any player has scored in a single edition of the competition — and then moved to Japan to play for Vegalta Sendai in the J2 League (Bahia Notícias). His 2024 season in Japan and his subsequent listing in Santa Cruz FC’s 2026 Copa do Brasil squad are covered in detail below (Vegalta Sendai supporters’ association preview; ESPN).

A note on the name: this profile covers only Eronildo dos Santos Rocha, the forward born in 1998 whose clubs include Caxias, Vegalta Sendai and Santa Cruz. An older, unrelated Brazilian player — Eron Santos Lourenço, born in 1992, a former Atlético Mineiro left-back — has played under the same mononym, and the two should not be confused (Eron (footballer, born 1992)).

The 2023 breakthrough: Série D scoring record with Caxias

Eron came through the youth system of EC Vitória in his home state of Bahia (Bahia Notícias). By 2023 he was playing for Caxias in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série D. During the season he scored in bursts — at one stage he struck twice in a single match to take over the competition’s scoring lead while Caxias closed in on qualification (Bahia Notícias). The defining moment came against Portuguesa-RJ, when his goal secured the club’s promotion; he finished the campaign with 14 goals, the most by any player in a single Série D edition (Bahia Notícias).

2024: the season in Japan with Vegalta Sendai

In December 2023, following his scoring title, Eron transferred from Caxias to Vegalta Sendai of Japan’s J2 League (Bahia Notícias). A match preview published by the Vegalta Sendai supporters’ association on 10 August 2024 lists him in the squad as “エロン” — No. 98, a forward, 176 cm and 76 kg, whose previous club was Caxias (preview). The same preview placed him in the predicted starting eleven for that day’s league match away to Mito HollyHock, paired with Yuta Goke in the predicted front two (preview). Its statistics section, compiled from official J.League data, credited him with one assist at the 25-matchday mark of the season, at a point when Sendai sat sixth in the J2 table with 41 points from 25 matches (preview).

After the season, his time in Japan came to an end: BeSoccer reported that Eron ended his Vegalta Sendai contract and became a free agent (BeSoccer).

2026: Santa Cruz FC

Eron’s next confirmed stop was Santa Cruz FC. ESPN lists a player named “Eronildo” — a 28-year-old Brazilian forward, 1.78 m and 73 kg — in the club’s squad for the 2026 Copa do Brasil (ESPN). The age, nationality and position are consistent with the player covered in this profile.

What this profile does not claim

• It does not give final appearance or goal totals for Eron’s 2024 J2 League season. The sources read in full confirm his squad place, shirt number, one assist at the August mark and his subsequent free-agent status, but not a full-season tally.
• It does not cover his senior career before Caxias. Spells reported elsewhere at Vitória, Remo, Sampaio Corrêa and ABC were not confirmed by a source read in full for this profile and are not included above.
• It does not confirm the date or terms of his move to Santa Cruz, nor any 2026 Série C appearances or goals, beyond ESPN’s 2026 Copa do Brasil squad listing.