Vitorino Hilton

Vitorino Hilton da Silva (born 13 September 1977), commonly known as Vitorino Hilton or just Hilton, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

Born in Brasilia, Brazil, Hilton started his professional career in 1996 at Chapecoense and stayed there for three years before moving to Paraná Clube.

After one season there, Hilton move to Europe by joining Swiss side Servette.

At Servette, Hilton quickly established himself in the first team.

Hilton scored his first European goal, in the third round; second leg, in a 3–0 win over Hertha.

Sadly, Hilton scored an own goal, in the fourth round; first leg, in a 3–0 loss against Valencia.

Throughout his two-season career at Servette, Hilton made 57 appearances and scoring twice in all competition.

Hilton scored his first league goal, on 28 September 2003, in a 3–1 win over Zürich.

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.

In January transfer window 2004, Hilton joined Ligue 1 side Bastia on six-month loan, which lasted until the end of the season.

Hilton played his first game in Ligue 1, on 7 February 2004, in a 1–0 victory over Toulouse.

On 1 May 2004, Hilton received a straight red card, in a 4–0 loss against Rennes.

Upon return to Servette, Hilton left the club, citing the club's financial problem.

After a loan spell at Bastia, Hilton joined Lens on a five-year contract.

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 Istres.

Then thirty-two days later, on 22 September 2004, Hilton scored his second goal, in a 2–2 draw against Paris Saint-Germain.

However, his good start at Lens soon faded when Hilton tore his knee ligaments in training, which he will be out for three months.

Later in the 2004–05 season, Hilton scored twice in twenty-seven appearances, while the club achieved winning the Intertoto Cup.

Then in 2005–06 season, Hilton scored, again, in a 2–0 win over Marseille and scored against them, once again, five months later on 4 January 2006.

In the first round and first leg of UEFA Cup, Hilton scored in a 1–1 draw against Polish side Grodzisk.

He made 43 appearances in all competitions and scored three times.

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 Bordeaux on 2 December 2006 and another against Sochaux on 12 February 2007.

Trailing behind leaders Lyon, Hilton would have a problem, himself: injuries, but managed to overcome from the injury.

While at Lens, Hilton has established himself as a key figure at the heart of the rearguard and Hilton was named Trophées UNFP du football's Team of the Year: three times in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Following Lens' relegation, Hilton joined Marseille for €5 million, signing a four-year contract.

Hilton made his debut, in the opening game of the season, in a 4–4 draw against Rennes.

However, in the 2007–08 season, Hilton appearance soon faded, making twenty-three appearances, mainly because of hip injury, which left him out for two months.

The 2007–08 was unachievable for the club as they faced Paris-Saint Germain in the Coupe de la Ligue Final, but lost 2–1.

Despite the injury, he scored twice in the season: against Valenciennes on 23 January 2008, and against Derby du Nord rival Lille, in a 2–1 win on 11 March 2008.

In addition, Hilton earned the club's captain band in the absence of Yohan Demont.

His first goal came on 12 April 2009, in a 4–1 win over Grenoble.

Hilton was almost ever present in the first team, in the European competitions and made thirty-six appearances.

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.

It couldn't get worse when the club was relegated to Ligue 2 after finishing 18th place.