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Report: It has been another disappointing season for Gabriel Milito. The Argentinian has struggled ever since he tore his ACL three years ago and this season was no different. Milito was rarely featured on the pitch, but even when he was, it was in games against "lesser" opponents as Guardiola just didn't trust him against teams with a strong attacking game. And Pep had a good reason for that; Gabi just isn't as good as he was before the career threatening injury.
But even against teams from the lower half of the table Milito struggled. He was often caught out of position, his tackling was weak and his lack of pace meant even slower attackers had no trouble getting by him. In just over 1000 minutes on the pitch Milito (and his defensive partner) allowed 15 goals. Not trying to pick on Gabi, but most of them were his fault. 15 doesn't sound much, but Barcelona as a team only allowed 39 in all competitions, throughout the season.
The lack of playing time in the last two season didn't do Milito any good. Not only did it result in lack of confidence, it also significantly diminished his usually strong command of the backline.
Moment of the season: This is a tough one, a really tough one. Milito didn't have many good game, but of the few good ones the best one came on 22 September 2010 against Sporting Gijón. He made a superb pass to set up Andres Iniesta, who had his shot saved. Gabi also made good plays to fend off Miguel de las Cuevas and David Barral in two rare chances for the visitors. Barcelona won the game by the score of 1-0, courtesy of David Villa's strike.
Barcelona vs Sporting Gijon 1 0 22 09 2010 (via sfas313)
Stats:
| Appearances | 17 |
| Games started | 12 |
| Started on the bench | 29 |
| Substitute in | 5 |
| Substitute out | 7 |
| Minutes played | 1028 |
| Goals scored | 0 |
| Assists | 0 |
| Shots | 1 |
| Shots on goal | 1 |
| Fouls committed | 6 |
| Fouls suffered | 7 |
| Yellow cards | 3 |
| Red cards | 0 |
Record with Gabriel Milito in the starting lineup: 8-2-2
2011/12 Outlook: Odds are Milito won't start next season as a Barcelona player. The team is actively shopping him, but so far there haven't been many bites. On the off chance Gabriel will return he won't make many appearances. He will serve as a backup, probably even playing less minutes than Andreu Fontas, the player I review next.
Next up: Andreu Fontàs
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