 Costas in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gustavo Adolfo Costas Makeira | ||
| Date of birth | (1963-02-28)28 February 1963 (age 62) | ||
| Place of birth | Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Racing Club (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Racing Club | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1981–1989 | Racing Club | ||
| 1989–1992 | Locarno | 45 | (3) |
| 1992–1996 | Racing Club | ||
| 1996–1997 | Gimnasia de Jujuy | 34 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1998–1999 | Racing Club (youth) | ||
| 1999–2000 | Racing Club | ||
| 2001–2003 | Guaraní | ||
| 2003–2004 | Alianza Lima | ||
| 2005–2006 | Cerro Porteño | ||
| 2007 | Racing Club | ||
| 2008 | Olimpia | ||
| 2009–2011 | Alianza Lima | ||
| 2011 | Al Nassr | ||
| 2012–2013 | Barcelona SC | ||
| 2014–2015 | Santa Fe | ||
| 2016 | Atlas | ||
| 2016–2017 | Santa Fe | ||
| 2017–2018 | Al-Fayha | ||
| 2019–2021 | Guaraní | ||
| 2022 | Palestino | ||
| 2022–2023 | Bolivia | ||
| 2024– | Racing Club | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gustavo Adolfo Costas Makeira (born 28 February 1963) is anArgentinefootballmanager and former player who played as acentre-back. He is the currenthead coach ofPrimera División clubRacing Club.
Costas' career is mainly linked toRacing Club, where he played for twelve seasons in two different spells, and coached in three different spells. He has also coached in Paraguay, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Bolivia.
Born inBuenos Aires, Costas was aRacing Club youth graduate. After making his first team debut in 1981, he saw the club's first-ever relegation from thePrimera División from the stands, as he was nursing aknee injury.[1]
Costas became a key part of the team that won promotion back to the top tier in 1985, acting asteam captain.[2] He later helpedLa Academia to win the1988 Supercopa Libertadores, their first major title in 21 years, they then went on to win the less prestigious Supercopa Interamaricana.
Costas moved abroad in 1989, joining Swiss teamLocarno. He returned to Racing in 1992, playing for four seasons before moving toGimnasia de Jujuy in 1996, where he played until his retirement in 1997 at the age of 34.[3]
Costas played 337 matches for Racing, scoring nine goals. He became the footballer with the most appearances for the club in the professional era, and the second of their entire history (only behindNatalio Perinetti's 407 matches in the amateur era).[1]
After retiring, Costas joined the youth categories of his main club Racing, before being named manager of the first team along withHumberto Maschio on 17 December 1998.[4] The duo left on 23 May 2000, after a 3–0 loss toLanús.[5]
On 1 July 2001, Costas moved to Paraguay after being named manager ofGuaraní.[6] On 9 April 2003, after having altercations with the club's vice-president Juan Alberto Acosta, he resigned.[7]
Shortly after leaving Guaraní, Costas was presented at Peruvian sideAlianza Lima on 18 April 2003.[8] He immediately led them to success in the 2003 Clausura, and then saw his team win thePrimera División Peruana final againstSporting Cristal.
In 2004, Costas led Alianza to the Apertura 2004 title and another chance to win the final of the Primera División where they again defeated Sporting Cristal, this time 5–4 on penalties.[9]
Costas left Alianza in December 2004 to return to Paraguay, where he took overCerro Porteño. Under his leadership the club won both the Apertura and Clausura in 2005 to be crowned undisputed national champions.
Costas resigned from Cerro on 24 April 2007, after disagreeing with an interview from club president Luis Pettengill.[10]
On 27 April 2007, Costas agreed to return to Racing Club for his second spell in charge ofLa Academia.[11] He was sacked on 2 December, after a poor Apertura overall.[12]
On 12 December 2007, Costas signed a two-year contract to manageOlimpia back in Paraguay.[13] The following 29 August, after a 4–0 loss toUniversidad Católica, he was dismissed.[14]
On 19 December 2008, Costas agreed to return to Alianza Lima on a two-year contract.[15] He led the club to the2009 Torneo Descentralizado finals, losing toUniversitario.
On 18 July 2011, Costas resigned from Alianza to sign forAl Nassr from Saudi Arabia.[16][17] He was dismissed on 30 November, with the club sitting 6th in the league table.
