_(cropped).jpg) Alfaro as the manager ofEcuador in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gustavo Julio Alfaro | ||
| Date of birth | (1962-08-14)14 August 1962 (age 63) | ||
| Place of birth | Rafaela,Argentina | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Paraguay (head coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1992 | Atlético de Rafaela | 126 | (6) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1992–1995 | Atlético de Rafaela | ||
| 1995 | Patronato | ||
| 1996–1997 | Quilmes | ||
| 1998–2000 | Atlético de Rafaela | ||
| 2001 | Belgrano | ||
| 2001–2002 | Olimpo | ||
| 2003–2004 | Quilmes | ||
| 2005 | San Lorenzo | ||
| 2006–2008 | Arsenal de Sarandí | ||
| 2008–2009 | Rosario Central | ||
| 2009 | Al-Ahli | ||
| 2010–2014 | Arsenal de Sarandí | ||
| 2014–2015 | Tigre | ||
| 2016–2017 | Gimnasia LP | ||
| 2017–2018 | Huracán | ||
| 2018–2020 | Boca Juniors | ||
| 2020–2023 | Ecuador | ||
| 2023–2024 | Costa Rica | ||
| 2024– | Paraguay | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gustavo Julio Alfaro (born 14 August 1962) is an Argentinefootballmanager and former player who manages theParaguay national football team.
Although Alfaro had a short career as a footballer, he was captain of theAtlético de Rafaela when they were promoted to theArgentine Primera División in 1989. Alfaro retired as a player from football in 1992 to concentrate on his coaching career. His first league title came with Arsenal de Sarandí in the2012 Clausura.
At international level, he coached Ecuador at the 2022FIFA World Cup before a stint in charge of Costa Rica. He was appointed as Paraguay coach in 2024 and led them to qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
Alfaro started his career as a manager for Atlético de Rafaela andPatronato de Paraná in the early 1990s. He then had his first spell as manager ofQuilmes and a second spell at Atlético de Rafaela.
In 2001, Alfaro became the manager ofOlimpo and led them to thePrimera B Nacional Apertura 2001 championship and promotion to the Primera.[1]
In 2003, Alfaro led Quilmes to promotion. He stayed to manage the team for the following season (2003–04), achieving a 4th and a 6th-place finish which earned them qualification for the2005 Copa Libertadores and2004 Copa Sudamericana tournaments.
In his only shot at an important club, Alfaro had a disastrous spell inSan Lorenzo before joiningArsenal de Sarandí in late 2006.[2]
Alfaro helped Arsenal to two 5th-place finishes, allowing the club to qualify for the Copa Libertadores for the first time in their history. They also earned qualification for the2007 Copa Sudamericana, where they beat Argentine champions San Lorenzo in the qualifying round to earn a place in the round of 16. In that stage, they faced the Brazilian teamGoiás. Arsenal won 3–2 in Brazil and recorded a 1–1 draw in the second leg to win the tie 4–3 on aggregate, their official first victory over foreign opposition. Arsenal eventually reached the final of the competition, leaving a wake of sacked managers in their path, includingDaniel Passarella, who resigned fromRiver Plate after their defeat by Arsenal in the semi-finals.
In the final of the competition, Arsenal drew 4–4 with MexicanAmérica, winning the title on theAway goals rule. This was the first major championship in the history of Arsenal de Sarandí and Alfaro's first major title.
At the end of the2007–08 season, he was replaced byDaniel Garnero as manager of Arsenal. In October 2008, he was named the manager ofRosario Central. In 2009, he went to Saudi Arabia to work inAl-Ahli (Jeddah); he came with high expectations from the fans. He stayed as the coach for four months; on 20 November, he resigned for personal reasons.
On 17 May 2010, Arsenal de Sarandí confirmed that the new manager for next season would be Alfaro, who arrived along with assistant coaches Sergio Chiarelli, Carlos González, and Claudio Cristofanelli.[3] On 24 June 2012, Alfaro would achieve his first ever league title when Arsenal won its first league title in the club's history.
The Final Tournament of 2014 looked promising for Alfaro. He had an excellent team that would play at theCopa Libertadores. By April, the team had awful results, and he announced he would leave the club by the end of June. However, he was discharged by the club[4] and replaced byMartín Palermo.
On 2 January 2019,Boca Juniors named Gustavo Alfaro their new head coach, having his official debut on 27 January 2019, drawing 1–1 against Newell's Old Boys for the 2018–19 Super League. In the national competition, he would finish third. On 2 May, he could lift the 2018 Argentine Super Cup after playing against Rosario Central, winning a penalty shootout by 6–5 after drawing 0–0 in the ninety minutes. On 2 June, he would lose 0–2 against Club Tigre in the final of the 2019 Super League Cup in Córdoba. Beyond the title obtained, the specialized press criticized Alfaro for lacking a clear game identity in his team.
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Atlético Rafaela |  | 1 July 1992 | 30 June 1996 | 126 | 46 | 47 | 33 | 164 | 127 | +37 | 036.51 |
| Quilmes | 1 July 1996 | 30 June 1997 | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 60 | 47 | +13 | 042.86 | |
| Atlético Rafaela | 1 July 1998 | 30 June 2000 | 72 | 31 | 16 | 25 | 100 | 85 | +15 | 043.06 | |
| Belgrano | 1 January 2001 | 30 June 2001 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 20 | −12 | 014.29 | |
| Olimpo | 1 July 2001 | 30 June 2002 | 24 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 36 | 20 | +16 | 054.17 | |
| Quilmes | 1 January 2003 | 23 May 2005 | 111 | 44 | 36 | 31 | 132 | 106 | +26 | 039.64 | |
| San Lorenzo | 1 July 2005 | 6 February 2006 | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 35 | 43 | −8 | 036.36 | |
| Arsenal de Sarandí | 5 June 2006 | 30 June 2008 | 94 | 39 | 25 | 30 | 122 | 120 | +2 | 041.49 | |
| Rosario Central | 10 October 2008 | 2 March 2009 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 19 | −7 | 014.29 | |
| Al-Ahli |  | 22 April 2009 | 20 November 2009 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 15 | +0 | 033.33 |
| Arsenal de Sarandí | | 1 July 2010 | 15 April 2014 | 182 | 76 | 47 | 59 | 224 | 198 | +26 | 041.76 |
| Tigre | 5 September 2014 | 27 November 2015 | 49 | 20 | 11 | 18 | 62 | 58 | +4 | 040.82 | |
| Gimnasia LP | 21 March 2016 | 30 June 2017 | 39 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 38 | 32 | +6 | 038.46 | |
| Huracán | 14 July 2017 | 31 December 2018 | 46 | 22 | 15 | 9 | 56 | 40 | +16 | 047.83 | |
| Boca Juniors | 1 January 2019 | 31 December 2019 | 50 | 27 | 16 | 7 | 73 | 28 | +45 | 054.00 | |
| Ecuador |  | 26 August 2020 | 12 January 2023 | 35 | 12 | 14 | 9 | 44 | 35 | +9 | 034.29 |
| Costa Rica |  | 2 November 2023 | 9 August 2024 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 14 | +2 | 045.45 |
| Paraguay |  | 13 August 2024 | present | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 043.75 |
| Total | 959 | 391 | 282 | 286 | 1,215 | 1,021 | +194 | 040.77 | |||
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