Vitorino Hilton
![]() Hilton in 2018 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Vitorino Hilton da Silva | ||
Date of birth | 13 September 1977 | ||
Place of birth | Brasília, Brazil | ||
Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
Position(s) |
Centre-back | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1996–1999 | Chapecoense | 0 | (0) |
2000–2001 | Paraná | 14 | (1) |
2002–2004 | Servette | 72 | (3) |
2004 | → Bastia (loan) | 14 | (0) |
2004–2008 | Lens | 122 | (8) |
2008–2011 | Marseille | 56 | (2) |
2011–2021 | Montpellier | 320 | (10) |
2022 | Sète | 4 | (0) |
Total | 598 | (24) | |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Vitorino Hilton da Silva (born 13 September 1977), commonly known as Vitorino Hilton or just Hilton, is a Brazilian former professional
Beginning his career in Brazil, at 23 he moved to Europe to play for Servette, where he played for two and a half seasons, before joining Bastia on loan in 2004 and then moving to Lens. At Lens, he established himself as a notable defender in French football, being named twice for the Ligue 1 Team of the Year. He then signed for Marseille, where he was again named for the Team of the Year and help the club win the league title in 2010. After personal problems at Marseille, he went on to sign for Montpellier, where he went on to spend the next ten seasons, becoming a fan favourite and helping the team win their first and to date only league title, in 2012. In 2022, he joined Sète on a five-month contract.
After retiring in 2021, Hilton was the foreign player with most matches played in the history of French top-flight football and fourteenth player overall, with 512 appearances.
Career
Born in
Lens
After a loan spell at Bastia, Hilton joined Lens on a five-year contract.[2] Hilton made his debut, in the opening game of the season, in a 0–0 draw against Toulouse and several weeks later, on 21 August 2004, Hilton scored his first goal in Ligue 1, in a 2–0 win over
In the 2006–07 season, Hilton was ever present with 37 appearances in the league and ten appearances in European competitions. He scored twice in the season; against
Marseille

Following Lens' relegation, Hilton joined Marseille for €5 million, signing a four-year contract.[7]
Hilton made his debut, in the opening game of the season, in a 4–4 draw against Rennes. His first goal came on 12 April 2009, in a 4–1 win over Grenoble.[8] Hilton was almost ever present in the first team, in the European competitions and made thirty-six appearances. His regular start at Marseille earned him 2009 Team of The Year in his fourth consecutive row, which the row ended the next season. However, the 2009–10 season, under new manager Didier Deschamps, Hilton soon lost his first team place and mainly was on the bench. Also, injuries started to haunt him again.[citation needed] Despite this, Hilton scored twice in the season: One was in the Champions League Group-Stage against Zurich, with a 6–1 win on 3 November 2009[9] and another came on 8 May 2010, in a 3–2 loss against Lille. At the end of the 2009–10 season, the club won the league title for the first time for 18 years. In 2010–11 season grew worse for Hilton as he made eight appearances. Following his house robbery, Hilton wanted to leave the club and finally left on 1 August 2011, having one-year contract with the club.[10]
Montpellier
After leaving Marseille for good, Hilton signed a one-year contract with
The following 2012–13 season, Hilton continued to be in the club's first team place, though been used in and out. Hilton played his first European match in over two years, in a 2–1 loss against Arsenal in the group-stage of the Champions League. Eventually, the club was eliminated from the Champions League after finishing fourth place. Following the departure of Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa to Newcastle United, Hilton was appointed as the club's new captain.[citation needed] On 1 March 2013, Hilton scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–0 win over Rennes. However, the club was unable to defend their league title as they surrendered it to title chaser Paris Saint Germain, who finished second last season. The club finished ninth place, far from missing out of European competitions. Despite this, Hilton signed a one-year contract with the club, until 2014.[15]
On 7 February 2017, Hilton scored Montpellier's goal in a 2–1 home defeat to
In June 2021, Hilton announced that he would be leaving Montpellier following the expiration of his contract on 1 July.[20] The same day, he announced his retirement from football.[21]
Sète
In October 2021 Hilton stated his desire to return to playing.[22] After training with Béziers,[23] he joined Championnat National club Sète on a five-month contract on 1 February 2022.[23]
Personal life
