August 16th, 2013
A nice snippet from The Hard Tackle this week about Gilberto:
Truth be told Arsenal are yet to replace Gilberto Silva. The Brazilian was the invisible shield ahead of the Arsenal defense and did all the dirty work cleanly, while it can be preposterous to compare Gustavo with Gilberto, but he has all the talents to play a similar role at Arsenal. The need of a Gilberto Silva in a team can often be overlooked, but despite their anonymity, a good defensive midfielder helps in bringing out the best in the flair players around him. Gustavo can take Arsenal one step closer to challenging for silverware once again.
Gilberto Silva was always a better player when he was not on the pitch (in that the press used to sing his praises when he wasn’t there to criticise), and now that he’s moved on from Arsenal, the press seem to have elevated him to legendary status.
He certainly deserves the praise, but if only he received it while he was playing!
Source: http://www.thehardtackle.com/2013/arsenal-luiz-gustavo-bayern-munich-tactics/
August 15th, 2013
Having moved back to his first big club in November 2012, Gilberto Silva helped Atletico Mineiro win the Copa Libertadores. The match was won on penalties.
Gilberto did not feature in the final, but he was in the Brazilian news with Ronaldinho.
Star Ronaldinho recalled an old partnership with Gilberto Silva. Playing together again after they won the World Cup in 2002 and the Confederations Cup in 2005 with the Brazilian national team.
“We won some career titles together; and so I knew when he came back, I said, ‘when you joined, it turned our season’,” Ronaldinho said.
Gilberto Silva, meanwhile, talked about his time at Atletico Mineiro earlier in the season which led to him being selected for the Brazilian national side.
“I feel privileged, I was chosen by God. It was here at Atletico-MG that I was chosen for the Brazilian national team and now I’m back. I am proud to be part of history,” added the ‘volante’ (Portuguese for ‘defensive midfielder’ – literally ‘steering wheel’).
Source: http://esporte.ig.com.br/futebol/2013-07-25/ronaldinho-gaucho-exalta-parceria-com-gilberto-silva-juntou-virou-titulo.html
Gilberto posted this photo of himself celebrating on his Instagram account:
August 10th, 2013
Gilberto has apparently “advised” his Atletico Mineiro team mate Bernard to move to Arsenal.
I should think the deal probably rests upon huge sums of money being moved around rather than a recommendation from a team mate…
Atletico Mineiro have told Arsenal they can have play-maker Bernard for £25million after officially putting him up for sale.
The Brazilian outfit, who won the Copa Libertadores title this week, are already planning for life without the 20-year-old with the Gunners stepping up their interest.
Arsene Wenger is known to be a long-term fan of Bernard, who is rated as the next big star to come out of South America.
And according to Mineiro director Eduardo Maluf, all Arsenal need to do to bag him is make an offer of at least £25million.
‘The president has already made very clear, if an offer of £25million arrives, he is going to sell and we will buy another player,’ Maluf told Globo.
Arsenal will face some notable competition to pull the deal off, with Borussia Dortmund, Porto, Benfica and Shakhtar Donetsk also keen.
However, reports in Brazil suggest Bernard has privately set his heart on a move to Arsenal, having been advised by his Mineiro team-mate and Gunners legend Gilberto Silva.
The 5 foot 5 inch play-maker had revealed earlier this week that he was ready to take his time to decide his future, but added he had received an exciting offer from a Premier League side already.
Arsenal alerted as Atletico Mineiro put Bernard up for sale for £25million
April 2nd, 2012
On March 29th, Gilberto Silva broke his nose while playing for Grêmio in Brazil. He’s apparently had some surgery to correct the issue, and he had the following to say:
Good afternoon all. I’d like to report that the [nose] surgery was successful, and that thanks to God, I’m back home.
More coverage in English and Portuguese:
http://esportes.terra.com.br/gremio/noticias/0,,OI5696185-EI19361,00-Gilberto+Silva+assegura+cirurgia+no+nariz+foi+um+sucesso.html
http://sports.ndtv.com/football/news/item/187856-gilberto-silva-undergoes-surgery-on-nose
Get well soon, Gibba.
June 25th, 2011
Gilberto has signed for Brazil club side Grêmio.
After years of speculation that he might one day rejoin former club sides Atletico Mineiro or America-MG, Gilberto has joined the club from Porto Alegre in South Brazil.
It seems that he has come full circle – he looks set to finish his club career in Brazil. Good luck, Gilberto!
