Hilário Paulino Neves Freitas Leal (born 15 May 1974), simply known as Hilário, is a Portuguese retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

Football career

Hilário was born to Portuguese parents in

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, returning to his motherland still as an infant.Hilário: “Mazzone mi parlava di Samb-Ascoli” (Hilario: “Mazzone told me about Samb-Ascoli”)
Riviera Oggi, 28 April 2004 He made his professional debuts with local S.C. Freamunde, playing third division football with the club. In 1996, he moved straight into the top level with G.D. Chaves, appearing regularly in two of his three seasons and being relegated in his last, although he had already signed in January 1999 for A.C. Perugia in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. With the

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

ns Hilário played in the

1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup The 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals were won by Montpellier, Juventus, and West Ham United. All three teams advanced to the UEFA Cup. Qualified teams First round First leg ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ...

, with his team being eliminated by

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

in the third round. He only appeared regularly in his first full season in

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

(20 games), helping the side to a final midtable position and sharing teams with the likes of

Hidetoshi Nakata is a Japanese former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Considered one of the best talents to come from an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) country in the early late 1990s and early 2000s, Nakata became ...

, Alessandro Calori, Giovanni Tedesco,

Massimiliano Esposito Massimiliano Esposito (born 27 May 1972), is an Italian beach soccer player and coach, and also a former professional footballer, who played as a playmaking midfielder or as a creative forward. Career Born in Naples, Esposito started his pro ...

and

Milan Rapaić Milan Rapaić (born 16 August 1973) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He primary played as an attacking midfielder or winger. International career He made his debut for Croatia in an April 1994 friendly ma ...

; he never scored a goal for the club, but netted one in his own net against

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

on 6 January 2000. In 2002 Hilário moved back to Portugal, playing for F.C. Maia in division two before returning to Italy a year later, representing S.S. Sambenedettese Calcio in two

Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...

seasons. Again in his country at the age of 31, he signed for

F.C. Famalicão Futebol Clube de Famalicão, commonly known as Famalicão, is a Portuguese professional association football, football club from Vila Nova de Famalicão. Founded on 21 August 1931, its senior team currently plays in the Primeira Liga, the top tie ...

, switching in 2007 to Santa Maria F.C. in amateur football ( fourth division). In 2012 Hilário returned to Freamunde, being appointed its

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...

.Hilário Leal: «Há clubes que não cumprem e é como se nada fosse» (Hilário Leal: «Some clubs do not comply and it is as if nothing had happened»)
; Record, 24 November 2012

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leal, Hilario 1974 births Living people Footballers from Ajaccio Portuguese men's footballers Men's association football defenders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players S.C. Freamunde players G.D. Chaves players F.C. Maia players F.C. Famalicão players Santa Maria F.C. players Serie A players AC Perugia Calcio players US Sambenedettese players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Italy

Football career

See also

References

External links