Diego Milito facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Diego Milito

Milito in 2015 in a press conference
Personal information
Full name	Diego Alberto Milito
Date of birth	(1979-06-12) 12 June 1979 (age 46)
Place of birth	Bernal, Argentina
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Racing Club
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2003	Racing Club	137	(34)
2003–2005	Genoa	59	(33)
2005–2008	Zaragoza	108	(53)
2008–2009	Genoa	31	(24)
2009–2014	Inter Milan	128	(62)
2014–2016	Racing Club	52	(18)
Total		516	(224)
International career
2003–2011	Argentina	25	(4)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Argentina Copa América Runner-up 2007 Venezuela {{{3}}}
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Diego Alberto Milito (born 12 June 1979) is an Argentine former professional football player. He played as a striker, which means he was a forward player whose main job was to score goals. People called him Il Principe ("The Prince" in Italian). This was because he looked a bit like another famous footballer, Enzo Francescoli, who also had that nickname.

Milito started his football journey in Argentina with Racing Club in 1999. Later, he moved to Italy to play for Genoa in 2003. In 2005, he joined the Spanish club Real Zaragoza for three seasons. He then went back to Genoa in 2008. Because he scored so many goals during his second time at Genoa, he moved to Inter Milan. At Inter, he was super important in their amazing 2010 season, when they won three big trophies! He scored 30 goals that year, including two goals in the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final. He returned to Racing Club in 2014 and retired from playing in 2016. For his country, Argentina, Milito played 25 games and scored 4 goals. He also played in two Copa América tournaments and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Playing for Clubs

Racing Club

Milito began his career at Racing Club in Argentina's top league in 1999. He helped them win the 2001 Apertura tournament. During this time, his younger brother, Gabriel Milito, played for Racing's biggest rival, Independiente. This meant the brothers often played against each other in the exciting Avellaneda derby matches.

Genoa

In early 2004, Milito moved to Italy to play for Genoa, a team in the second division. He had two very successful seasons, scoring 33 goals in 59 games. However, Genoa faced a problem and was moved down to a lower league. Because of this, Milito had to leave the club. He then joined his brother Gabriel at Real Zaragoza in Spain.

Real Zaragoza

Milito quickly made a name for himself in Spain. In 2006, he scored four goals in a Copa del Rey semi-final match against Real Madrid, helping his team win 6–1! He finished that season as Zaragoza's top scorer with 16 goals.

In the 2006–07 season, Milito was one of the best goal scorers in the league. He scored 23 goals, showing how talented he was. He even became the team captain at Zaragoza after his brother Gabriel left. His contract was extended, and he continued to score lots of goals, helping Zaragoza finish high in the league. In total, he scored 61 goals in his three seasons with the club.

Return to Genoa

On 1 September 2008, Milito made a surprising move back to Genoa. Even though other big European clubs wanted him, he chose to return to his former team. He played his first game back in Italy's top league, Serie A, on 14 September against Milan. Genoa won 2–0, with Milito setting up one goal and scoring the other. He scored his first hat-trick (three goals in one game) for Genoa on 9 November. He ended the season with 24 goals in 31 league games, making him one of the top scorers in the league.

Inter Milan

2009–10 Season: The Treble

Milito playing for Inter in 2009

In May 2009, Diego Milito joined Inter Milan, one of Italy's biggest clubs. He quickly settled in, scoring two goals against city rivals Milan in a friendly match. In his first league game against Milan, he helped Inter win 4–0 by assisting two goals and scoring one himself. He continued to score regularly, showing how important he was to the team.

Milito scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League on 4 November, helping Inter win against Dynamo Kyiv. He scored another important goal in the Champions League against Chelsea in February. He also scored the winning goal in a Champions League quarter-final against CSKA Moscow. He was a key player in Inter's journey to the Champions League final.

Milito's number 22 Inter Milan shirt from the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final at the San Siro museum

The 2009–10 season was amazing for Milito and Inter. He played a huge part in Inter winning the "treble" – three major trophies in one season!

• On 5 May 2010, he scored the only goal in the Coppa Italia final against Roma, winning the first trophy.
• Eleven days later, he scored the goal that secured Inter's 18th Scudetto (Italian league title) on the very last day of the season. Milito said this was the "best goal of his career."
• On 22 May 2010, Milito was the hero in the Champions League Final against Bayern Munich. He scored both goals in a 2–0 victory, making Inter European champions for the first time in 45 years!

Milito finished this incredible season with 30 goals in all competitions.

2010–11 Season

After the treble, Milito signed a new four-year contract with Inter. In August 2010, he was named the best player and best striker in Europe for the previous season. He helped Inter win the Supercoppa Italiana (Italian Super Cup). He scored his first league goals of the season in a 4–0 win against Bari. In December, Milito scored a goal in the semi-finals of the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup, which Inter went on to win. In January 2011, he won awards for "Best Foreign Player" and "Best Footballer of the Year" in Italy. He scored 8 goals in 34 games that season.

2011–12 Season

In the first game of the 2011–12 season, Milito scored two goals. On 2 November, he scored his 200th club goal in a Champions League match against Lille.

