Henrique Hilário

Football player infobox
playername = Henrique Hilário


fullname = Henrique Hilário Meireles Alves Sampaio
height = height|m=1.90
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1975|10|21
cityofbirth = São Pedro da Cova
countryofbirth = Portugal
currentclub = Chelsea
clubnumber = 40
position = Goalkeeper
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1994–1995 1995–1996 1996–2003 1998–1999 2001–2002 2002–2003 2003–2006 2006–
clubs = Naval 1º de Maio Académica Coimbra FC Porto →Estrela Amadora (loan) →Varzim (loan) →Académica Coimbra (loan) Nacional Chelsea
caps(goals) = - (-)
- (-)
30 (0) 27 (0) 24 (0) 10 (0) 56 (0) 14 (0)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate = 17:40, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate =

Henrique Hilário Meireles Alves Sampaio (born October 21, 1975 in São Pedro da Cova, Gondomar, Porto), known simply as Hilário, is a Portuguese footballer, who plays as a goalkeeper for the English Premier League side Chelsea.

Club career

Having joined Portuguese Liga powerhouse FC Porto in 1996, he found opportunities hard to come by and served several loan stints with Portuguese outfits. In three seasons (2003-06, 2003-04 still on loan) with Madeira's Clube Desportivo Nacional, he developed as a topflight goalkeeper.

Hilário joined Chelsea FC on July 1, 2006 from Nacional, joining former Porto boss José Mourinho, the two having coincided there for a brief period, in the 2003–2004 pre-season. He was originally signed as third-choice goalkeeper, as back up to Petr Čech and Carlo Cudicini, [cite news | date=2006-06-01 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/5037406.stm | title=Chelsea close in on Hilario deal | publisher=BBC | accessdate=2007-04-06 | author=] but was handed a run in the first team after both Čech and Cudicini sustained injuries in Chelsea's game against Reading on October 14, 2006. [cite news | date=2006-10-14 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/6052028.stm | title=Mourinho angry as keepers injured | publisher=BBC | accessdate=2007-04-06 | author=] Hilário made his Chelsea debut on 18 October against FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 win. He made his Premier League debut three days later against Portsmouth.

Hilário's run in the side saw him make a total of 18 appearances in the 2006–07 season, even saving a penalty in the away game against Sheffield United. Čech's return to fitness in February 2007 saw him relegated to the substitute's bench again. He was an unused substitute in Chelsea's League Cup final win over Arsenal.

In the start of 2007/08, Hilário found himself again second-choice to both Čech and Cudicini, but made a substitute appearance against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, after Cech suffered a hip injury. He then went on to start against Newcastle United and Fulham, as Chelsea won both contests 2-1.

On April 8, 2008, he made a substitute appearance against Fenerbahce, due to injury to Cudicini, in the second leg of the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, and kept a clean sheet. Portuguese newspapers subsequently hinted at a possible call-up to the Portuguese national side. [cite news | date=2008-04-10 | url=http://www.record.pt/noticia.asp?id=782524&idCanal=292 | title=Hilario until May | publisher=Record | accessdate=2008-04-10
author= pt icon]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.zerozero.eu/uk/jogador.php?id=407&search=1 Stats and profile at zerozero.pt]
*soccerbase|id=44030|name=Henrique Hilário

Persondata
NAME= Sampaio, Henrique Hilário M. Alves
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Hilário, Henrique
SHORT DESCRIPTION= footballer
DATE OF BIRTH= 1975-10-21
PLACE OF BIRTH= São Pedro da Cova, Portugal
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=