 Milito playing forArgentina in 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gabriel Alejandro Milito[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1980-09-07)7 September 1980 (age 45)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bernal, Argentina | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre-back | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Guadalajara (head coach) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Independiente | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2003 | Independiente | 123 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2007 | Zaragoza | 137 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2011 | Barcelona | 84 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Independiente | 31 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 339 | (9) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997 | Argentina U17 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | Argentina U20 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2011 | Argentina | 42 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Estudiantes | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Independiente | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | O'Higgins | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Estudiantes | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Argentinos Juniors | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Atlético Mineiro | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Guadalajara | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Gabriel Alejandro Milito (born 7 September 1980) is an Argentine professionalfootball coach and former player who played as acentre-back. He is currently head coach ofLiga MX clubGuadalajara.
Milito began and concluded his professional career atIndependiente. He spent seven years in Spain, playing forZaragoza andBarcelona, accumulatingLa Liga totals of 187 matches and six goals. He retired in June 2012, beginning his coaching career the following year.
On the international stage, Milito representedArgentina at theFIFA World Cup in 2006 and at theCopa América in 2007 and 2011.
Born inBernal,Buenos Aires Province, Milito started playing professionally withPrimera División sideIndependiente in 1997. During that time he often faced his older brotherDiego, who played for Independiente's arch-rivalsRacing Club de Avellaneda.[3]
In July 2003, Milito was due to be transferred toReal 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 asdirector 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 joinedReal Zaragoza.[8]
In his four seasons with theAragonese, Milito was an automatic first choice and won theCopa del Rey in his first season against former suitors Real Madrid;[9] he never played fewer than 33La Liga matches, and rejoined sibling Diego in 2005. In July that year, he was pursued by European championsLiverpool and their Spanish managerRafael Benítez, whose£7.5 million approach was rejected;[10] he then signed a new contract until 2010, with abuyout clause of€30 million.[11]
Italian newspaperTuttosport published an interview in June 2007 in which Milito – who holds thecountry's passport through descent – said that he wanted to leave forJuventus. The player denied the meeting had taken place.[12]
On 10 July 2007, an agreement was reached withBarcelona for €18.5million (£13.9 million) and, the following week, Milito passed his medical and signed a four-year deal with the club worth €4 million (£2.7 million) a year;[13] he was given the number 3 shirt, which was formerly worn byThiago Motta.
Milito made his competitive debut for Barcelona on 2 September 2007, in a 3–1 home win againstAthletic Bilbao.[14] He scored his first goal for theCatalans on 24 November, in a 3–0 victory overRecreativo de Huelva also at theCamp Nou.[15]
On 5 May 2008, it was announced that Milito had damage to theanterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.[16] This rendered him ineligible for the entire2008–09 campaign, which ended in atreble.
After being sidelined for almost two years (602 days), Milito finally returned to action when he played in afriendly withKazma inKuwait.[17] On 5 January 2010, he made his return to competitive football in the first leg of theCopa del Rey'sround of 16, a 1–2 home loss againstSevilla.[18] He reappeared in the domestic league five days later, coming on as asubstitute forCarles Puyol for the final seven minutes of the 5–0 away win overTenerife.[19]
Milito contributed one goal to a 5–1 home win againstCeuta inthe domestic cup on 11 November 2010 (7–1 on aggregate), but had to leave the game injured.[20][21] On 30 April 2011, starting in a league match atReal 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;[22] as a result of his action he also tore acalf muscle, being sidelined for the rest ofthe season[23] 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,[24] and signed shortly after with former club Independiente. On 12 June 2012, he announced his retirement due to being mentally and physically exhausted.[25]
Milito participated in the2005 FIFA Confederations Cup withArgentina, helping the nation tothe final. He was also part of the squad which took part in the2006 FIFA World Cup, performing well in his only appearance, the group stage match against theNetherlands which ended in a 0–0 draw.[26]
Milito was selected to the2007 Copa América squad. He contributed five appearances, as theAlbiceleste finished in second position inVenezuela.[27][28][29][30][31]
On 20 August 2010, national team coachSergio Batista recalled Milito for a friendly withSpain the following month, the player's first international appearance in more than three years.[32] He started in the 4–1 win inBuenos Aires,[33] and he was subsequently selected for the2011 Copa América,[34] 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 presidentHugo Moyano.[35]
On 15 April 2015, Milito replacedMauricio Pellegrino at the helm ofEstudiantes, after being convinced by presidentJuan Sebastián Verón.[36] Despite good results, he resigned at the end of the year.[37]
On 12 May 2016, Milito was re-appointed as Independiente manager, again in the place of Pellegrino. He signed an 18-month contract.[38]
Milito started his first coaching adventure outside Argentina on 9 August 2017, signing for two years withO'Higgins from theChilean Primera División.[39] He returned to Estudiantes on a three-year deal on 11 March 2019[40] but, one year later, after being ousted in theround of 64 of theCopa Argentina by lowlyDeportivo Laferrere, he again resigned.[41]
In January 2021, Milito signed a three-year contract atArgentinos Juniors, replacingDiego Dabove who had moved toSan Lorenzo.[42] At the end of the2022 season, having qualified for theCopa Libertadores, he extended his contract to 2027 but with a clause to cancel it.[43] He unexpectedly used the option on 30 August 2023, after a 1–0 home loss toSan Martín in thelast 16 of the domestic cup.[44]
On 24 March 2024, Milito was announced as head coach of Brazilian clubAtlético Mineiro, agreeing to a deal running until December 2025.[45] He took charge ahead of the2024 Campeonato Mineiro finals and led the team to the title with an aggregate 5–3 win over archrivalsCruzeiro.[46]
Milito also ledGalo to the finals of both the2024 Copa do Brasil and the2024 Copa Libertadores, but lost both titles. On 4 December 2024, after a 12-winless match run, he was sacked.[47]
On 26 May 2025, Mexican clubGuadalajara announced Milito as their new head coach.[48]
Milito's older brother,Diego, was also a footballer. Astriker, he played with individual and team success forInter Milan, and they both represented Real Zaragoza and the national team.[49][50]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 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 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 October 2007 | José Pachencho Romero,Maracaibo, Venezuela |  Venezuela | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification[52] |
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 30 August 2023 | 135 | 57 | 35 | 43 | 162 | 127 | +35 | 042.22 | |
| Atlético Mineiro |  | 24 March 2024 | 4 December 2024 | 62 | 23 | 20 | 19 | 85 | 77 | +8 | 037.10 |
| Guadalajara |  | 26 May 2025 | present | 20 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 33 | 26 | +7 | 050.00 |
| Total | 327 | 136 | 90 | 101 | 407 | 329 | +78 | 041.59 | |||
Independiente
Zaragoza
Barcelona
Argentina
Individual
Atlético Mineiro
Argentina squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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