.jpg) Hilgers playing forTwente in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mees Victor Joseph Hilgers[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2001-05-13)13 May 2001 (age 24) | ||
| Place of birth | Amersfoort, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Twente | ||
| Number | 2 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2009 | Nieuwland | ||
| 2009–2011 | Sparta Nijkerk | ||
| 2011–2020 | Twente | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020– | Twente | 111 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022 | Netherlands U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2024– | Indonesia | 4 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10 June 2025 | |||
Mees Victor Joseph Hilgers (born 13 May 2001) is a professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back forEredivisie clubTwente. Born in the Netherlands, he represents theIndonesia national team.
Hilgers started playing football atASC Nieuwland in his hometown ofAmersfoort. After moving toNijkerk, he played in the youth team ofSparta Nijkerk. At the age of ten, he moved to the academy of FC Twente.
On 6 December 2018, Hilgers signed his first professional contract withTwente.[3] He made his professional debut withTwente in a 2–1Eredivisie win overAjax on 5 December 2020.[4]
In the 2022–23 season, Hilgers was out of action for some time from March due to a groin injury. After returning he lost his starting place toJulio Pleguezuelo. He seemed to be heading for a departure from Twente, but he signed a new contract in July 2023 until mid-2026.[5][6]
On 13 August 2024, Hilgers scored a goal againstRed Bull Salzburg in the second leg ofUEFA Champions League Third qualifying round in a 3–3 draw, but Twente lost 4–5 on aggregate.[7]
On 25 September 2024, Hilgers started and played the full 90 minutes againstManchester United atOld Trafford in a 1–1 draw in the2024–25 UEFA Europa League league stage.[8] He also played the following match, a 1–1 draw againstFenerbahçe at home, where he became the first Indonesian to play in the Europa League.
Hilgers is a former youth international for Netherlands at under-21 level.[9]
In September 2024, Hilgers confirmed that he had decided to represent Indonesia at international level.[10] On 1 October 2024, he was called up for2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers matches againstBahrain andChina.[11] On 10 October 2024, he made his debut against Bahrain in a 2–2 draw.[12]
Born in the Netherlands, Hilgers is of Indonesian descent.[13]
On 30 September 2024, Hilgers officially obtained Indonesian citizenship after being sworned as citizens of Indonesia during a ceremony at the Indonesian Embassy alongsideEliano Reijnders.[14]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Twente | 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| 2022–23 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | |||
| 2023–24 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | — | 33 | 0 | |||
| 2024–25 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8[b] | 1 | — | 34 | 2 | |||
| Career total | 111 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 131 | 4 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | 2024 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |
