Player Focus: Hernanes, Lazio’s Improved Prophet

“Hernanes has been amazing,” gushed Giuseppe Biava recently as he, like most Serie A observers, was captivated by the superb form displayed by the Brazilian in the early days of this new campaign. He has led Lazio to fifth in the table, suffering their only 2 defeats to date as they lost a closely fought game to Genoa and then at Napoli.

Before he made his somewhat surprising move to the Rome based club two years ago – for a fee of around €13.5 million – he had already been named Player of the Year in his homeland as well as winning the Brazilian league title on two occasions. The midfielder currently has – according to WhoScored.com’s scoring system – the highest average rating of any Serie A player at 8.42; a score which is only bettered by three players to have made at least 3 appearances this season across Europe’s top five leagues.

Given the nickname O Profeta (‘The Prophet’) for his alleged ability to create something out of nothing, Hernanes was named the best Under-23 prospect in world football by The Times back in 2009. Defender Biava believes his form is a continuation of the level he began to reach in the club’s warm up games as he went on to tell LazioStyleRadio;

“I have never seen him playing so well. He was at his best over pre-season and is showing it at the start of the season as well."

It is tough to argue with that assessment, having seen the 27 year old – who recorded an average rating of just 6.94 in 2011-12 – register three goals and an assist in his sides’ opening four games of the season, putting him well on course to top last term’s respective figures of eight and two. Almost every facet of his game has improved under the guidance of new Coach Vladimir Petković, who only took charge of the Biancocelesti following the resignation of Edy Reja in May.

That change has seen the side shift from a 3-5-2 formation into a more solid 4-1-4-1 formation which has in turn pressed the number eight into a position significantly higher up the pitch than he was deployed in previously. The decision to field a single striker – usually the prolific Germany international Miroslav Klose – has increased the pressure on Hernanes and his fellow midfielders to provide support.

The Bosnian coach has certainly brought the best out of Hernanes; a player who built his reputation on the back of his superb distribution skills and excellent decision making, traits that are highlighted by the fact he has turned the ball over due to poor control just twice this season. He has also completed 86.8% of the 273 pass attempts he has made thus far, a slight increase on last year’s 83.8%, but his average of 54.6 passes per game is a significant rise on the 31.6 he averaged in the previous campaign, while his number of key passes has also risen from 1.5 to 2.8 per outing.

Even without the ball the former São Paulo star is thriving, recording a hugely impressive 2.6 tackles, 2.8 interceptions and 2.2 clearances per game this term, using his intelligent reading of matches to anticipate when and where an opposition attack may come. He has consistently improved his defensive contribution as we can see when looking at last season when he posted figures of 1.3 tackles, one interception and a mere 0.3 clearances per game throughout the course of the previous campaign. This is also in spite of the shift from a three man defence into a 4-1-4-1 and the subsequent advancing of the Brazilian’s position on the field. 

He has still yet to be caught offside, continuing from his remarkable feat of going the entire season without ever seeing a linesman’s flag in 2011-12. The arrival of Petković does seem to have inspired a far greater confidence in Hernanes, who has taken on a far more proactive role in matches this term. He is attempting more shots – averaging 4.4 per game, a rise from 2.8 last term – and another marked improvement has been in his dribbling. Last season he completed an average of 1.3 per game, a figure he has now increased to 2.8.

All in all it has been a pleasure to watch him deliver these improved performances, and should he maintain this form over the rest of the season, it is entirely possible he could inspire Lazio to qualify for the Champions League, a task which has eluded them since 2007.