Gustavo Eliseo Morínigo Vázquez (born 23 January 1977) is a Paraguayan

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Club career

Born in

Coronel Oviedo Coronel Oviedo (), locally simply known as Oviedo, is a city in east-central Paraguay. It is the capital of the Caaguazú Department, about 150 kilometers east of Asunción, and was founded in 1758. The city has a population of about 52,400 ( ...

, Morínigo was a

Libertad Libertad (Spanish, 'freedom') or La Libertad may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Libertad, in the comic strip ''Mafalda'' *Libertad, in the video game ''Far Cry 6'' Film and television * ''La Libertad'' (film), or ...

youth graduate. He made his first team debut in 1996, but left the club ahead of the 1999 season after signing for

Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guarani language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * G ...

. Morínigo returned to Libertad for the 2001 campaign, and moved abroad in 2004 after agreeing to a contract with

Argentinos Juniors Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its association football, football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was reco ...

. After featuring sparingly, he rejoined Libertad for a third spell in the following year. On 25 January 2006, Morínigo moved to

Deportivo Cali Asociación Deportivo Cali, best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A. Deportivo Cali is one of the most successful football t ...

, but returned to his home country in the following year with

Cerro Porteño Club Cerro Porteño is a professional Paraguayan Association football, football club, based in the neighbourhood of Obrero (Asunción), Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1912, Cerro has won 34 Paraguayan Primera División, Primera División titles ...

. He subsequently signed for

Nacional Asunción Club Nacional is a Paraguayan professional association football, football club based in the neighbourhood of Barrio Obrero (Asunción), Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1904, the club currently plays in the Paraguayan Primera División, and hold ...

in 2007, and featured regularly until his retirement in 2011, aged 34.

International career

After representing

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

at under-20 level in the

1997 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, known as the 1997 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Youth Championship for sponsorship purposes, was the 11th staging of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA World Youth Championship. It was held from 16 June to 5 July 1997 i ...

, Morínigo made his full international debut on 27 January 2001, starting and scoring his side's only in a 1–1 draw against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, for the year's

Lunar New Year Cup The Lunar New Year Cup, previously known as the Carlsberg Challenge or the Carlsberg Cup, is an annual invitational association football, football tournament organised in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) since 1908. It is usua ...

. Morínigo was also included in the final squads for the

2001 Copa América The 2001 Copa América was held in Colombia, from 11 to 29 July. It was organised by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. Colombia won the tournament for the 1st time without conceding a goal. Brazil were the two-time defending cha ...

and the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

Managerial career

Nacional Asunción

On 16 April 2012, Morínigo was named in charge of his former club Nacional, after

Javier Torrente Javier Luis Torrente (born 8 June 1969) is an Argentine football manager. He was recently the manager of Chilean club Universidad de Concepción. Career Torrente has been assistant manager to Marcelo Bielsa at Vélez Sársfield, Espanyol, Ar ...

resigned. Initially an interim, he was subsequently named manager on a permanent basis, and was chosen as the division's best coach in his first year. In the

2014 Copa Libertadores The 2014 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2014 Copa Bridgestone Libertadores for sponsorship reasons) was the 55th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, South America's premier international club football tournament organized ...

, Morínigo led the side to

the Finals ''The Finals'' is a free-to-play first-person shooter, developed and published by Embark Studios. The game focuses on team-based matches on maps with a destructible environment, where players (who are divided into a number of distinct classes) ...

, but lost to

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Villa San Lorenzo, town and municipality in Salta P ...

. On 29 March 2015, he resigned.

Paraguay under-20 national team

On 31 August 2015, Morínigo was named manager of the Paraguay under-20 team. He was in charge of the side for two friendlies against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

in March 2016 (4–3 win and 2–2 draw).

Cerro Porteño

On 15 April 2016, Morínigo returned to club duties after being appointed at the helm of another club he represented as a player, Cerro Porteño.

Return to Paraguay national teams

On 2 August 2016, Morínigo returned to the

Paraguayan Football Association The Paraguayan Football Association ( ; APF) (Guarani language, Guarani: ''Paraguái Mangapy Atyguasu''), is the omnibus governing body of football (soccer), football in Paraguay. It organizes the Paraguayan football league system, Paraguayan fo ...

