Argentina’s coach has a semi-final date against the All Blacks on Saturday – and now he’s being name-checked by the country’s soccer coach.
Argentina’s coach Michael Cheika.Credit: Oscar Colman
In Argentina, as ever, sport provides a welcome distraction from the difficulties of daily life.
On Wednesday Lionel Messi inspired Argentina to a 2-0 defeat of Peru in a World Cup qualifier and on Saturday, Michael Cheika will lead the Pumas into a Rugby World Cup semi-final clash against the All Blacks in Paris.
The game against New Zealand is a day before the country goes to the polls for a presidential election as Argentina once again wrestles with spiralling inflation and unemployment.
Cheika has made great efforts to embrace and understand Argentina beyond the rugby field.
He conducts his press conferences with Argentine journalists in Spanish, which may lack some grammatical finesse but communicates his position perfectly.
Cheika spoke of the passion of the Pumas’ travelling supporters after the thrilling victory over Wales in the quarter-finals.
“I want to change places and be with them in the stands,” Cheika said. “I’m not Argentine, but what happens in the stands is unreal. The movement, the passion … it is something incredible.”
Hernan Vidou is a former Argentine international who famously kicked all of the Pumas’ points in a famous victory against England in 1990.
Vidou has recently returned to Buenos Aires after supporting the Pumas against Wales in Marseille and credits Cheika for his efforts to connect with the country.
Eight years after taking the Wallabies to the final, Argentina’s head coach Michael Cheika is in another World Cup semi.Credit: AP
“We can see his personality and from my point of view, he’s made an enormous effort to speak Spanish, even though he knows he speaks it very badly,” Vidou said.
“It would have been much easier for him to ask for an interpreter and just answer in English quickly and that’s it.
“I think it’s part of his personality and also how he respects the people in how he is working hard to try his best in speaking in their own language.”
Vidou also credits Cheika for bringing new ideas that have revolutionised the Pumas’ defence, which was exemplified in the thrilling final minutes against Wales.
“I think he also took many things positive things from rugby league and took it here to Argentina,” Vidou said.
“Here, as you know, rugby league doesn’t exist in Argentina and Cheika has brought new ideas, and took this great New Zealand defensive coach [David Kidwell] from rugby league that gives our players different options in how they play the game.”
Argentina’s head coach Michael Cheika looks at his players warming up before the Rugby World Cup quarter-final match between Wales and Argentina.Credit: AP
Despite the significant economic issues in Argentina the Pumas are enjoying buoyant support at their games, made up of the European diaspora and home-based fans who have made huge sacrifices to travel to the World Cup.
It is now impossible to buy a replica jersey of the Pumas anywhere in France, with the jersey completely sold out in shops throughout the country.
Principally, Cheika is appreciated by fans for the results that he has helped to deliver for Argentina.
In 2020 he arrived in the country as assistant to Mario Ledesma and helped to mastermind the country’s first victory over the All Blacks in Parramatta, which was officiated by Australian Angus Gardner – who will also take charge of this weekend’s semi-final.
Two years later, Cheika had the top job to himself. He has created a siege mentality within the team, rarely engaging with local media unless it is for scheduled a press conference.
This has caused frustrations with the Argentine press pack who want to get to know Chieka better, but equally, they cannot fault his methods as long as they get results.
Cheika’s life with the Pumas is not about a charm offensive, although his linguistic efforts have certainly helped; it is about driving Argentina to the top of world rugby.
Former Wallaby Nathan Grey worked with Cheika as a coach for the Waratahs and Australia, and believes Argentina presented a perfect challenge for the Randwick man.
“I reckon ‘Cheik’ had a real good look at the playing group, and the quality that was there, and how he could continue a lot of the great work that Mario did,” Grey said.
“He knew how to get a lift out of the group, and he would have been looking at it from that perspective, thinking ‘I can make a difference here, and I think I have the tools to do it’.”
Cheika works with a completely nomadic squad of players who are largely plying their trade for clubs in England and France.
He has to tie the threads of a game plan quickly, bringing together different perspectives and philosophies from his players.
Grey points to Cheika’s ability to listen to different voices as a key part of his success at the Pumas.
Michael Cheika at Argentina training.Credit: Getty
“One thing you definitely know about ‘Cheik’ is, while he comes out and is very set in his ways and clear with what he wants to do, he is a constant learner and is always thinking about how to do things differently,” Grey said.
“It is very rare, but he is happy to say ‘maybe I got that wrong’ or ‘let’s go down this path’.
“He listens to other people around him, and that’s his real strength. He is always very good with the players around storytelling and motivation and just knowing how to get that balance really right.
“You can see in their footy as well, there are smacks of ‘Cheik’ in the way they play. They play a lot of ball in hand, they’re very good defensively, they’re a really skilled team and they know how they want to play.
“And that’s obviously one of his strengths. He is a world-class coach. That’s pretty clear.”
When Cheika has to travel to Argentina, he rents an apartment in Buenos Aires, goes about his work quietly and focuses on upsetting the form book. In this regard, he has succeeded.
Last August in the Rugby Championship, Cheika helped Argentina defeat the All Blacks 18-25 in Christchurch and also masterminded a comprehensive 48-17 victory over Australia at home.
Cheika has got rugby into the country’s newspapers, which are concentrated largely on two national obsessions: economic issues and Lionel Messi.
Rugby, like so many things in Argentina, plays a subsidiary role to the travails of the nation’s soccer team.
The World Cup winners hold a privileged place in the hearts of Argentines, and they are also watching the action in France.
The Argentine soccer coach Lionel Scaloni name-checked the Pumas after their performance against Wales in his weekly press conference.
“Heroic, exciting, I don’t know what else to say,” Scaloni said.
“Whoever was watching the game got goosebumps … what they transmit fills us with pride.”
The Argentine goalkeeper Emi Martinez, who became famous for his heroics in the World Cup, wears number 23. Argentine sports fans were quick to notice the similarities with winger Matias Moroni, who wears the same number, and who dived heroically putting his body on the line to stop Welsh winger Louis Rees-Zammit from scoring in the dying minutes.
Cheika has imbued a never-say-die attitude within the Pumas camp on and off the field. He has placed them against the world and refuses to compromise. He fights for his players off the field.
He complained loudly about the World Cup organisers’ refusal to allow Argentina to leave Marseille last Sunday for Paris, arguing they would lose a day of training, unlike the All Blacks who were already based in the capital.
To make it as a professional Argentine rugby player, you must decide to leave your friends and family at home for an uncertain future abroad. To play for the Pumas is a reminder of everything the players have sacrificed in pursuit of their dreams.
Against a resurgent All Blacks, Cheika is facing the ultimate challenge in Argentina’s third-ever World Cup semi-final. You get the impression he wouldn’t want it any other way.
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