Gustavo Matosas

Club

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 25 May 1967, Gustavo Matosas is the son of former Uruguayan international footballer Roberto Matosas. At the time of his birth, his father played for River Plate. Despite being born in Argentina, Matosas was eligible to represent Uruguay through his father and chose to play internationally for that country. He began his professional career in 1985 with Peñarol in the Uruguayan Primera División. While at Peñarol, he won two league titles and was part of the squad that captured the 1987 Copa Libertadores, defeating América de Cali in the final. Following his success in Uruguay, Matosas had an extensive international club career. He played for Málaga in Spain, San Lorenzo in Argentina, and São Paulo in Brazil. He later joined Tianjin Teda in China, and also had spells with various other clubs across Argentina, Brazil, and Spain during the 1990s. He concluded his playing career in Mexico, where he appeared for Querétaro in the Primera División de México before retiring in 2001.

International

Matosas made his debut with the Uruguay national football team in 1987. That same year, he was part of the squad that won the 1987 Copa América, defeating Chile 1–0 in the final in Buenos Aires. Over the course of his international career, he earned seven caps for Uruguay.

In 2012, Matosas became manager of Club León, where he led the team to promotion to Liga MX from Ascenso MX. Under his guidance, León won back-to-back league titles in the Apertura 2013 and Clausura 2014 tournaments, a rare achievement in Mexican football. In December 2014, Matosas was announced as the new manager of Club América. During his tenure, the club won the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League, securing a place in the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup. He left América in May 2015, citing disagreements with the club’s board over player transfers. Later in 2015, Matosas took over as manager of Atlas FC, but his time with the club was short-lived, and he departed after one season. On 12 June 2016, he signed a one-year contract with Al Hilal FC of Saudi Arabia. During his tenure, Al Hilal reached the final of the Saudi Crown Prince Cup, where they were defeated by Al-Ittihad. Matosas returned to South America in June 2017 to manage Estudiantes de La Plata in Argentina. He resigned on 19 September 2017, citing personal reasons. On 10 October 2018, he was appointed head coach of the Costa Rica national football team. His tenure saw underwhelming results, including draws against Haiti and Curaçao in the 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League. He resigned on 5 September 2019, later stating the role was "boring" due to limited day-to-day activity compared to club management. On 9 September 2019, Matosas was appointed manager of newly promoted Atlético San Luis in Liga MX. He made a winning…

As a player

Peñarol

Primera División: 1985, 1986 Copa Libertadores: 1987 Uruguay

Copa América: 1987

As a manager

Danubio

Uruguayan Primera División: 2006–07 León

Liga MX: Apertura 2013, Clausura 2014 Liga de Ascenso: Clausura 2012 America

CONCACAF Champions League: 2014–15