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Gabriel Alejandro Milito (born 7 September 1980) is an Argentine professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He is currently head coach of Liga MX club Guadalajara.
Milito began and concluded his professional career at Independiente. He spent seven years in Spain, playing for Real Zaragoza and FC Barcelona, accumulating La 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 represented Argentina at the FIFA World Cup in 2006 and at the Copa América in 2007 and 2011.
In his four seasons with the , Milito was an automatic first choice and won the Copa del Rey in his first season against former suitors Real Madrid; he never played fewer than 33 La Liga matches, and rejoined sibling Diego in 2005. In July that year, he was pursued by European champions Liverpool and their Spanish manager Rafael Benítez, whose Pound sterling7.5 million approach was rejected; he then signed a new contract until 2010, with a buyout clause of Euro30 million.
Italian newspaper Tuttosport published an interview in June 2007 in which Milito – who holds the Italian passport through descent – said that he wanted to leave for Juventus. The player denied the meeting had taken place.
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 Catalonia on 24 November, in a 3–0 victory over Recreativo de Huelva also at the Camp Nou.
On 5 May 2008, it was announced that Milito had damage to the anterior cruciate ligament 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 Exhibition game with Kazma SC in Kuwait. 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. 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 away win over CD Tenerife.
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. 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 muscle, being sidelined for the rest of the season and making ten appearances for the eventual champions.
Milito was selected to the 2007 Copa América squad. He contributed five appearances, as the Albiceleste finished in second position in Venezuela.
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. He started in the 4–1 win in Buenos Aires, and he was subsequently selected for the 2011 Copa América, appearing in all the games for the eventual quarter-finalists.
On 15 April 2015, Milito replaced Mauricio Pellegrino at the helm of Estudiantes, after being convinced by president Juan Sebastián Verón. 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 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 by lowly Deportivo Laferrere, he again resigned.
In January 2021, Milito signed a three-year contract at Argentinos Juniors, replacing Diego Dabove who had moved to San Lorenzo. At the end of the 2022 season, having qualified for the Copa Libertadores, he extended his contract to 2027 but with a clause to cancel it. He unexpectedly used the option on 30 August 2023, after a 1–0 home loss to San Martín in the last 16 of the domestic cup.
On 24 March 2024, Milito was announced as head coach of Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro, agreeing to a deal running until December 2025. He took charge ahead of the 2024 Campeonato Mineiro finals and led the team to the title with an aggregate 5–3 win over archrivals Cruzeiro.
Milito also led Galo to the finals of both the 2024 Copa do Brasil and the 2024 Copa Libertadores, but lost both titles. On 4 December 2024, after a 12-winless match run, he was sacked.
On 26 May 2025, Mexican club Guadalajara announced Milito as their new head coach.
| + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | |||
| Independiente | 1997–98 | Argentine Primera División | 0 |
| 1998–99 | Argentine Primera División | 0 | |
| 1999–2000 | Argentine Primera División | 2 | |
| 2000–01 | Argentine Primera División | 1 | |
| 2001–02 | Argentine Primera División | 0 | |
| 2002–03 | Argentine Primera División | 0 | |
| Real Zaragoza | 2003–04 | La Liga | 0 |
| 2004–05 | La Liga | 3 | |
| 2005–06 | La Liga | 1 | |
| 2006–07 | La Liga | 1 | |
| FC Barcelona | 2007–08 | La Liga | 1 |
| 2008–09 | La Liga | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | La Liga | 0 | |
| 2010–11 | La Liga | 1 | |
| Independiente | 2011–12 | Argentine Primera División | 0 |
| + Appearances and goals by national team and year | |
| Argentina | 0 |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| 1 | |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| + International goal scored by Gabriel Milito |
| 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| Estudiantes | 11 March 2019 | 4 March 2020 | |
| Argentinos Juniors | 19 January 2021 | 30 August 2023 | |
| Atlético Mineiro | 26 May 2025 | present | |
Zaragoza
Barcelona
Argentina
Individual
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