Gustavo Costas

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).

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…

Player

Racing 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