August 17th, 2010
From Greeksoccer.com:
A bit of luck and controversy gave Italian giants AC Milan a 5-3 penalty shootout defeat of Panathinaikos FC at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. After a scoreless ninety minutes in the newly reopened Silverdome, Panathinaikos concluded their tour of North America on a losing note — despite dominating for most of the match.
He came on hin the 63rd minute as a sub, and as far as I can tell, he scored his penalty.
Panathinaikos ended up losing the 5-3 on penalties, but it was Gilberto’s first performance since the World Cup. Up, up, up!
August 6th, 2010
Apparently Gilberto has been training hard in Detroit. He’s been talking on Twitter about how he’s been hard at work – and he’s been spotted in training before Panathinaikos’s game against AC Milan.
This article about Panathinaikos’s training in Detroit was written by Jo-Ann Barnas for Freepress (www.freep.com).
Two massive equipment trunks were carried onto the field, and out came dozens of pairs of soccer cleats and other items that would make the team’s 1 1/2 -hour practice complete Wednesday at the Oakland University soccer field.
In the distance, the team could see that it had company — sort of.
Several hundred yards away, from the second level of a parking garage, members of Oakland’s men’s varsity soccer team and other students — some with binoculars — watched Greece’s top professional club team run through drills in preparation for Friday’s international friendly against AC Milan at the Silverdome.
They could see Brazil’s Gilberto Silva running wind sprints in the middle of a pack of players. They could see the blond-Mohawk-style cut of France’s Djibril Cisse, and his elaborate stretching routine.
“It’s like watching a workshop,” Jason Perry, OU men’s assistant soccer coach, said with a smile.
For Panathinaikos it was clear that the team took every step of training Wednesday very seriously.
Panathinaikos, which defeated Inter Milan, 3-2, in an exhibition Tuesday night in Toronto, will spend three days in the Detroit area. But goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas said there’ll be no time for sightseeing or other fun activities on the trip.
“We travel all over the world with this job,” he said. “We know all the airports, all the hotels and, of course, all the stadiums. We don’t the have the opportunity to discover all the places we go. It’s a pity, but it’s our job.”
AC Milan also practiced later Wednesday evening.
Read more: Panathinaikos soccer squad all business at practice | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20100805/SPORTS18/8050448/Detroit-trip-is-not-for-kicks#ixzz0vq9u4eS3
August 4th, 2010
Gilberto Silva is currently in Toronto in Canada busy training with Panathinaikos in their pre-season tour of Canada and the USA.
The following match report (in Greek) reports on their first friendly again Inter Milan:
http://www.pao.gr/el/news/?itemid=56e71587-8545-4f66-9db9-c707c2ab0d0b
Gilberto’s Panathinaikos won the game in a surprising 3-2 victory. Gilberto Silva did not feature in the match (from what I can tell – my Greek language skills are non-existent), though Gilberto is training hard.
He left Toronto this afternoon (Wednesday) to travel to Detroit in the USA.
There, Panathinaikos will play AC Milan on Friday (August 6th). Hopefully Gilberto Silva will feature!
August 3rd, 2010
Gilberto Silva has said on his Twitter account that he knows nothing of any talk between clubs about him since he arrived in Canada for training last Wednesday.
Following people on Twitter asking him whether or not he would leave Panathinaikos for Liverpool or Flamengo, he says:
“I don’t know of any clubs talking about me, because nobody has told me anything since Wednesday. But thank you everyone for caring.”
If any negotiations existed between clubs, it’s unlikely that Gilberto would be involved in any dealings at such an early stage – assuming negotiations even exist. It’s more than likely that they don’t…
Click for info on Gilberto Silva’s Twitter account.
July 30th, 2010
According to the Daily Mail, Gilberto Silva could be about to sign for top Brazilian club Flamengo. He’s also recently been linked with Liverpool, as well as a host of other English sides over the past few weeks – but put to death any rumours of a return to the English Premier League.
Former Man Utd player José Kléberson currently plays at Flamengo, and the reports suggest that Panathinaikos would be interested in a Gilberto-Kléberson exchange between the clubs.
It’s not yet 100% certain if this rumour is just another made-up tabloid story; but it is about 99% certain.
That said, Gilberto Silva has always targeted a return to Brazil. In my opinion though, it’s not very likely he’ll go to Brazil this season – and less likely that he’d go to Flamengo. I’d say that he’ll see out his remaining year contract in Greece for Panathinaikos, and then return to Brazil to play for either Atletico Mineiro (if they’ll have him), or failing that, to America MG.
I stand ready to be proved wrong – but am not sure that I will be.