In August 2011, Sports Illustrated reported that Hilton was among eight players to be victimised of robbery at their home in the last 18 months. Hilton told RMC Radio that robbery left his family so traumatised that they wanted to move back to Brazil. Hilton was also assaulted when six men entered his house just before midnight, struck him on the head with a rifle-butt, and stole his possessions, including Renault car, which was found burned an hour away.[24] In an interview with Goal.com, Hilton also revealed that the robbery convinced him to leave Marseille after the city left him and his family "psychologically scarred". He described this as a "tough moment for him".[25] In October 2011, Police in Marseille arrested seven people for suspicion of involvement in an armed robbery.[26] Of those seven suspects, five were charged for theft and assault on Hilton.[27] It was revealed that the five suspects were involved in a robbery on different players and have been prosecuted.[28] He has since overcome this trauma and moved on, with his family settling in well.[29]
Honours
Paraná Clube
Lens
Marseille
- Ligue 1: 2009–10
- 2010–11
- Trophée des Champions: 2010[30]
Montpellier
Individual
- Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2011–12
References
- ^ "Final day of transfers". UEFA. 3 February 2004. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Lens complete treble swoop". UEFA. 28 June 2004. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Hilton injury hits Lens". UEFA. 28 October 2004. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Ligue 1 Round-Up". Sky Sports. 11 February 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Injury concerns for Gillot". Sky Sports. 12 March 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Hilton injury leaves Lens a man down". UEFA. 26 September 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Marseille seal Hilton deal". UEFA. 14 June 2008. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Marseille move to the fore in France". UEFA. 12 April 2009. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Rampant Marseille remain in touch". UEFA. 4 November 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Transfers – Hilton terminates his contract with OM" [Transferts – Hilton résilie son contrat avec l'OM] (in French). Goal.com. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Ligue 1 – Hilton makes Montpellier move". Yahoo! Eurosport. 2 August 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Hilton had hoped to head home". Sky Sports. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "How Montpellier beat PSG to win the French title". BBC Sport. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Ligue 1 Team of the Season: Title-winning Montpellier dominate as Hazard signs off with dazzling campaign". Goal.com. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "HILTON AGREES NEW MONTPELLIER DEAL". Ligue 1. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Montpellier 1 Monaco 2: Unbeaten run stretches to 30". fourfourtwo. 7 February 2017.
- ^ "Vitorino Hilton becomes the oldest Ligue 1 player in the 21st century". Marca. 3 February 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ "Hilton: Ligue 1's oldest player since 1956 gets sent off in landmark game". Eurosport. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ "Just a number: 43-year old Ligue 1 captain becomes oldest player to feature in the league in 64 years". Tuko.co.ke. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ "Fin de l'aventure à Montpellier pour Vitorino Hilton" [End of the adventure in Montpellier for Vitorino Hilton]. L'Équipe (in French). 7 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ^ "Football : Vitorino Hilton prend sa retraite". Midi Libre (in French). 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ "Football : l'ex-capitaine du MHSC Vitorino Hilton de retour sur les terrains ?". Midi Libre (in French). 11 October 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Football : l'ancien capitaine du MHSC Vitorino Hilton rechausse les crampons à Sète à 44 ans !". Midi Libre (in French). 1 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "Marseille players recovering from spate of targeted home-jackings". Sports Illustrated. 7 August 2011. Archived from the original on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Robbery made me leave Marseille, says Hilton". Goal.com. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Robbery OM 7 custody" [Braquages OM : 7 gardes à vue] (in French). L'Equipe. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Robbery OM: 5 indicted" [Braquages OM : 5 mises en examen] (in French). L'Equipe. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Robbery OM: Betrayed by their DNA" [Braquages OM : Trahis par leur ADN] (in French). L'Equipe. 15 October 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Hilton: "Prove to myself"" [Hilton :"Prouver à moi-même"] (in French). L'Equipe. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Résultat et résumé Marseille - Paris-SG, Trophée des Champions, Trophée des Champions, Mercredi 28 Juillet 2010". lequipe.fr. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
External links
- Vitorino Hilton at L'Équipe Football (in French)
- Profile and pictures (in French)