[1] In 1995, he led the French national team to their first ever gold medal, when he won the World Championship as the head coach.

[4] This made him miss the 1967 World Championship, and over time the persistent knee pain would cause his early retirement at age 29.

AFterwards he started calling up the younger generation including, Philippe Gardent, Pascal Mahé and Frédéric Volle, which over time became a dominant in international handball.

Once again he was noted for integreting a group of young players including the brothers Guillaume and Bertrand Gille.

At a poll hosted by the International Handball Federation in 2010, Costantini was selected as the 'Best Coach of All time' with 87.8% of the votes.