Introduction
Carlo Yaír Costly Molina (born 18 July 1982) is a Honduran footballer striker who is currently playing for Olimpia. He was a member of the Honduran national football team until after the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Prior to coming to Europe, he played with Club Deportivo Platense where he was the top scorer of the Honduras Apertura in 2006-07.
Club career
Carlo Costly is the son of Anthony Costly. Despite being Honduran, he has close links to Mexico. His parents separated and his mother, soon after, married a Mexican. Costly moved to Mexico City when he was 14 years old and lived there for the following 11 years where he kicked off his football career. He had spells in the Mexican league with the reserve teams of Atlético Celaya, Monarcas Morelia, Atlas and Pumas UNAM.
He moved back to Honduras where the path to international success began. Despite leaving Mexico, Costly still keeps a house in the state of Nayarit. His big chance was given to him by Club Deportivo Platense and, with them, he became the top scorer of the Honduras Apertura 2006-07, scoring 10 goals in 19 games.
His early success earned him a chance with Polish club GKS Bełchatów, who loaned him for half a season. Having impressed, the club spent a record €500,000 on signing him.
After a while he became unsettled in Poland, and was linked in the press with a move to Football League Championship side Plymouth Argyle, and supposedly linked with League One side Leeds United, before being reported to be on trial with Premier League side Birmingham City. Costly remained at GKS Bełchatów for the time being.
In January 2009, Costly joined Birmingham City of the Football League Championship (the second tier of English football) on loan until the end of the 2008–09 season. He made his debut for the club on 7 February 2009, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw with Burnley. The loan was not made permanent at the end of the season.
On 24 January 2010, Costly was bought by SC Vaslui, signing a 3.5 year contract. He was injured and treated in Italy where they told him he would recover before 2010 FIFA World Cup, but he was unable to rejoin the Honduran national football team due to FIFA rules. He then went on to sign for Atlas Club in Mexico, once he recovered from his injury.
Costly spent the latter part of the 2011 Major League Soccer season on loan with Houston Dynamo. In September 2012, Veria F.C. announced Carlos Costly's transfer.
Costly joined China League One side Guizhou Zhicheng on 24 July 2013. On 4 August, he scored 2 goals in his debut against Yanbian Baekdu Tigers.
Costly signed with Real España on 2 January 2014. After the 2014 World Cup, he stated he would not return to the national team. He joined Gaziantepspor at the beginning of the 2014/15 season which was his first club since retiring from international duty. On the 15 of August he returned to Greece to play for Aris F.C.
Club statistics
- (correct as of 28 April 2013)
| Club | Season | League | Domestic League | Domestic Cups | European Cups | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Platense | 2006–07 | LINA | 18 | 10 | – | – | 18 | 10 | ||
| Bełchatów | 2006–07 | Ekstraklasa | 11 | 6 | 2 | 2 | – | 13 | 8 | |
| 2007–08 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 5 | ||
| 2008–09 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | ||
| Total | 59 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 68 | 16 | ||
| Vaslui | 2009–10 | Liga I | 13 | 4 | – | – | 13 | 4 | ||
| Veria | 2012–13 | Superleague Greece | 25 | 6 | 2 | 2 | – | 27 | 8 | |
International career
Since scoring on his debut against Trinidad and Tobago in 2007, Costly has been a standout performer for the Honduras national football team helping the Catrachos reach the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2009 and 2011. He is the Honduran national team's second-top goalscorer of all-time in Gold Cup matches, scoring eight goals, including a hat-trick against Grenada in the 2011 tournament.
He was an important member of the Honduran team that qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup but was unable to play at the tournament finals due to injury.
Costly scored seven goals in 13 appearances in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, including a hat-trick against Canada. In June 2014, he was named in the Honduran squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Costly made his FIFA World Cup debut in a 3–0 defeat against France on 15 June. In the next match, he scored his country's first World Cup goal in 32 years as the team lost 2–1 to Ecuador. Costly started the final Honduras game of the 2014 FIFA World Cup but limped off injured in the 39th minute. immediately after the match, Costly announced his retirement from the national team stating that "we have to give opportunities to the young players"
International goals
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 June 2007 | Estadio Francisco Morazán, San Pedro Sula, Honduras |  Trinidad and Tobago | 3 – 1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 8 June 2007 | Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, United States |  Panama | 2 – 3 | 2–3 | 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 3 | 10 June 2007 | Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, United States |  Mexico | 1 – 1 | 2–1 | 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 4 | 10 June 2007 | Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, United States | Mexico | 2 – 1 | 2–1 | 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 5 | 6 February 2008 | Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras |  Paraguay | 2 – 0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 6 | 11 October 2008 | Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras |  Canada | 2 – 1 | 3–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 7 | 1 April 2009 | Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras | Mexico | 1 – 0 | 3–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 8 | 1 April 2009 | Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras | Mexico | 3 – 0 | 3–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 9 | 6 June 2009 | Soldier Field, Chicago, United States |  United States | 1 – 0 | 1–2 | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 10 | 4 July 2009 | Qwest Field, Seattle, United States |  Haiti | 1 – 0 | 1–0 | 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 11 | July 11, 2009 | Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, United States |  Grenada | 4 – 0 | 4–0 | 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 12 | 12 August 2009 | Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras |  Costa Rica | 1 – 0 | 4–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 13 | 12 August 2009 | Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras | Costa Rica | 4 – 0 | 4–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 14 | 14 November 2009 | Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino, Tegucigalpa, Honduras |  Latvia | 1 – 0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 15 | 29 May 2011 | Robertson Stadium, Houston, United States |  El Salvador | 1 – 0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 16 | 10 June 2011 | FIU Stadium, Miami, United States | Grenada | 2 – 1 | 7–1 | 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 17 | 10 June 2011 | FIU Stadium, Miami, United States | Grenada | 4 – 1 | 7–1 | 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 18 | 10 June 2011 | FIU Stadium, Miami, United States | Grenada | 5 – 1 | 7–1 | 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 19 | 10 August 2011 | Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, United States |  Venezuela | 1 – 0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 20 | 10 August 2011 | Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, United States | Venezuela | 2 – 0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 21 | 2 June 2012 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C., United States | El Salvador | 2 – 0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 22 | 16 October 2012 | Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras | Canada | 3 – 0 | 8–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 23 | 16 October 2012 | Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras | Canada | 5 – 0 | 8–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 24 | 16 October 2012 | Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras | Canada | 8 – 1 | 8–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 25 | 22 March 2013 | Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras | Mexico | 1 – 2 | 2–2 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 26 | 6 September 2013 | Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico | Mexico | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 27 | 10 September 2013 | Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino, Tegucigalpa, Honduras | Panama | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 28 | 15 October 2013 | Independence Park (Jamaica), Kingston, Jamaica |  Jamaica | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
| 29 | 19 November 2013 | BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, United States |  Ecuador | 1–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 30 | 19 November 2013 | BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, United States | Ecuador | 2–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 31 | 1 June 2014 | BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, United States |  Israel | 2–4 | 2–4 | Friendly |
| 32 | 20 June 2014 | Arena da Baixada, Curitiba, Brazil | Ecuador | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2014 FIFA World Cup |
Honours and awards
Club
- Houston Dynamo
- MLS Eastern Conference (1): 2011
- Texas Derby (1): 2011
Individual
- Top goalscorers in Liga Nacional de Honduras (1): 2006–07 A