Hand in hand with Gustavo Costas: “Everything I do and do in Racing I do with my heart”

The phrase triggers her Gustavo Adolfo Costas in passing, as if prayer didn’t have much weight, as if it were a habitual thing. “The only time I got paid for the entire year racing It was during the bankruptcy, even though it may seem like a lie,” says the 60-year-old coach from one of the stalls in the Cilindro de Avellaneda.

There has been a lot of talk about Costas’ fanaticism for the Academy since it was announced that he would be Sebastián Grazzini’s replacement. His particular story is also known: he went from mascot to player, from captain to champion, from footballer to coach and much more. But they are the actions that best portray human beings and the academic technician has numerous credentials to present. “I have almost never received bonuses since I was a player; It had been 7 years or more. They didn’t give me anything even when I was a management technician. There I filed a lawsuit until one day my lawyer came and he told me that the case had been transferred to the club and that we had to go against Racing. I asked him to cancel everything,” says Costas Clarion.

-Did your family never tell you anything about everything you gave up?

-They knew and know what I am like. When I was playing it saved me a bit when I went to play for Locarno in Switzerland. Later, in 1997, I retired from Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy because I needed money: I had nothing left. I had already decided to hang up my boots and Jujuy executives contacted me to offer me half of what I earned with the company and the other half in 12 installments. I couldn’t say no. Then, as a coach, thank God I did well. That’s why I’ve always been clear that I wouldn’t return to Racing for the money.

Costas could write a book of many pages talking about his beloved Racing. His story begins when he was the mascot of Juan José Pizzuti’s team. Then came the Inferiores and his debut in the First team, on 16 May 1982. “It was against Vélez in Liniers. I had played the day before at Quinta and they called me up just in case, because there were a couple of injuries. I remember a friend picked me up at home and we went to camp by bus. To think that at 16 years old kids already have 0km cars. When I arrived they told me I would be the owner. I couldn’t believe it. Then in the sixth game they gave me the captain’s ribbon,” says the coach.

-Did a First Division player go to camp by bus?

-Yes, but we’re talking about another time. I worked as a cadet in a telephone company at the same time as I was playing in the First Division. One morning I left practice in a hurry because I hadn’t arrived and the coach, Carlos Cavagnaro, asked me what was wrong because I was in such a hurry. I told him about the job. He ordered me to resign urgently and come to the office in the afternoon to sign the contract.

-Were you there when Racing rented the team to Argentino de Mendoza?

-Yes. We were promoted at the end of 1985 and due to a restructuring of the tournaments we returned to play in the First Division only in the second half of 1986. Those from Mendoza asked for me and Miguel Colombatti and the Racing managers, Héctor Rinaldi was the president, offered him the whole squad and also the technical staff. There were no pesos and we had to generate something to collect. First we played a couple of friendly matches inside to raise funds. I remember Horacio Cordero and I were the accountants. One round they almost killed us in Pergamino, against Douglas Haig: we decided not to go out to play the second half because there was no money. The camp was full and there was only one police officer!

Costas’ anecdotes continue and are enriched in his first two experiences as coach in the Avellaneda team, one between 1999 and 2000 and the other in 2007. “We are experiencing very difficult times here. During the bankruptcy period, fans came to bring money to my house to save the club. At that moment the trustee Liliana Ripoll, portrayed in a song, helped us a lot, it must be said; Over time she fell in love with the club. The magnifying glass should be placed on the judges or other commissioners who were worse. We went from owing a million to owing 65 million. He beat us to death because it was a war in which there was everything: pressure, they shot you, they stopped by your house to threaten you. They did all this to stay in the club,” she says.

-And while all this was happening, you had to put together the team for Sunday…

-In addition to directing, I had to go and talk to President Menem in Olivos, with Julio Grondona at AFA. We did it all. Also at some point bank accounts were opened in my name and that of Teté Quiroz to save Tita’s property. I still remember weekends at Tita filled with fans of all ages lending a helping hand. This has not happened anywhere in the world. Sometimes I think fans are underestimated.

-Have you now found yourself with a totally different Racing?

-Running like this is what we fight for all our lives and I’m happy to see how it goes. Before we were only in the newspapers for the bad things. The other day I was talking to Coco Basile, my footballer dad, and he told me that I had also won some good ones, like the 1988 South American Super Cup. But the moments of happiness were just a few small steps.

-Did you expect this call to come back?

