Fabián Daniel Bustos Barbero (born 28 March 1969) is an Argentine

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 Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and former player who played as a forward. He is the current manager of Paraguayan club Olimpia. Bustos played for local sides during the major part of his career, amassing 32 appearances in the

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...

with

Lanús Lanús () is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, metropolitan area. The List of cities in Argentina, city has a populati ...

and Belgrano. He also played in Uruguay with

Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...

, in Bolivia with Jorge Wilstermann, and in Ecuador with

Deportivo Quito Sociedad Deportivo Quito is an Ecuadorian club football club based in Quito. For most of its existence, it competed in Serie A, the highest level of the Ecuadorian professional football league. And currently competes in the Second Category of Pi ...

, Macará,

Manta Manta or mantas may refer to: * Manta ray, large fish belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' Arts and entertainment App & Website * Manta (platform), a Korean digital comics provider Fictional entities * Manta (comics), a character in American Marve ...

and Deportivo Saquisilí, but retired back in his home country with

Estudiantes de Buenos Aires Club Atlético Estudiantes, usually called Estudiantes de Caseros or Estudiantes de Buenos Aires, is an Argentina, Argentine association football, football club from Caseros, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its association football, fo ...

. After retiring, Bustos worked as an assistant manager before becoming a manager in 2009, with Manta. He continued to manage in Ecuador, winning two

Ecuadorian Serie A The Liga Pro Ecuador Serie A, simply known as the Liga Pro or the Serie A (or the Ecuadorian Serie A to distinguish it from the Italian Serie A and the Brazilian Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Série A), or as Liga Pro Ecuabet for sponsorship re ...

titles with Delfín and

Barcelona SC Barcelona Sporting Club (), internationally known as Barcelona de Guayaquil, is an Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil, known best for its professional football team. They currently play in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of fo ...

before being named in charge of Brazilian club Santos in 2022.

Playing career

Born in Córdoba, Bustos began his senior career with local side in 1986. He moved to in 1989, before returning to his previous club in 1990, and moved to

Primera B Nacional Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, (English "National B Division"), and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 38 team ...

side

Almirante Brown William Brown (also known in Spanish as Guillermo Brown or ''Almirante'' Brown) (22 June 1777 – 3 March 1857) was an Irish sailor, merchant, and naval commander who served in the Argentine Navy during the wars of the early 19th century. Brown ...

in the following year, after a short stint at Uruguayan side

. In 1992, Bustos signed for

in the

, but featured sparingly before moving to fellow league team Belgrano in 1994. He went on to play for second division sides in the following five seasons, representing

Deportivo Morón Club Deportivo Morón is an Argentine sports club located in the city of Morón, Buenos Aires. Deportivo Morón's football team currently plays in Primera B Nacional, the second division of the Argentine football league system. The club was found ...

Juventud Antoniana Centro Juventud Antoniana is an Argentine football club from the city of Salta. The team currently plays in Torneo Regional Federal Amateur, the regionalised division of the Argentine football league system. Juventud Antoniana played in Primer ...

Atlético Tucumán Club Atlético Tucumán (mostly known as Atlético Tucumán) is an Argentine football club based in the city of San Miguel de Tucumán of Tucumán Province. Although several sports are practised at the club, Atlético is mostly known for its footba ...

and

Cipolletti Cipolletti ( or ) is a city in north of the Patagonian . With a population of 105 482 inhabitants at the , Cipolletti is the third-most populated settlement in the province, after San Carlos de Bariloche and General Roca. Together, with Neuquén ...

, before moving abroad in 2000 with Bolivian side Jorge Wilsterman. Bustos moved to Ecuador in 2000, and signed for

. He then played for

, Macará and Deportivo Saquisilí in the country, before returning to Argentina in 2004 with El Porvenir. In 2005, he joined

, and retired with the club in the following year, aged 36.

Managerial career

Early career

After being an assistant manager at

Sarmiento Sarmiento may refer to: Places Argentina *Sarmiento Department, San Juan, a subdivision of the San Juan Province * Sarmiento Department, Santiago del Estero, a subdivision of the Santiago del Estero Province * Sarmiento Department, Chubut, a subdi ...

, El Porvenir and

Acassuso Acassuso is a locality in the San Isidro "partido" of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is about 16 kilometres north of the city of Buenos Aires, between Olivos and San Isidro. It borders on the River Plate where an approximately 10 hectare ...

, Bustos was named manager of former side Manta on 15 July 2009. He opted to leave the club on a mutual agreement on 8 December 2010, and was named manager of another club he represented as a player, Deportivo Quito, thirteen days later. Bustos was sacked by Quito on 1 May 2011, and was presented as manager of fellow

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

team Imbabura on 30 June. He resigned on 25 August, and took over Técnico Universitario for the ensuing season on 16 December. Dismissed by Técnico Universitario on 14 April 2012, Bustos was later named manager of Macará on 9 July. He resigned from the latter on 28 April 2013, and subsequently returned to Manta on 1 July. After leaving Manta at the end of his contract in December 2013, Bustos was later named manager of

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

side LDU Portoviejo. He left the club the following 21 August.

