Hilário da Conceição

For Portuguese goalkeeper, See Henrique Hilário.

Hilário Rosário da Conceição (born in Lourenço Marques, now Maputo, Mozambique, 19 March 1939), commonly known by Hilário (Portuguese pronunciation: [iˈlaɾiu]), was one of the most prominent African–Portuguese football players of the 1960s generation, as a left defender, but, unlike his countrymen Eusébio, Mário Coluna and Costa Pereira, who played for S.L. Benfica, he played for Sporting.

He was first noticed at Sporting Lourenço Marques, the same team where Eusébio debuted, and signed for Sporting in 1959. He represented Sporting, from 1959/1960 to 1972/1973, winning titles of national champion in 1961/1962, 1965/1966 and 1969/1970, and the Cup of Portugal in 1963, 1971 and 1973. He missed the final of the Cup of the Cups, in 1964, wen Sporting won MTK Budapest by 1–0, due to an injury.

He appeared for the first time for the national team (the Selecção), on 11 November 1959, in a 3–5 loss against France, in a friendly match. He had 39 caps for the national team, until his last game, at 17 February 1971, a 0–3 loss to Belgium, in the Euro Cup qualifying. The apex of his career was at the Football World Cup 1966 finals, where he played all the games.^[1]

After ending his career, he was a football manager, with minor results.

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