Gabriel Alejandro Milito (born 7 September 1980) is an Argentine former footballer who played as a central defender, currently the manager of Argentinos Juniors.
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Gabriel Alejandro Milito[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1980-09-07) 7 September 1980 (age 42)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Bernal, Argentina | ||
Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Centre back | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Argentinos Juniors (manager) | ||
Youth career | |||
Independiente | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1997–2003 | Independiente | 123 | (3) |
2003–2007 | Zaragoza | 137 | (5) |
2007–2011 | Barcelona | 48 | (1) |
2011–2012 | Independiente | 31 | (0) |
Total | 339 | (9) | |
National team | |||
1997 | Argentina U17 | 4 | (0) |
1999 | Argentina U20 | 2 | (0) |
2000–2011 | Argentina | 42 | (1) |
Teams managed | |||
2013–2014 | Independiente (reserves) | ||
2015 | Estudiantes | ||
2016 | Independiente | ||
2017–2018 | O'Higgins | ||
2019–2020 | Estudiantes | ||
2021– | Argentinos Juniors | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
He spent most of his professional career in Spain, representing Zaragoza and Barcelona. Over seven seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 187 matches and six goals.
Milito appeared with the Argentine national team in three major tournaments, including the 2006 World Cup, winning 42 caps.
Born in Bernal, Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province, Milito started playing professionally with Primera División side Club Atlético Independiente in 1997. During that time he often faced his older brother Diego, who played for Independiente's arch-rivals Racing Club de Avellaneda.[3]
In July 2003, Milito was due to be transferred to Real Madrid,[4] but the Spaniards rejected the player after medical results showed, according to them, a not-fully-recovered knee injury;[5] Jorge Valdano, who acted as director of football, further added that the player had always been appreciated for his technical skills, but his physical state was a cause for great concern.[6][7] He decided to stay in the country, and joined Real Zaragoza.[8]
In his four seasons with the Aragonese, Milito was an automatic first choice (never played fewer than 33 La Liga matches), and rejoined sibling Diego in 2005. On 10 July 2007, an agreement was reached with FC Barcelona for €18.5million (£13.9 million) and, the following week, he passed his medical and signed a four-year deal with the club worth €4 million (£2.7 million) a year;[9] he was given the number 3 shirt, which was formerly worn by Thiago Motta.
Milito made his competitive debut for Barcelona on 2 September 2007, in a 3–1 home win against Athletic Bilbao.[10] He scored his first goal for the Catalans on 24 November, in a 3–0 victory over Recreativo de Huelva also at the Camp Nou.[11]
On 5 May 2008, it was announced that Milito had damage to the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.[12] This rendered him ineligible for the entire 2008–09 campaign, which ended in a treble.
After being sidelined for almost two years (602 days), Milito finally returned to action when he played in a friendly with Kazma SC in Kuwait.[13] On 5 January 2010, he made his return to competitive football in the first leg of the Copa del Rey's round of 16, a 1–2 home loss against Sevilla FC.[14] He reappeared in the domestic league five days later, coming on as a substitute for Carles Puyol for the final seven minutes of the 5–0 home defeat of CD Tenerife.[15]
Milito contributed one goal to a 5–1 home win against AD Ceuta in the domestic cup on 11 November 2010 (7–1 on aggregate), but had to leave the game injured.[16][17] On 30 April 2011, starting in a league match at Real Sociedad, he had a goal wrongfully ruled out for offside with the score at 1–1, as the hosts went on to win it 2–1;[18] as a result of his action he also tore a calf muscle, being sidelined for the rest of the season[19] and making ten appearances for the eventual champions.
In early August 2011, the 30-year-old Milito was released from the last year of his contract with Barcelona,[20] and signed shortly after with former club Independiente. On 12 June 2012, he announced his retirement due to being mentally and physically exhausted.[21]
Milito participated in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup with Argentina, helping the nation to the final. He was also part of the squad which took part in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, performing well in his only appearance, the group stage match against the Netherlands which ended in a 0–0 draw.[22]
Milito was selected to the 2007 Copa América squad. He contributed five appearances, as the Albiceleste finished in second position in Venezuela.[23][24][25][26][27]
On 20 August 2010, national team coach Sergio Batista recalled Milito for a friendly with Spain the following month, the player's first international appearance in more than three years.[28] He started in the 4–1 win in Buenos Aires,[29] and he was subsequently selected for the 2011 Copa América,[30] appearing in all the games for the eventual quarter-finalists.
