The Argentinian Gustavo Costas He was unanimously chosen by the Bolivian Football Federation (FBF) to lead the national team with his sights set on the 2026 World Cup that will be jointly organized by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The decision was made by the Executive Committee of the FBF in a meeting that concluded on Friday night, the federative vice president, Edwin Callapino, explained to Efe.
“Everyone’s idea is that Bolivia can qualify for the World Cup, it’s the idea we have and every effort has been made so that Professor Costas can get there,” said Callapino.
The previous process was in charge of the head of the FBF, Fernando Costa, who “has talked with different technicians” and then presented a report at the Executive meeting to make the final decision, he said.
According to the information received, “Gustavo Costas is the one who has come closest to what the Executive Committee of the Federation intends,” added the entity’s vice president.
Among the candidates were also the Spanish Miguel Ángel Portugal, the Colombian Hernán Darío ‘Bolillo’ Gómez and the Argentine Sergio Batista, according to the local sports press.
Costas will arrive in Bolivia next week to sign his contract and at that time all the details regarding this process will be announced.
Gustavo Costas will take the bench for La Verde to replace the current Aucas coach, César Farías, who left the post last March, at the conclusion of the South American Qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, in which Bolivia was penultimate with only four wins and three draws.
The Argentine has been in charge of clubs such as Racing from his country, Guaraní, Cerro Porteño and Olimpia from Paraguay, Alianza Lima from Peru, Barcelona from Ecuador, Independiente Santa Fe from Colombia and recently Palestino from Chile.
Bolivia has only managed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the United States, under the command of Spaniard Xavier Azkargorta. He played the opening match against Germany in Chicago (lost 0-1), drew against South Korea (0-0) and lost to Spain (1-3). La Verde is currently ranked 81st in the FIFA ranking.
EFE