, after being named manager of the under-17 national team. On 29 January 2018, he was appointed interim manager of the full side after

Francisco Arce Francisco Javier "Chiqui" Arce Rolón (; born 2 April 1971) is a Paraguayan football manager and former player. Arce played at the right defender position, competing a total of 61 times for the Paraguay national team between 1995 and 2004. He ...

left, and managed the side on two friendlies (0–1 against

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and 2–4 against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

) before returning to his previous role. Also a coordinator of the youth categories, Morínigo left the national sides on 18 August 2020.

Libertad

On 24 September 2020, Morínigo was appointed manager of club Libertad. He was sacked on 16 December, after the club's elimination in the

2020 Copa Libertadores The 2020 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores was the 61st edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the ''Copa Libertadores''), South America's premier club association football, football tournament organized by CONMEBOL ...

Coritiba

On 4 January 2021, Morínigo signed with Brazilian club

Coritiba Coritiba Foot Ball Club, commonly known as Coritiba and colloquially referred to as heCoxa, is a Brazilian football club from Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. Founded in 1909 by German immigrants, it is the olde ...

. Despite suffering relegation, he was kept for the 2021 season and led the club back to the top tier. On 30 November 2021, Morínigo renewed his contract with ''Coxa'' until the end of 2022. The following 14 August, he was sacked after entering the relegation zone.

Ceará

On 22 November 2022, Morínigo was named manager of

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

, freshly relegated to the second level, for the upcoming campaign. After two consecutive losses in the Série B, he was sacked on 24 April 2023.

Avaí

On 15 May 2023, Morínigo was named head coach of

Avaí Avaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 5,436 (2020 est.) in an area of 540 km2. Media In telecommunications, the city was served by Companhia Telefônica Brasileira until 1973, when it began to be serve ...

also in the Brazilian second division. He was sacked on 2 July, after nine winless matches.

Remo

On 4 March 2024, Morínigo replaced

Ricardo Catalá Ricardo Catalá Salgado Júnior (born 28 April 1982) is a Brazilian professional football coach, currently the head coach of São Bernardo. Career Of Catalan heritage, Catalá's first senior job was at CE Europa's ''Cadete A'' squad in 2005. H ...

at the helm of Série C side

Remo Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and drum hardware, hardware, and various percussio ...

. He was dismissed on 20 May, after a poor start in the third division.

Sportivo Luqueño

On 3 February 2025, Morínigo returned to his home country to take over

Sportivo Luqueño Club Sportivo Luqueño is a Paraguayan football club, based in the city of Luque on the outskirts of the capital Asunción. It currently plays in the Paraguayan Primera División, the country's top tier of football, where it has won thrice, in 19 ...

in the top tier. On 18 May, he was sacked.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

;Libertad *

Paraguayan Primera División The División Profesional de la Paraguayan Football Association, Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (; "Professional Division of the Paraguayan Football Association"), also known as the Primera División (; "first division"), or due to sponsorship ...

: 2002, 2003 ;Nacional Asunción *

: 2009 Clausura, 2011 Apertura

Manager

;Nacional Asunción *

: 2013 Apertura ;Coritiba *

Campeonato Paranaense The Campeonato Paranaense is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is run by the Paraná Football Federation (FPF). List of champions Notes * In 1924 Internacional and América merged in ...

: Champion 2022

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morinigo, Gustavo 1977 births Living people Paraguayan men's footballers Paraguayan expatriate men's footballers Paraguay men's international footballers Paraguay men's under-20 international footballers Paraguayan Primera División players Argentine Primera División players Categoría Primera A players Club Libertad footballers Club Guaraní players Cerro Porteño players Argentinos Juniors footballers Deportivo Cali footballers Club Nacional footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia 2001 Copa América players 2002 FIFA World Cup players Paraguayan football managers Club Nacional managers Cerro Porteño managers Men's association football midfielders Coritiba Foot Ball Club managers Ceará Sporting Club managers Avaí FC managers Clube do Remo managers Sportivo Luqueño managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série B managers Campeonato Brasileiro Série C managers Paraguayan expatriate football managers Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Expatriate football managers in Brazil Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Colombia Footballers from Caaguazú Department 21st-century Paraguayan sportsmen