Player Profile: Hilario
Full name: Henrique Hilário Meireles Alves Sampaio
Position: Goalkeeper
Date of Birth: 21 October 1975
Birthplace: Porto, Portugal
After impressing in the youth ranks at two of Portugal’s more modest clubs, Naval and Academica, unfussy goalkeeper Hilario appeared to get his big break in 1996 when none other than the dominant force in Portuguese football, FC Porto, his hometown club, brought him into the fold.
Hilario spent a total of seven seasons as an official Porto player, but with one of Portugal’s best ever goalkeepers in front of him for most of that time, Vitor Baia, he saw little action for the Dragons and was loaned out to several clubs for much of the duration of his contract. Before being definitively sold to Nacional ahead of the 2003/04 season he came briefly, but significantly, into contact with Jose Mourinho, a promising coach who had just been recruited by FC Porto.
It was at Nacional that Hilario finally began to excel, with a string of strong performances marking him out as a reliable and high-quality goalkeeper. It was not a complete surprise therefore when Mourinho, now ruling the roost at Premier League club Chelsea, turned to Hilario. He was bought by the London team in the summer of 2006, albeit very much as a squad player.
Baptism of fire
He was thrust into the spotlight when first-choice goalkeepers Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini were injured, impressing in the Champions League against Barcelona as well as enjoying a long run in the first team. But Cech is unanimously acknowledged as one the world’s top goalkeepers, and upon his recovery Hilario inevitably had to take a back seat again.
He has rarely let his team down when called upon, and has now acquired considerable experience in high-pressure games, such as the Internazionale-Chelsea Champions League clash in 2010. This factor no doubt played in his favour as Carlos Queiroz called up Hilario on a number of occasions, leading the 34-year-old to openly admit he nurtures high hopes of making it into the Portugal squad for the South Africa World Cup.
by Tom Kundert (03/03/2010)
| Club |
Appearances* |
Goals |
| FC Porto |
30 |
0 |
| Estrela da Amadora (loan) |
27 |
0 |
| Varzim (loan) |
24 |
0 |
| Academica de Coimbra |
10 |
0 |
| Nacional |
56 |
0 |
| Chelsea** |
19 |
0 |
| |
|
|
| PORTUGAL |
0 |
0 |
* League appearances only
** Up to February 2010
|