-Actually, no. It had been a long time. But I wasn’t bad about that situation or angry. I’m fine if Racing does well, whether it’s Costas or whoever is there. I won’t lie: I waited for the call between 2015 and 2016, when I had just won a couple of titles and the Suruga with Independiente Santa Fe. However, my friends know that I have never wanted to return. Look, the last time I despaired was when we lost the championship won by Boca against River. Days later we had to play the tie-break against Tigre in Huracán and I didn’t want people to turn their backs on the team. I called a couple of fans to tell them they had to come along. And in Ducó we put 18 thousand people.

-Are you a coach at Basile’s school? How do you deal with ego in the locker room?

-You have to treat the players well. I am a coach close to the players, close. I think to get the best out of them you have to get them right. This year we will play many tournaments and we need to have a pulse to lead the group. Internal competition must exist to improve. If you look back and there is no one overshadowing you, you inevitably relax.

-Are the preseasons very different now compared to your time as a player?

-Yes. Before they took us from Mar del Plata to Miramar and made us go back. This no longer exists. Times were different too. There you did physicals for the whole of January, football in February and you started playing in March. Now football training sessions last 30 minutes and are not repeated every week. When I was a player, there was 90 minutes of football on Thursdays, no matter what. If you look, before the players had stronger legs, with more muscles, the same tail. Now everything is a little more dynamic than before; a different intensity is found.

-Currently there is more pressure and in all sectors of the field…

-It’s true that there isn’t much space: they put a lot of pressure on you. Football is also more tactical. Before that part we didn’t work too much. Now you have to give the player many more tools, such as showing him videos of rival teams and players. Being a coach now takes a lot more time than it used to. But be careful, there is something that remains the same: the game still depends on the player.

-Once the ball moves…

-Of course, the ball moves and it depends on the player because during the week you can put together the attack or defense game, but then there is the one-on-one, the improvisation. This is the advantage; this is the basis of everything.

-So you are a coach who allows the player to leave his mark, to improvise.

-Of course, otherwise we will end up managing everything as if it were an artificial intelligence. I think we need to give the player freedom. The footballer needs that freedom to change, because he sees football, he sees the game and he has to make that decision. I like that it leaves that pattern. It’s about giving the idea, indicating the play, planning so that his teammates give him three, four passing options. But then I also want the player to decide if he wants to enter or exit, if he wants to dribble or pass.

-In Racing there are Juanfer Quintero, Roger Martínez, Johan Carbonero, players who are characterized more by creating than scoring. Can we impose tactical discipline and demand effort, retreat, pressure from those players who stand out for what they do with the ball?

-We will try. I talk to them a lot. We know what Juanfer is and his teammate knows that he will not follow you to the rival side. But he also knows that he can give us a lot by being there on the back of the flyers. We therefore need to know how to take advantage of it. However, you always give him something tactical, even if we know that Juanfer’s strength is when he has the ball at his feet.

-Do you think Roger Martínez is behind the number 9?

-You can play wherever you want: you just have to be physically and mentally well. He can play as a 9, as a midfielder, even as a winger. I was talking to him the other day and I told him that, not being 100%, last year he scored two or three goals which shows you that he is different. Juanfer the same. They are players who define the game for you at all times.

-Have you already decided whether you will play with one or two central midfielders?

-Not yet. We’ll see based on the matches. Santiago Sosa has just arrived, we are gradually recovering Bruno Zuculini. We have Lolo Miranda there, who is very enthusiastic and we take him as a very good reinforcement. The same as Agustín Almendra. Everyone will have to exploit the opportunities. The nice thing is that we will play many matches during the year.

-In the presentation conference you said that “we have to stop competing, we have to win”. Do you have an advantage in knowing what the fan thinks?

-Running is good today, very good. We win tournaments and we have to keep winning. I know the fans need an international tournament. You can’t relax because you won three or four local tournaments. Racing can compete with River and Boca. After all, this is football. When I went to the Bolivian national team I said: “We have to start competing”. Because there was no competition there. But in racing you have to wear that backpack to give more.

-Do you dream of the chance to become a champion?

-I think about putting the team together and day by day. I see the team as very involved. We brought in hungry players, so I like to talk to them before they arrive. Some were given better and better things in other places and still came to fight here. It’s good that they feel the commitment of the place where they will be.

-Would you understand if a fan insults or insults you if things aren’t going well?

-In Argentina we insult Maradona and Messi, how can they not insult Costas? However, I am focused on things going well. Everything I have done and do in racing I do with my heart.