Delfín

He was named in charge of fellow second division side Delfín on 3 January 2015. He led Delfín back to the top tier after 15 years, but was dismissed by the club on 30 April 2016. Bustos returned to the club in December 2016, now as a sporting director, but was named manager again in April 2018, after the departure of Guillermo Sanguinetti, managing to qualify Delfín to the

2019 Copa Sudamericana The 2019 Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana was the 18th edition of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (also referred to as the ''Copa Sudamericana'', or ), South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. Ecuadorian club Independiente d ...

. He stayed in charge of the team for the following season, in which the club finished in 4th place of the first stage of the 2019 Serie A, advancing to the playoffs. After defeating

Independiente del Valle Club de Alto Rendimiento Especializado Independiente del Valle, known simply as Independiente del Valle, is a professional football club based in Sangolquí Ecuador that currently plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A. Founded in 1958, the club plays ...

, Macará and

L.D.U. Quito Liga Deportiva Universitaria () is an Ecuadorian professional football club (association football), football club based in Quito. They play in the Ecuadorian Serie A, Serie A, the highest level of the Ecuadorian professional football league. Th ...

in the final, Bustos led Delfín to their first-ever Serie A title; however, he left the club on 15 December of that year.

Barcelona SC

Immediately after leaving Delfín, Bustos took over

. In his first season, he won a second consecutive Serie A title, once again defeating

in the finals, and led the club to the semifinals of the

2021 Copa Libertadores The 2021 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores was the 62nd edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the ''Copa Libertadores''), South America's premier club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. Starting from this season, teams must ...

. On 25 February 2022, Barcelona announced Bustos' departure through a press conference, with his last match in charge of the club occurring the following day.

Santos

On 25 February 2022, Santos announced the signing of Bustos as manager, with his contract to be signed in the following days. On 7 July, after just one win in 13 matches, he was sacked.

Return to Barcelona SC

On 5 September 2022, Bustos returned to his former club Barcelona in the place of departing

Jorge Célico Jorge César Fortunato Célico (born 13 September 1964) is an Argentine retired football manager and former player who played as a goalkeeper. He is the current manager of Ecuadorian club Emelec. Career A Huracán youth player, Buenos Aires-bo ...

. He resigned on 4 June of the following year, after a 3–1 loss to rivals Emelec.

América Mineiro

On 9 August 2023, Bustos returned to Brazil and its top tier, after being named head coach of

América Mineiro The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. On 9 November, after the club's

relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

, he was dismissed.

Universitario de Deportes

On 30 December 2023, Bustos was announced as the head coach of

Universitario de Deportes Club Universitario de Deportes is a Peruvian sports club based in Lima, which has Association football, soccer as its main activity. It also has women's football, volleyball and basketball sections. The football team, popularly known as Universi ...

. He led the club to the 2024 title, after winning both the Apertura and the Clausura, but left on 14 April 2025.

Olimpia

On 17 April 2025, Bustos was announced as manager of Olimpia in Paraguay.

Personal life

Bustos' older brother Carlos is also a manager and former footballer. A defender, he began his career at Talleres and had the most of his managerial career in Peru and Mexico.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Delfín *

Ecuadorian Serie B The Primera Categoría Serie B, shortened to Serie B or Primera B, is a professional football league in Ecuador. It is in the second tier of the Ecuadorian football league system. Currently contested by ten clubs, it operates a system of promotio ...

: 2015 *

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Barcelona SC *

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Universitario de Deportes *

Peruvian Primera División The Peru First Division (; known simply as ''First Division'', and Liga 1 Te Apuesto for sponsorship reasons), officially known as Liga 1, is the top flight of association football in Peru. It has been referred to as Torneo Descentralizado since ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

References

External links

*
FEF player card
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bustos, Fabian 1969 births Living people Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine men's footballers Men's association football forwards Club Nacional de Football players Club Almirante Brown footballers Club Atlético Lanús footballers Club Atlético Belgrano footballers Deportivo Morón footballers Juventud Antoniana footballers Atlético Tucumán footballers Club Cipolletti footballers C.D. Jorge Wilstermann players S.D. Quito footballers Manta F.C. footballers C.S.D. Macará footballers Club El Porvenir footballers Estudiantes de Buenos Aires footballers Uruguayan Primera División players Argentine Primera División players Primera Nacional players Bolivian Primera División players Ecuadorian Serie A players Ecuadorian Serie B players Argentine football managers Manta F.C. managers S.D. Quito managers Imbabura S.C. managers C.D. Técnico Universitario managers C.S.D. Macará managers LDU Portoviejo managers Delfín S.C. managers Barcelona S.C. managers Santos FC managers América Futebol Clube (MG) managers Club Universitario de Deportes managers Club Olimpia managers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Bolivia Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Ecuador Expatriate men's footballers in Bolivia Expatriate men's footballers in Ecuador Argentine expatriate football managers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Peru Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Paraguay Expatriate football managers in Ecuador Expatriate football managers in Brazil Expatriate football managers in Peru Expatriate football managers in Paraguay 20th-century Argentine sportsmen