Milito's first coaching experience was with the reserves team of Independiente. He resigned late into 2014, due to differences with the club's president Hugo Moyano.[31]
On 15 April 2015, Milito replaced Mauricio Pellegrino at the helm of Estudiantes de La Plata, after being convinced by president Juan Sebastián Verón.[32] Despite good results, he resigned at the end of the year.[33]
On 12 May 2016, Milito was re-appointed as Independiente manager, again in the place of Pellegrino. He signed an 18-month contract.[34]
Milito started his first coaching adventure outside Argentina on 9 August 2017, signing for two years with O'Higgins F.C. from the Chilean Primera División.[35] He returned to Estudiantes on a three-year deal on 11 March 2019[36] but, one year later, after being ousted in the round of 64 of the Copa Argentina by lowly Deportivo Laferrere, he again resigned.[37]
In January 2021, Milito signed a three-year contract at Argentinos Juniors, replacing Diego Dabove who had moved to San Lorenzo de Almagro.[38]
Milito's older brother, Diego, was also a footballer. A striker, he played with individual and team success for Inter Milan, and they both represented Real Zaragoza and the national team.[39][40]
Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Independiente | 1997–98 | Argentine Primera División | 2 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | |||
1998–99 | Argentine Primera División | 25 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 27 | 0 | ||
1999–2000 | Argentine Primera División | 34 | 2 | – | 8 | 0 | 42 | 2 | ||
2000–01 | Argentine Primera División | 25 | 1 | – | 5 | 0 | 30 | 1 | ||
2001–02 | Argentine Primera División | 3 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | ||||
2002–03 | Argentine Primera División | 34 | 0 | – | 34 | 0 | ||||
Total | 123 | 3 | – | 15 | 0 | 138 | 3 | |||
Zaragoza | 2003–04 | La Liga | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
2004–05 | La Liga | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 43 | 3 | |
2005–06 | La Liga | 34 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 | |
2006–07 | La Liga | 35 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 1 | |
Total | 137 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 151 | 5 | ||
Barcelona | 2007–08 | La Liga | 27 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 42 | 1 |
2008–09 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
2009–10 | La Liga | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
2010–11 | La Liga | 10 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 1 | |
Total | 48 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 75 | 2 | ||
Independiente | 2011–12 | Argentine Primera División | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
Career total | 308 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 43 | 0 | 364 | 10 |
Argentina | ||
Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|
2000 | 1 | 0 |
2001 | 0 | 0 |
2002 | 0 | 0 |
2003 | 4 | 0 |
2004 | 3 | 0 |
2005 | 6 | 0 |
2006 | 5 | 0 |
2007 | 14 | 1 |
2008 | 0 | 0 |
2009 | 0 | 0 |
2010 | 2 | 0 |
2011 | 7 | 0 |
Total | 42 | 1 |
(Argentina score listed first, score column indicates score after each Milito goal)
Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 16 October 2007 | José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela | Venezuela | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2010 World Cup qualification[43] |
Independiente
Zaragoza
Barcelona
Individual
Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
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G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
Estudiantes | 15 April 2015 | 5 December 2015 | 31 | 16 | 9 | 6 | 42 | 23 | +19 | 051.61 | |
Independiente | 12 May 2016 | 31 December 2016 | 19 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 11 | +3 | 042.11 | |
O'Higgins | 14 August 2017 | 30 June 2018 | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 35 | 37 | −2 | 038.46 | |
Estudiantes | 11 March 2019 | 4 March 2020 | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 36 | 28 | +8 | 035.29 | |
Argentinos Juniors | 19 January 2021 | present | 95 | 40 | 25 | 30 | 112 | 89 | +23 | 042.11 | |
Total | 205 | 86 | 57 | 62 | 239 | 188 | +51 | 041.95 |
Argentina squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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2002 South American Team of the Year | |
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Footballer of the Year of Argentina | |||||
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Original award |
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Shared award |
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Argentinos Juniors – current squad | |
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Current Argentine Primera División managers | |
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Managerial positions | |||||||||||||||||
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