Gabriel Alejandro Milito (born 7 September 1980) is an Argentine former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, currently the

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Argentinos Juniors Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was recognized as one of the ...

. He spent most of his professional career in Spain, representing

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. Over seven seasons, he amassed

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

totals of 187 matches and six goals. Milito appeared with the Argentina national team in three major tournaments, including the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

, winning 42

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

Playing career

Club

Early years

Born in Bernal,

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the south east of the Greater Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and it is the seat of the eponymous county. With a population of 230,810, it is located south of the ...

, 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 Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. ...

, who played for Independiente's arch-rivals

Racing Club de Avellaneda Racing Club de Avellaneda, officially known as Racing Club or shortened to just Racing, is an Argentine professional sports club based in Avellaneda, a city of the Buenos Aires Province. Founded in 1903, Racing has been historically considered o ...

Zaragoza

In July 2003, Milito was due to be transferred to Real Madrid, but the Spaniards rejected the player after medical results showed, according to them, a not-fully-recovered knee injury;

Jorge Valdano Jorge Alberto Francisco Valdano Castellanos (born 4 October 1955) is an Argentine former football player, coach, and the former general manager of Real Madrid. He is currently working as a commentator for beIN Sports. Nicknamed "The Philosophe ...

, who acted as

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

, further added that the player had always been appreciated for his technical skills, but his physical state was a cause for great concern. He decided to stay in the country, and joined

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at L ...

. In his four seasons with the Aragonese, Milito was an automatic first choice (never played fewer than 33

matches), and rejoined sibling Diego in 2005. On 10 July 2007, an agreement was reached with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

for

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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; he was given the number 3 shirt, which was formerly worn by

Thiago Motta Thiago Motta (; ; born 28 August 1982) is a professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of club Bologna. A midfielder, Motta spent his early career at Barcelona, where he was injury-prone. He played two and ...

Barcelona

Milito made his competitive debut for Barcelona on 2 September 2007, in a 3–1 home win against Athletic Bilbao. He scored his first goal for the

Catalans Catalans (Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; es, catalanes, Italian: ''catalani'', sc, cadelanos) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citize ...

on 24 November, in a 3–0 victory over

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football club based in Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 23 December 1889, 2 days before Christmas, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play i ...

also at the Camp Nou. On 5 May 2008, it was announced that Milito had damage to the

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

in his right knee. 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 Kazma Sporting Club ( ar, نادي كاظمة الرياضي) is a Kuwaiti professional association football club. Founded in 1964, the club competes in the Kuwaiti Premier League. Club history Naming The club is named after the area of Kathma. ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

. On 5 January 2010, he made his return to competitive football in the first leg of the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

, a 1–2 home loss against

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA E ...

. 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 Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1912, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez Lóp ...

. Milito contributed one goal to a 5–1 home win against

AD Ceuta Asociación Deportiva Ceuta was a Spanish football team based in the autonomous city of Ceuta. Founded in 1996, its last season was 2011–12 in Segunda División B, holding home matches at ''Estadio Alfonso Murube'', with a capacity of 6,500. ...

in the domestic cup on 11 November 2010 (7–1 on aggregate), but had to leave the game injured. 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; as a result of his action he also tore a

calf Calf most often refers to: * Calf (animal), the young of domestic cattle. * Calf (leg), in humans (and other primates), the back portion of the lower leg Calf or calves may also refer to: Biology and animal byproducts * Veal, meat from calves * ...

muscle, being sidelined for the rest of the season and making ten appearances for the eventual champions.

Return to Independiente

In early August 2011, the 30-year-old Milito was released from the last year of his contract with Barcelona, and signed shortly after with former club Independiente. On 12 June 2012, he announced his retirement due to being mentally and physically exhausted.

International

Milito participated in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup with

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, helping the nation to

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. He was also part of the squad which took part in the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

, performing well in his only appearance, the group stage match against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

which ended in a 0–0 draw. Milito was selected to the 2007 Copa América squad. He contributed five appearances, as the ''Albiceleste'' finished in second position in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. On 20 August 2010, national team coach

Sergio Batista Sergio Daniel "Checho" Batista (; born 9 November 1962) is an Argentine football manager and former international player. As a footballer he played as a midfield for Argentinos Juniors, River Plate, Nueva Chicago, Tosu Futures and All Boys. H ...

recalled Milito for a friendly with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

the following month, the player's first international appearance in more than three years. He started in the 4–1 win in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, and he was subsequently selected for the 2011 Copa América, appearing in all the games for the eventual quarter-finalists.

Coaching career

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. On 15 April 2015, Milito replaced

Mauricio Pellegrino Mauricio Andrés Pellegrino Luna (; born 5 October 1971) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, currently the manager of Chilean club Universidad de Chile. After nearly one decade with Vélez Sarsfield, ...

at the helm of Estudiantes de La Plata, after being convinced by president

Juan Sebastián Verón Juan Sebastián Verón (; born 9 March 1975) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current chairman of Estudiantes de La Plata, where he had served as Director of Sports. A former midfielder, Verón's career started in Estudiantes, c ...

. Despite good results, he resigned at the end of the year. On 12 May 2016, Milito was re-appointed as Independiente manager, again in the place of Pellegrino. He signed an 18-month contract. 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. He returned to Estudiantes on a three-year deal on 11 March 2019 but, one year later, after being ousted in the round of 64 of the

Copa Argentina The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), with the aim of qual ...

by lowly

Deportivo Laferrere Club Deportivo Laferrere is a football club from the homonymous district of La Matanza Partido, Greater Buenos Aires. The team currently plays in Primera C, the regionalized fourth division of the Argentine football league system. Laferrere was ...

, he again resigned. In January 2021, Milito signed a three-year contract at

, replacing Diego Dabove who had moved to

San Lorenzo de Almagro Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro, commonly known as San Lorenzo de Almagro or simply San Lorenzo (in English: ''Saint Lawrence''), is a sports club of Argentina in the Boedo district of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its football team ...

Personal life

Milito's older brother,

, was also a footballer. A striker, he played with individual and team success for

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...

, and they both represented Real Zaragoza and the national team.

Career statistics

Club

International

(Argentina score listed first, score column indicates score after each Milito goal)

Honours

Independiente * Argentine Primera División: Apertura 2002 Zaragoza *

: 2003–04 * Supercopa de España: 2004 Barcelona *

: 2009–10,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

*Supercopa de España: 2010 *

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

*Copa del Rey runner-up:

Individual * Argentine Footballer of the Year: 2002 *South American Team of the Year: 2002

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Milito, Gabriel 1980 births Living people Argentine people of Italian descent Argentine people of Calabrian descent Sportspeople from Buenos Aires Province Argentine footballers Association football defenders Argentine Primera División players Club Atlético Independiente footballers La Liga players Real Zaragoza players FC Barcelona players UEFA Champions League winning players Argentina youth international footballers Argentina under-20 international footballers Argentina international footballers 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2007 Copa América players 2011 Copa América players Argentine expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Argentine football managers Argentine Primera División managers Estudiantes de La Plata managers Club Atlético Independiente managers Argentinos Juniors managers Chilean Primera División managers O'Higgins F.C. managers Argentine expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Chile Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Chile