Argentinian winger Juan Imhoff, after reaching the semi-finals of the Top 14 with Racing 92, is now planning for the 2023 World Cup (September 8 – October 28), which he hopes to play with the Pumas who, he is convinced, “will give everything to write history”.
You did not participate in the 2019 World Cup, after having played the two previous ones, but you were recently called up by the Argentinian coach Michael Cheika…
“I really hope to be part of the Argentine selection and it was also one of my motivations in the club this year: to be the best possible at Racing to make the Pumas coach doubt. For me, playing for Argentina is something unique, which gives me a lot of pride and responsibility. I work for this goal every day.”
What do you expect from this World Cup?
“When we participated in it, it was something special, really special. For me, it will necessarily be magnificent: I do not want to go ahead but in my opinion, it will be the best in history, given the commitment of the French. And I think we Argentines will give everything to go down in history. When we are an outsider like we are, we are motivated by everything that is said about us. We eat shit, as they say, so that when we taste the caviar, we enjoy it (laughs). There are very good players in Argentina, a good group and a good staff, although there will always be data that we cannot control”.
You will face England, Samoa, Japan and Chile in the group stages. What is the objective of the Pumas, whose best result in the World Cup is a bronze medal in 2007?
“Our group is not easy, but it is more readable than the others: we must win all the matches, except that the decisive matches come very early (against England on September 9, against Samoa on September 22, editor’s note ), so after the first two weeks we will already have an idea. We want and we can be in the quarters, that’s the goal. But we are not going to lie to each other either and say that we have an easy group and that because we beat England at Twickenham (30-29 on November 6, 2022, editor’s note), we will beat them again. On the contrary, I think we will have to work hard”.
What pushes you to return to the selection after four years of absence?
“I participated in the small final (in 2015, editor’s note) and, frankly, it was crazy. In the head of a player, there is always the hope, the belief, that one can be world champion. When we dream of it, when it’s within our reach, why not give everything to be there? My absence in 2019, even if it was for political reasons (players playing outside Argentina were not selected, editor’s note) made me change my way of seeing things and we realize what that we have when we no longer have it (…) I am not the fastest, the most talented, the best player, but I will be the most committed”.
Does Argentina remain a model for South America which will have three representatives (Uruguay, Argentina and Chile) in a World Cup for the first time?
“Yes, clearly, and we try to share with our neighbors everything we have learned to advance the countries around us. Our motivation in Argentina, our dream, is to play in the first team of our club, no matter how small, like Duendes, my club in Rosario! When you create such a bond with your club, you think you have the best training centre, the best ball or a great sponsor… nothing beats the love of your club, of its jersey”.