Henrique Hilario recently ended his 16-year spell at Chelsea to become England’s new goalkeeping coach.
The move sees the former Portugal international reunite with new England boss Thomas Tuchel, whom he worked under during the German’s time at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel, who was appointed as Gareth Southgate’s successor in October, will begin his new role in the new year.
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Here’s everything you need to know about Hilario, who Jose Mourinho once said he’d consider playing as a striker.
Hilario's early career
Hilario – full name Henrique Hilario Meireles Alves Sampaio – was born in 1975, in Sao Pedro da Cova, Portugal. As a teenager, he joined the youth ranks of Porto, one of Portugal’s biggest clubs, before moving to Naval in 1994, where he made his professional debut.
Following a year at Naval and another with neighbours Academica, he re-joined Porto following the departure of Vítor Baia to Barcelona.
Across eight years at the Estadio do Dragao, Hilario made just 59 appearances for Porto and was loaned out to four different clubs, the last of which, Nacional, he was sold to in 2004.
Hilario joins Chelsea
Following two seasons at Nacional, Hilario moved to Chelsea in 2006 on a free transfer, joining former Porto boss Jose Mourinho.
Upon joining the Blues, Hilario, who was 30 years old and set to be behind Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini in the pecking order, said: “I have come here with two aims, to work hard and to make it difficult for Mourinho.”
He added: “I want to complicate his life. There are many minutes in a season and I am going to work hard in order to earn the confidence of the coach.”
Mourinho said: “I already worked with him and I know he is intelligent. It’s necessary to be intelligent in order to be a substitute to the best goalkeeper in the world.”
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Despite his intentions, Hilario was never able to complicate the life of Mourinho, nor any of the other Chelsea managers he played under.
He went on to make just 39 appearances for the Blues over eight seasons before retiring in 2014 at the age of 38.
He did have some memorable moments during his time in west London, including keeping a clean sheet in a 2-0 win over Liverpool in October 2009, and saving a penalty in Chelsea’s Community Shield victory against Manchester United the same year.
His most notable moment in blue was perhaps his debut, when he shut out European champions FC Barcelona in the group stages of the 2006/07 Champions League, helping Chelsea secure an unlikely 1-0 win.
Against Barca, Hilario pulled off saves to deny Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho, and was lauded by Mourinho after the game.
“Hilario showed his security from the first moment,” the Portuguese boss said. “The team gave him confidence and he gave confidence to the team. He played a comfortable game.”
Hilario's international career
Having been behind several goalkeepers in the pecking order on the international stage, opportunities were few and far between for the Portuguese. Hilario had turned out for Portugal at under-20 and under-21 level, as well as for his country’s B team.
Hilario only earned one senior international cap for his country, playing 45 minutes in a friendly win over China in March 2010, keeping a clean sheet in the process.
Hilario's return to Chelsea as GK coach
Two years after leaving Stamford Bridge, Hilario returned as an assistant goalkeeping coach under Antonio Conte. In 2018, he was promoted to the position of goalkeeping coach by Maurizio Sarri.
He kept that same role under the tenures of Frank Lampard, Tuchel, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino and Enzo Maresca, helping develop the likes of Edouard Mendy, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Djordje Petrovic.
Mendy, who was Chelsea’s first-choice keeper during the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons, told the club’s official website that he “learned a lot with Hilario”.
Hilario's reunion with Tuchel at England
Word that Hilario could leave Chelsea for England first began to spread in October, when The Standard reported that Tuchel wanted the former Porto man as part of his new Three Lions backroom staff, along with performance analyst James Melbourne.
When asked about The Standard’s report in a press conference, Maresca replied: “I know that one of them has been approached; one of the analysts. We are quite open for people to leave and take their chances in case they want to take it.
“The other one, Hilario, I heard something but there has not been any approach yet. This is the only thing I know. We are open-minded in terms of allowing people to take chances and also we are happy to keep people who want to stay and if they want to go, they can go.”
Just a few weeks later, both Hilario and Melbourne left Chelsea for England, where they will begin work on 1st January when Tuchel officially takes charge.
Though their departure hasn’t been confirmed by Chelsea, The Telegraph reports that it is official.