Montpellier Hérault SC take on Olympique de Marseille on Saturday in one the big games of Round 29. Montpellier skipper Vitorino Hilton has been a title-winner with both clubs in a remarkable career that has continued well into his 40s.
THE BEGINNINGS
Hilton turns 42 and a half on Friday, another minor landmark for a player whose longevity is remarkable. He is comfortably the most senior player in Ligue 1, way ahead of his 37-year-old teammate Souleymane Camara. Hilton’s central defensive colleague Daniel Congré, 35 next month, appears like a fresh-faced youngster in comparison. There is surely no way he could have imagined still going strong at the top level into his 43rd year when he first arrived in Europe in 2001. Born in Brasília, he started out at Chapecoense but broke through at Paraná, a club in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba who these days play in the country’s second division. From there, Hilton moved to Switzerland, signing for the Geneva club Servette and spending two and a half years there before arriving in French football in January 2004.
The centre-back initially signed for SC Bastia on loan right at the end of the winter transfer window. He was 26 at the time, and his arrival was eclipsed by Bastia’s signings of Nigerian forward Bartholomew Ogbeche on loan from Paris Saint-Germain and Philippe Delaye on loan from Rennes. Hilton’s debut came in a 1-0 win for the Corsicans against Toulouse, alongside the likes of Pascal Chimbonda, Jocelyn Gourvennec and Alou Diarra.
A STAR AT LENS
He helped guide Bastia to safety and the Corsicans wanted to make his loan move permanent in the summer of 2004. However, they could not afford to pay the fee wanted by Servette, and Racing Club de Lens pounced to take him to the far north of France instead.
Hilton spent four years with Les Sang et Or, helping Lens finish in the top five in successive seasons in 2006 and 2007 and featuring in three UEFA Cup runs. He also captained them in the 2008 Coupe de la Ligue final defeat by PSG. It is easy to forget now, with all that has happened since, how fine a time that was in Hilton’s career. “The four years spent at Lens were the best of my career,” he said in an interview for Eurosport back in 2013. “It is a fantastic club where I felt at ease right away.”
He was even named in the Ligue 1 team of the year in his last two seasons at Lens, but left the club after their relegation in 2008.
THE MARSEILLE YEARS
The 30-year-old Hilton signed for Marseille for €5 million, explaining that he turned down interest from outside France in order to represent OM in the Champions League. A regular in his first season when he was again named in the Ligue 1 team of the year, Hilton helped Marseille finish second in the table behind champions Girondins de Bordeaux.
The following year was bittersweet for Hilton, though, as OM won the title but he lost his place as a regular under new coach Didier Deschamps. He made just 12 appearances and was involved even less in the following campaign. Hilton was also an unused substitute in Marseille’s Coupe de la Ligue final wins of 2010 and 2011, the latter against Montpellier. In the summer of 2011, having been the victim of a violent break-in at his home in Marseille, Hilton was allowed to leave the club with a year still to run on his contract.
LIGUE 1 CHAMPION WITH MONTPELLIER
In an interview with Le Parisien last year, Hilton looked back at his move to Montpellier in that summer of 2011. “Montpellier gave me a chance to play football again. Not everybody believed in me when I wanted a fresh start at the age of 33. I will never forget it. I had an extraordinary first season, winning the league,” he said.
Hilton played in 35 of 38 league games as René Girard’s Montpellier won the title by three points from PSG, who were in their first season of Qatari ownership and finished the campaign with Carlo Ancelotti in the dugout.
“I rediscovered the pleasure of playing football. My last year at Marseille was very difficult for me. I hardly played, and the coach didn’t have confidence in me,” he said after claiming the second title-winner’s medal of his career in France, this time as a pivotal member of the team.
THE TWILIGHT YEARS
When Hilton signed for Montpellier, he agreed a one-year contract with the option of a second season if his new team avoided relegation. He could not have imagined that he would win the Ligue 1 title at the Stade de la Mosson, or that he would still be there into a ninth season. If he remains a regular until the end of this campaign he will reach 300 top-flight appearances for the club, and if he carries on into next season he has the total mark of 500 Ligue 1 appearances in sight.
Asked about the secret of such a long career, he told Le Parisien: “I have a lucky star shining over my head. I have also adapted my lifestyle. I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t go to nightclubs. I sleep well, around eight hours a night. I eat healthily. Everything else is in the head.”
Hilton once said he had thought about finishing his career back in Brazil, possibly with Flamengo. However, that seems less and less likely after he signed a new contract to play on under Michel Der Zakarian this season.
“If I finish my career at the age of 42 that will be magnificent for me” he said after penning that new deal, although he has since not ruled out remaining for a 10th season at Montpellier, who on current form could yet qualify for a crack at the Europa League. That could help persuade Hilton to stick around a little longer and lend his experience to a team aiming for a second consecutive top-six finish.