“I tell the racing family that we have to move forward. It’s a year where I think we could have won a little more, but that wasn’t the case. I said I didn’t come to compete, we came to win. So I remain indebted.” Already late in the morning, Gustavo Costas had entered the conference room of the Madre de Ciudades Stadium with the enormous pain of not being able to award him another title Runthe club of his life but ready to go a message in the face of a future full of questions.
In the hours after the penalty defeat against Estudiantes in the Clausura final For every racer there are a few certainties. The first is that the team, a tremendous expression of the passion of its coach, has impeccably embodied the feelings of the fans who have made the pilgrimage to Santiago or followed it from all over the world.
Even if the fall is painful because the academy was so close to the Olympic turn, the pride in how the footballers represented the shield is great, and that was also reflected in Costas: “We are like all racing people, it hurts us a lot to be so close to the championship. But I want to thank the group that gave everything in every game and that makes me proud.”
The second problem that arises and alarms racing fans is that without the title, the least desired consequence may become more feasible: the departure of some fundamental protagonists in these two seasons marked by emotions, international titles (Sudamericana 2024 and Recopa 25) and starring in decisive cases of different tournaments.
Even Costas, who received President Diego Milito’s offer to extend the contract for another season, has not yet signed and did not want to comment publicly about it.. Precisely in Santiago del Estero, on Monday, November 3, Milito had communicated to the coach the proposal to continue leading the team in 2026. The idol and current league leader’s statement came during Racing’s first game after being eliminated from the Copa Libertadores against Flamengo.
Costas had publicly thanked him for this support, but from then on he closed the issue to concentrate on what had been his only interest until this Saturday: becoming Clausura champion. “Gustavo has the suggestion on the table, we are very satisfied with his work,” he said before the finale. Sebastian SajaSports director, in line with this public bench of Milito to coach.
Through his representative, Costas had already started discussions with the academy’s treasurer, Diego Cifarelli, who had also expressed optimism that he would continue to lead the team for the third season in a row. The contract numbers would not be a problem, as club sources assured LA NACION, but One of the key aspects will be what squad and reinforcements Costas will have if he stays.
“The children have given everything to play all year long. Torn, sick, even after an operation, as in the case of (Santiago) Sosa”emphasized the academic coach in his message after the final defeat. Sosa, who has turned into a reference on and off the field, loved by fans and making a legendary comeback in the round of 16 wearing a mask to play the classic with River, is irreplaceable.
At 26, the midfielder, who can also play as a libero, is facing the best moment of his career, in which he played for River, Atlanta United and Racing, among others. “Santi’s dream is to play in Europe; “If I had an offer, I would not cut short his career, even if I want him to stay and live in racing,” said Costas honestly after the victory (3-2) against River at the Cilindro, with a great performance from the one who emerged from the millionaires’ pit.
With an approximate clause of $12,000,000, Flamengo and other Brazilian teams would be interested in Sosa, represented by Hernán Berman, Marcelo Gallardo’s agent. The businessman had been having friction with the board for years Agustin Almendraanother of his players teamSo in the halls of the Cilindro de Avellaneda they claim to “take with a grain of salt” the next transfer market, where an offer for Sosa from a team in Europe could supposedly “emerge”.
The representative who has caused a public stir since the semi-final series with Flamengo was Juan Cruz Oller, who claimed that Racing will have “an offer that is difficult to say no to”. Facundo Cambeses, Another personality who was a pillar of support for the academy and fought until the end at continental and national level. “We want to have Facundo, no matter what happens, it is not our idea that he leaves unless they fulfill the clause,” says Racing, which set the execution of the automatic start of the former Huracán at 15,000,000 euros.
Gabriel Arias, The club’s historic goalkeeper said goodbye after seven years. If Costas continues, he would take this into account a priori Matias Tagliamontewho has to return from his loan at Unión. Another who would have said goodbye in the final is Facundo Murawho would have done everything to continue his career at Inter Miami.
The former Estudiantes and Colón has a very low salary, inappropriate for a player who plays in a big club. Although several discussions had taken place with his representative, his former teammate Emiliano Insúa, Mura did not want to accept the extension with an improvement and compensation for such a low salary compared to that of an average footballer.
Gaston Martirena, whose level dropped noticeably in this second semester, has a contract with Racing, although this year he had ruled out offers from Russian football and inquiries from Brazil because he felt comfortable in the academy and because he would be a father for the first time. At the very least, Racing will have to go to the market to look for another side marker, even if the possible departures in other sectors would continue.
Juan Ignacio NardoniThere were some suggestions about him in the last two transfer markets, could have played his last game with the light blue and white. The former Unión, who was torn apart by Vélez in the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores and was unable to show the same consistency thereafter, was one of the driving forces of the team for much of Costas’ two-year winning cycle.
The penalty shootout defeat to Estudiantes not only meant the painful loss of the 19th league in history, but also resulted in Racing losing the only route of entry left for the next Copa Libertadores. The absence of that international desire, reflected in a picture of the trophy in the players’ dressing room, could also tip the scales in favor of keeping some players or seducing others.
Racing, winners of the 2024 Copa Sudamericana, will take part in this tournament again next year, in an edition that will include River, whose larger budget and urgency may also represent an additional obstacle. The millionaire took Maximiliano Salas this year by executing the exit clause, in an operation that included more than 10,000,000 dollars in a single payment.
During the second transfer market in 2025, the academy added Franco Pardoundisputed starter until a serious muscle injury sidelined him for more than a month and a half; Duvan Vergara, who established himself and excelled in the playoffs; Tomas Conechny, of poor performance; Elias Torres, who tore his ligaments in October; And Alan Forneriswhich came as a bet for the future.
“The departure of Salas did not weaken us, it strengthened us. Racing now has more substitutes than before,” Saja explained on ESPN in a curious assessment of how the club has overcome the loss of Adrián Martínez’s attacking partner in a year that began with the departures of Roger Martínez and Juan Fernando Quintero. Aside from the fact that both Colombians wanted to change direction and obtain higher contracts than they could find in Argentina, the academy suffered the loss of hierarchy in attack and paid for it with a deterioration in the quality of replacements in that area.
Wonder Martínez, Author of another colossal goal in the final, his contract was subsequently extended and improved Salasgateso, among so many questions, he is called upon to be one of the faces of Racing 2026, which will face the local tournaments and the Sudamericana with the dream of being crowned again.
“I thank this group that left everything behind from the first day we were there,” emphasized Costas, with a conjugation that also opens the tension as to whether he was just reviewing the film of these two years before a new chapter or whether he was actually thinking about concluding the story. The continuity of the coachWho the players say they are “the most responsible” After fighting on all fronts until the end, this will be the first of several issues that the racing leadership will have to deal with in the final weeks of a year full of emotions.
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