On 11 April 2012, Costas switched teams and countries again, after being announced as manager of Ecuadorian sideBarcelona SC on a one-year deal.[18] He won the first stage which secured Barcelona a spot to the2012 Copa Sudamericana,2013 Copa Libertadores and the third stage of theEcuadorian Serie A.[19] On 2 December, Barcelona won the second stage, automatically becoming the champion of the2012 Ecuadorian Serie A.[20]
On 6 December 2012, Costas extended his contract with Barcelona until December 2013.[21] He departed on 12 August 2013, after a poor run of results.[22]
On 16 May 2014, after nearly one year without a club, Costas was appointed manager of Colombian clubIndependiente Santa Fe.[23] He led the club to the2014 Finalización title, but resigned the following 30 May, after elimination from the2015 Copa Libertadores.[24]
On 27 November 2015, Costas replacedGustavo Matosas at the helm ofLiga MX sideAtlas.[25] He was sacked the following 27 April, two matches before the end of the2016 Clausura tournament.[26]
On 21 July 2016, Santa Fe announced the return of Costas as manager.[27] He won the2016 Suruga Bank Championship and the2016 Finalización titles, aside from also lifting the2017 Superliga Colombiana.
Costas resigned from Santa Fe on 9 June 2017, after a poor2017 Apertura.[28]
On 1 November 2017, Costas replacedConstantin Gâlcă as manager ofAl-Fayha back in Saudi Arabia.[29] He was sacked on 15 October of the following year, with the club in the relegation zone.[30]
On 6 June 2019, Costas agreed to return to Guaraní after 16 years, being presented four days later.[31] He left by mutual consent on 28 May 2021, after a poor2021 Apertura tournament.[32]
On 20 December 2021, Costas replaced compatriotPatricio Graff as manager of Chilean clubPalestino.[33]
On 19 August 2022, Costas confirmed as manager of theBolivia national team, effective as the following November, once his season with Palestino ended.[34] On 23 October 2023, after a poor start in the2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, he was sacked.[35]
On 15 December 2023, Costas was officially announced as manager of Racing for his third spell.[36] On 24 November 2024, he wonthe year'sCopa Sudamericana with the club, their first international title in 36 years. On 27 February 2025, he led the team to win their firstRecopa Sudamericana, winning againstBotafogo FR, which was2024 Copa Libertadores champion.[37]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Racing Club |  | 17 December 1999 | 23 May 2000 | 50 | 14 | 18 | 18 | 58 | 73 | −15 | 028.00 |
| Guaraní |  | 1 July 2001 | 9 April 2003 | 62 | 25 | 12 | 25 | 93 | 94 | −1 | 040.32 |
| Alianza Lima |  | 18 April 2003 | 11 December 2004 | 94 | 54 | 20 | 20 | 149 | 75 | +74 | 057.45 |
| Cerro Porteño | | 11 December 2004 | 24 April 2007 | 117 | 67 | 26 | 24 | 200 | 118 | +82 | 057.26 |
| Racing Club | | 5 May 2007 | 4 December 2007 | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 31 | 32 | −1 | 037.50 |
| Olimpia | | 1 January 2008 | 29 August 2008 | 29 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 34 | 45 | −11 | 031.03 |
| Alianza Lima | | 1 January 2009 | 17 July 2011 | 118 | 58 | 29 | 31 | 169 | 121 | +48 | 049.15 |
| Al Nassr |  | 18 July 2011 | 30 November 2011 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 16 | −2 | 040.00 |
| Barcelona SC |  | 11 April 2012 | 12 August 2013 | 76 | 33 | 24 | 19 | 118 | 73 | +45 | 043.42 |
| Santa Fe |  | 16 May 2014 | 30 May 2015 | 75 | 41 | 16 | 18 | 112 | 66 | +46 | 054.67 |
| Atlas |  | 27 November 2015 | 27 April 2016 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 23 | 36 | −13 | 019.05 |
| Santa Fe | | 21 July 2016 | 9 June 2017 | 60 | 25 | 20 | 15 | 73 | 65 | +8 | 041.67 |
| Al-Fayha | | 6 November 2017 | 15 October 2018 | 25 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 37 | 41 | −4 | 040.00 |
| Guaraní | | 1 June 2019 | 14 June 2021 | 100 | 49 | 23 | 28 | 146 | 108 | +38 | 049.00 |
| Palestino |  | 1 January 2022 | 13 November 2022 | 32 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 46 | 36 | +10 | 040.63 |
| Bolivia |  | 14 November 2022 | 23 October 2023 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 17 | −12 | 010.00 |
| Racing Club | | 15 December 2023 | present | 107 | 60 | 15 | 32 | 176 | 91 | +85 | 056.07 |
| Total | 1,010 | 477 | 239 | 294 | 1,484 | 1,107 | +377 | 047.23 | |||
Alianza Lima
Cerro Porteño
Barcelona
Santa Fe
Racing Club
