After having ended his successful cycle with the Ecuadorian national team a few months ago, the Argentine Gustavo Alfaron has reached an agreement to become the new coach of Costa Rica, where he will have the mission of qualifying the ‘Ticos’ for the Cup of the 2026 World Cup, as announced this Thursday by the Costa Rican Football Federation (FCRF).
“Coming to the Costa Rica team honors me, stimulates me, commits me and dignifies me. It was almost a year of waiting after the experience with Ecuador in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but it was what we wanted together with the coaching staff: to have the privilege and responsibility of leading the football destinies of this country,” Alfaro said in a statement. of the FCRF.
The Argentine coach arrives to fill the vacancy left by the Colombian Luis Fernando Suárez, who was fired on July 21 due to the poor results of the last months of his management.
Gustavo Alfaron will be officially presented once he arrives in Costa Rica in the next few days, accompanied by his trusted coaching staff which will be made up of three technical assistants, two physical trainers and a goalkeeping coach.
“Hopefully we can all achieve a selection that identifies with the feelings of the people, with the sublime pride that it means to belong to and represent the country; that honors its historical past and poses a concrete challenge towards its future,” said the Argentine coach.
Meanwhile, Osael Maroto, president of the FCRF, was happy for “the arrival of a coach with the professional and human quality of Don Gustavo who excites us a lot in the midst of the processes of change in which we find ourselves.”
“We envision that his knowledge, preparation and football philosophy will fit perfectly with the players and Ticos fans. “We are very happy with your arrival,” he said.
The Argentine was one of the numerous candidates for the position that the FCRF analyzed in recent months and, according to Maroto, there were no problems in agreeing on the conditions of the contract.
“He really wants to come,” Maroto commented on Wednesday when he announced that an agreement had been reached and all that was left was the signing of the contract.
The new coach’s mission will be to carry out a generational change that has not been consolidated despite the fact that Costa Rica has young players who have made the leap to European football, such as the forward of the Dutch Twente, Manfred Ugalde, the midfielder of Nothingham Forest English, Brando Aguilera; and the attackers Jewison Bennette, from the English Sunderland; and Keneth Vargas, from the Scottish Hearts.
Alfaro, 61, will seek to qualify Costa Rica to the seventh World Cup in its history and fourth in a row.
The coach comes from qualifying and directing Ecuador in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and previously forged his career in Argentine football in charge of teams such as Boca Juniors, Huracán, Gimnasia y Esgrima de la Plata, Tigre, Arsenal, Rosario Central, San Lorenzo, among others.
His record includes the 2007 Copa Suramericana title and the 2012 Argentine Clausura Tournament with Arsenal; the 2020 Argentine Super League and the 2019 Super Cup with Boca Juniors; among others.
Alfaro is also a renowned television commentator, lecturer and author of the book “Hunters of impossible utopias”, in which he recounts the formation process of the group that obtained Ecuador’s ticket to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
With information from EFE.
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