# Gustavo Costas

Gustavo Adolfo Costas Makeira (born 28 February 1963) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. He is the current head coach of Primera División club Racing Club.
Costas' career is mainly linked to Racing 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.

## Playing career

Born in Buenos Aires, Costas was a Racing Club youth graduate. After making his first team debut in 1981, he saw the club's first-ever relegation from the Primera División from the stands, as he was nursing a knee injury.
Costas became a key part of the team that won promotion back to the top tier in 1985, acting as team captain. He later helped La Academia to win the 1988 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 team Locarno. He returned to Racing in 1992, playing for four seasons before moving to Gimnasia de Jujuy in 1996, where he played until his retirement in 1997 at the age of 34.
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 behind Natalio Perinetti's 407 matches in the amateur era).

## Managerial career
### Early career

After retiring, Costas joined the youth categories of his main club Racing, before being named manager of the first team along with Humberto Maschio on 17 December 1998. The duo left on 23 May 2000, after a 3–0 loss to Lanús.
On 1 July 2001, Costas moved to Paraguay after being named manager of Guaraní. On 9 April 2003, after having altercations with the club's vice-president Juan Alberto Acosta, he resigned.

### Alianza Lima

Shortly after leaving Guaraní, Costas was presented at Peruvian side Alianza Lima on 18 April 2003. He immediately led them to success in the 2003 Clausura, and then saw his team win the Primera División Peruana final against Sporting 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.

### Cerro Porteño

Costas left Alianza in December 2004 to return to Paraguay, where he took over Cerro 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.

### Racing Club return

On 27 April 2007, Costas agreed to return to Racing Club for his second spell in charge of La Academia. He was sacked on 2 December, after a poor Apertura overall.

### Olimpia

On 12 December 2007, Costas signed a two-year contract to manage Olimpia back in Paraguay. The following 29 August, after a 4–0 loss to Universidad Católica, he was dismissed.

### Alianza Lima return

On 19 December 2008, Costas agreed to return to Alianza Lima on a two-year contract. He led the club to the 2009 Torneo Descentralizado finals, losing to Universitario.

### Al Nassr

On 18 July 2011, Costas resigned from Alianza to sign for Al Nassr from Saudi Arabia. He was dismissed on 30 November, with the club sitting 6th in the league table.

### Barcelona SC

On 11 April 2012, Costas switched teams and countries again, after being announced as manager of Ecuadorian side Barcelona SC on a one-year deal. He won the first stage which secured Barcelona a spot to the 2012 Copa Sudamericana, 2013 Copa Libertadores and the third stage of the Ecuadorian Serie A. On 2 December, Barcelona won the second stage, automatically becoming the champion of the 2012 Ecuadorian Serie A.
On 6 December 2012, Costas extended his contract with Barcelona until December 2013. He departed on 12 August 2013, after a poor run of results.

### Santa Fe

On 16 May 2014, after nearly one year without a club, Costas was appointed manager of Colombian club Independiente Santa Fe. He led the club to the 2014 Finalización title, but resigned the following 30 May, after elimination from the 2015 Copa Libertadores.

### Atlas

On 27 November 2015, Costas replaced Gustavo Matosas at the helm of Liga MX side Atlas. He was sacked the following 27 April, two matches before the end of the 2016 Clausura tournament.

### Santa Fe return

On 21 July 2016, Santa Fe announced the return of Costas as manager. He won the 2016 Suruga Bank Championship and the 2016 Finalización titles, aside from also lifting the 2017 Superliga Colombiana.
Costas resigned from Santa Fe on 9 June 2017, after a poor 2017 Apertura.

### Al-Fayha

On 1 November 2017, Costas replaced Constantin Gâlcă as manager of Al-Fayha back in Saudi Arabia. He was sacked on 15 October of the following year, with the club in the relegation zone.

### Guaraní return

On 6 June 2019, Costas agreed to return to Guaraní after 16 years, being presented four days later. He left by mutual consent on 28 May 2021, after a poor 2021 Apertura tournament.

### Palestino

On 20 December 2021, Costas replaced compatriot Patricio Graff as manager of Chilean club Palestino.

### Bolivia national team

On 19 August 2022, Costas confirmed as manager of the Bolivia national team, effective as the following November, once his season with Palestino ended. On 23 October 2023, after a poor start in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, he was sacked.

### Third spell at Racing

On 15 December 2023, Costas was officially announced as manager of Racing for his third spell. On 24 November 2024, he won the year's Copa Sudamericana with the club, their first international title in 36 years.

## Managerial statistics

    As of 16 March 2025
Managerial record by team and tenure :
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Team | Nat | From | To | 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 | 67 | 37 | 9 | 21 | 121 | 65 | +56 | 055.22 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 970 | 454 | 233 | 283 | 1,429 | 1,081 | +348 | 046.80 |

## Honours
### Player
#### Racing Club

* Supercopa Sudamericana: 1988
* Recopa Sudamericana runner-up: 1989

### Manager

Alianza Lima
* Peruvian Primera División: 2003, 2004
Cerro Porteño
* Paraguayan Primera División: 2005
Barcelona
* Ecuadorian Serie A: 2012
Santa Fe
* Categoría Primera A: 2014 Finalización, 2016 Finalización
* Superliga Colombiana: 2015, 2017
* Suruga Bank Championship: 2016
Racing Club
* Copa Sudamericana: 2024
* Recopa Sudamericana: 2025