Juan Imhoff had lost some of his love for rugby; Morocco gave it back to him
Former Argentina international and Racing 92 player Juan Imhoff is now coaching Morocco’s rugby sevens team. The experience has rekindled his love of the sport.
Imhoff took charge of the national team in spring 2026, with the aim of leading it to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. “Thanks to Morocco, I’m falling in love with rugby again,” he says in an interview with Olympics.com.
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The former Pumas winger knows rugby sevens well: he competed at the Rio Games with Argentina in 2016. For Morocco, he considers this discipline more accessible than rugby union. It is easier, he explains to Rugbeat, to bring together thirteen fast players than to build a whole team with the specialized positions required in rugby union.
“I fell in love with their culture”
Imhoff says he has found willing players in Morocco who admire Argentine rugby. “I fell in love with their culture,” he says. At first, he thought he would focus on technique and tactics. Through working with them, he also wanted to pass on what he had learned about the life of an elite athlete.
The Olympic project reminds him of a defeat he has never forgotten. In Rio, Argentina lost its quarter-final against Great Britain, 5–0 after extra time. Imhoff still describes that match as one of the biggest disappointments of his career.
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He tells his Moroccan players that when he was young, he was often told he was neither tall enough nor prepared enough to succeed. He keeps reminding them not to let anyone take their dream away from them.
