ERA 2001-2005
STATS BY bhznet
Name: Gilberto Aparecido da Silva
Nickname: "The Invisible Wall"
Country:
BrazilClubs: Atlético Mineiro, Arsenal
Position: *DMF, CMF
Side: RF/BS
Age: 25-29 years (07/10/1976)
Height: 184 cm
Weight: 75 kg
Attack: 69
Defence: 80
Balance: 87
Stamina: 90
Top Speed: 79
Acceleration: 76
Response: 86
Agility: 76
Dribble Accuracy: 78
Dribble Speed: 76
Short Pass Accuracy: 82
Short Pass Speed: 83
Long Pass Accuracy: 79
Long Pass Speed: 77
Shot Accuracy: 70
Shot Power: 83
Shot Technique: 70
Free Kick Accuracy: 67
Curling: 71
Header: 85
Jump: 83
Technique: 80
Aggression: 69
Mentality: 88
Keeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 85
Injury Tolerance: B
Condition/Fitness: 8
Weak Foot Accuracy: 4
Weak Foot frequency: 4
Consistency: 7
Growth Type: Late Peak
CARDS:
P14: Enforcer
S04: PK Taker
S07: Man Marking
S09: Covering
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Center - Marking - Covering - Penalties
Attack/Defence Awareness: Defence Minded
INFO:
Gilberto began his football career in 1997 with América Mineiro, where good form earned him a move to Atlético Mineiro in 2000. He became a star player for Atlético, playing for three years in the Brazilian Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. He came to particular prominence when he helped the Brazilian national team win the 2002 FIFA World Cup, playing in all seven of Brazil's matches. Gilberto is often called "the invisible wall".His play often goes unnoticed as he positions himself between the two centre backs and the rest of midfield, breaking up opposition attacks before they gather momentum.
When playing, Gilberto occasionally drops into the centre of defence to cover the central defenders, usually Lúcio for Brazil and Kolo Touré for Arsenal, who are both known for their attacking runs forward with the ball.
Gilberto's style of defending is unlike that of normal midfield enforcers. Whereas some midfielders such as Robbie Savage and Roy Keane are very strong in the challenge, Gilberto is more passive when he defends.
Rather than tackle a player, he is more likely to shadow him, thus pushing him back.
As a result, he has an unusually clean record for a defensive midfielder: he has twice gone 45 games or more without receiving a single booking during his Arsenal career.
This mentality earns him both praise and criticism.
Gilberto is good at helping to defend against opponents who play a long ball game because he often man marks the opposition's attacking target-man. This cuts off the opposition's supply to the strikers, and thus forces the long-ball team to play through the midfield, something to which long-ball teams are not particularly suited.
Despite Gilberto's high pass completion rate, his passing has been described as erratic in the past. A possible explanation for this, is Gilberto's short passing range. He is more likely to offload the ball frequently to midfield players close around him , thus easily gaining a high pass completion rate. These short-range passes often go unnoticed, while relatively infrequent long-range incomplete passes often receive negative attention, although not enough to significantly lower his overall pass completion rate.
According to ProZone (a data analysis system used by football managers) figures cited by The Sunday Times in January 2007, Gilberto was, together with Paul Scholes of Manchester United and Frank Lampard of Chelsea, one of the few midfielders in England to attain "the elite Champions League level" of performance.