On 15 January 2012, Milito scored the only goal in the Derby della Madonnina against Milan, helping Inter win 1–0. This goal was his 200th for an Italian club! He had a great record in derby matches, scoring seven goals in just nine games in Italy.

On 1 February, Milito scored all four of Inter's goals in an exciting 4–4 draw against Palermo. This was his second time scoring four goals in a single game! He also scored hat-tricks against Genoa and Milan later in the season. He finished the season with 24 goals.

2012–13 Season

Milito started the 2012–13 season by scoring in Inter's first game. On 28 October, he played his 100th Serie A match for Inter. A few days later, he scored his 200th career goal in all competitions. On 4 November, he scored two goals against Juventus in Turin, helping Inter win 3–1 and ending Juventus's amazing 49-match unbeaten run at their stadium.

Milito was the top scorer in Serie A during the 2012 calendar year with 28 goals. Unfortunately, he suffered a serious knee injury in February 2013, which meant he couldn't play for the rest of the season.

2013–14 Season

Milito returned to play for Inter in September 2013, scoring two goals in a big 7–0 win. However, injuries continued to bother him. In total, he scored 75 goals in 171 games for Inter during his five seasons with the club.

Return to Racing

In 2014, Milito made an emotional return to his first club, Racing Club. He scored in his first game back, helping the team win 3–1. He continued to score important goals and provide assists.

On 30 November, he scored two goals in a 3–0 win, which put Racing at the top of the league with only one match left. Racing then won the 2014 Transición championship, their first title in 13 years! Milito had also been on the team that won in 2001. He said winning the league with Racing again was a "dream come true."

On 21 May, Milito scored from a penalty in his very last professional game, at age 36. Racing won 2–0. He ended his club career with an impressive 254 goals in 607 games.

Playing for Argentina

Milito played his first game for the Argentina on 31 January 2003, and he scored his first goal in that match. He scored two more goals in July 2003. He played for Argentina in the 2007 Copa América tournament, where he scored a goal against Colombia. Argentina reached the final but lost to Brazil.

Because he played so well for Genoa, he was called up more often to the national team. He was part of the Argentina squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He played in two games as Argentina reached the quarter-finals. In 2011, he was also included in the squad for the 2011 Copa América, alongside his brother Gabriel.

Retirement

After he stopped playing professional football, his last club, Racing Club, held a special tribute match for him on 12 November 2016. Many of his former teammates, friends, and family members played in the game. Milito, at 37, scored two goals and received a huge cheer from the Racing fans. They see him as one of the club's most important players ever.

How He Played

Diego Milito was a fast, skilled, and smart forward. He had great vision and was calm when scoring goals. He was known for his clever movements and his ability to score with his head and both feet, even though he was naturally right-footed. He was also very good at taking penalty kicks.

People often said he was an "underrated" player. This means he was very good and scored lots of goals, but he didn't always get as much attention as other famous players. This was partly because he played for smaller teams before joining Inter. But after he helped Inter win the treble, everyone finally saw how amazing he was. The Guardian newspaper wrote that his goals in the Champions League final showed "vision, timing, flawless technique and sangfroid" (meaning calmness).

Milito sometimes had problems with injuries during his career.

Sports Manager Role

After retiring as a player, Diego Milito became the sports manager for Racing Club. In this role, he helped bring in great players and build a strong team. Under his management, Racing won two more titles: the Superliga 2018/19 and the Trofeo de Campeones 2019.

Milito left his manager job at the end of 2020 because he had different ideas from the club's leaders.

Personal Life

Diego Milito has strong Italian family roots, as his father's family came from Italy. He also has Spanish roots from his mother's side. Milito is married to Sofía, and they have three children. His younger brother, Gabriel Milito, was also a professional footballer. They even played against each other in Champions League games when Gabriel was at Barcelona. On the day he retired from football, Milito celebrated the birth of his third daughter, Morena. His son, Leandro, is currently part of the Racing Club youth team, hoping to follow in his father's footsteps.

Career Statistics

Club

International

Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Milito goal.

List of international goals scored by Diego Milito

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	31 January 2003	Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras	Honduras	1–0	3–1	Friendly
2	16 July 2003	Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina	Uruguay	1–0	2–2	Friendly
3				2–0
4	2 July 2007	Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela	Colombia	4–2	4–2	2007 Copa América

Honours

Racing Club

• Argentine Primera División: Apertura 2001, 2014 Transición

Real Zaragoza

• Copa del Rey runner-up: 2005–06

Inter Milan

• Serie A: 2009–10
• Coppa Italia: 2009–10, 2010–11
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2010
• UEFA Champions League: 2009–10
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2010

Individual

• Guerin d'Oro: 2008–09
• Serie A Goalscorer of the Year: 2009
• FIFA FIFPro World XI nominee: 2009, 2010
• Serie A Most Loved Player: 2009
• 2010 UEFA Champions League Final: UEFA Man of the Match
• UEFA Club Forward of the Year: 2009–10
• UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2009–10
• Serie A Footballer of the Year: 2009–10
• Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 2009–10
• Inter Milan Hall of Fame: 2020

See also

In Spanish: Diego Milito para niños