Nelson Bonifacio Acosta López, nicknamed Pelado Acosta (Bald Acosta), (born 12 June 1944 in Paso de los Toros, Uruguay) is a former Uruguayan-born Chilean football manager and footballer. He became a naturalized Chilean citizen in 1984 and managed several football teams. He is now retired.

Career

He managed the national team of Chile from 1996 to 2001, leading them to the 1998 FIFA World Cup despite having only managed one professional team before taking over the Chile job. He took over Bolivia in 2004, but seriously failed and returned to manage Chile in 2005. In July 2007 Acosta resigned from managing the Chile national team soon after the Copa América, the latter was held in Venezuela. In September 2007, he was appointed manager of Corporación Deportiva Everton de Viña del Mar, one of the top provincial teams in Chile. On June 3, 2008, he led Everton to their first Chilean League title in 32 years and ended the domestic dominance of Colo-Colo. In late 2010, he switched to manage Cobreloa, but was sacked in April 2012. He returned to Everton de Viña del Mar in January 2014 but left nearly 9 months later to manage current club Deportivo Quito.

Personal life

Acosta naturalized Chilean by residence. Before beginning his career as coach, he owned a boutique in Concepción what he managed while he played for Lota Schwager. Since 2016, he suffers the Alzheimer's disease.

Honours

Player

Club

Managerial

Club

International