- DOCU

In collaboration with ESPN Sports we produces two documentaries for Eredivisie soccer team Heracles.

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It is quiet at Erve Asito. Too quiet. Supporters and sponsors, as well as players and staff, nostalgically reminisce about the times of full stadiums. Until those times return, they strive to make the best of the situation together. We observe a crucial period: December. The month of warmth and coziness, but above all, of very important matches.

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A tumultuous first half of the season is coming to an end. The physical absence of supporters and sponsors, as well as the distance between them and the players, makes it challenging in a time when coming together is desired. Moreover, is it possible to maintain a sense of unity?

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Can fans and sponsors muster it themselves during this time, and what is the value of your ticket when you can't go to the stadium together on weekends? The club must go beyond luxury and explore where the sense of belonging lies. That's the current focus, but it's a challenge. It's not just about keeping the club financially afloat but also about preserving the connection and the club spirit. Where does that club spirit reside? With the players? With the supporters? With the sponsors? In difficult times, you discover exactly what you're doing it for. We explore and uncover it in this documentary, "De Rust" (The Calm).

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There is something about the strikers of Heracles. From unknown talent to footballers whom other clubs had given up on; when they have spent a period at Heracles, they develop above average, with new highlights in their careers and emerge stronger. Or, as Cyriel Dessers once put it when he stood in the parking lot of Erve Asito on his first day, and someone asked him what on earth he was doing in Almelo: "If it worked for Bas Dost and Wout Weghorst, why wouldn't it work for me?"

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Players know it too. If you don't come out at your best from Heracles, it just isn't in you. What's going on here? After all, Heracles is not a club with budgets like Ajax or Feyenoord to be at the forefront everywhere. To find out, we will explore the stories of five former Heracles strikers. We will visit Cyriel Dessers in Genk, Wout Weghorst in Wolfsburg, Bas Dost in Bruges, and have a Skype conversation with Samuel Armenteros and Everton Ramos da Silva. All are strikers who acknowledge that they learned where their strength lies and how to develop at Heracles. In each chapter, we will delve into their personal stories, starting with the beginning: how did they come into contact with Heracles? What was their status, and how did their game look before they joined the club?

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We will then examine their development and highlights at Heracles. What are the personal stories of these strikers? A commonly heard remark from former Heracles players is that they experienced the club as a warm nest. Perhaps it is this atmosphere that enables the development of talent and game skills within a team. In each chapter, we also want to briefly show how their careers progressed afterward. How do they perceive the current period of their careers compared to their time at Heracles? What do they miss from their time in Almelo?

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In addition to these conversations, we will also inquire with individuals who were involved then and are still involved now, such as Gertjan Verbeek, Nico Jan Hoogma, Arend Steunenberg, and Tim Gilissen, to understand where that change took place and how it could happen at Heracles. "Fingerspitzengefühl," says Steunenberg about the strength of Heracles. And as a central force; "trust." An abstract concept in today's football. Because if you don't perform at a club where money rules, there is little room for trust. Is trust not at the core of the ability to perform?

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Does bringing out the best in a player not primarily require more time, discipline, perseverance, and also placing hope in someone? In "De Spitsen van Heracles," we will provide a glimpse into the secret of Heracles.

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