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Legends

Happy Birthday Hilton!

When one thinks about Brazilian players in Ligue 1, the mind tends to go for flair and flash, with maybe a hint of combative spirit as well. In recent years, the likes of Neymar, Bruno Guimarães, and Lucas Paquetá have all graced the pitches of France, while past decades have featured Juninho Pernambucano, Sonny Anderson and Raí. The league still boasts an impressive collection of stars from the South American country -- Dante, Marquinhos, Vanderson and Caio Henrique are all vital to their teams' hopes for a place in Europe next season, but no player has defined the mix of class and bravura of his country's football than the legendary Hilton, who turns 47 today.
E. DEVIN
Published on 09/13/2024 at 16:30
3-minute read
No foreign-born player has more Ligue 1 appearances than Hilton

Born in Brasilia, the nation's capital, the defender's career in Ligue 1 stretched for nearly two decades, highlighted by seeing him win an unlikely title with Montpellier HSC in 2012, as well as one with Olympique de Marseille. He also was a part of the UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year four times, and retired as the foreign player with the most appearances in France's top flight. A little more than four years on from his retirement, we look back at his storied career to honor his contributions to the game in France, which he played until the age of 43.    

Beginnings in Lens and success with OM

After starting his career with Swiss side Servette, having joined from Paraná in his native Brazil, Hilton took his first steps in France in a loan spell with Bastia, in 2004. His play there caught the eye of Racing Club de Lens, a club just two years removed from a second-place finish. After signing a five-year contract, his first season was marred by a knee injury that kept him out for three months, but he returned the next season with a vengeance. Le Sang et Or struggled in the next three seasons, despite reaching a Coupe de la Ligue Final, and were eventually relegated, but not without the Brazilian being named to the UNFP Team of the Season in two successive campaigns. 

On Lens' relegation, he joined Marseille in 2008, and kept that form up in his first season in the south of France, again being named to the Team of the Season as the team finished just three points off Bordeaux at the top of the table. The next season saw Hilton win his first major honor, but with Gabriel Heinze and Souleymane Diawara having arrived that summer, competition for places was stiff.

A (lengthy) final chapter with La Paillade

Indeed, with the installment of Didier Deschamps on the bench at Marseille, Hilton struggled for playing time, and despite winning trophies and playing in the Champions League at the Stade Vélodrôme, this, combined with an unfortunate robbery at his house, made him seek pastures green in the summer of 2011. He joined Montpellier on a one-year deal, adding steel and experience to a young side that featured the likes of Olivier Giroud, Younes Belhanda and Benjamin Stambouli, and added needed steel to their defence, winning a place once more in the Team of the Year as the team pipped favored Paris Saint-Germain to the title with the league's best defence. 

Subsequent seasons with the team saw rather less joy, but the team were usually at least comfortably mid-table, with Hilton and Daniel Congré, who arrived the following summer, being lynchpins in a variety of tactical systems and philosophies. When the player hung his boots in 2021, he reflected to the Times, that he attributed to his longevity to a positive mental attitude. “I think mind and body go hand in hand, and that’s why I’m still going. It’s all in the minf. As long as you have that desire, that gets you out of bed and into the training ground. I always try to show my joy, to play with a smile on my face."

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