Argentina: Felipe Contepomi plays down links to Pumas coaching role

Dylan Coetzee

Leinster's Felipe Contepomi before the Champions Cup match at the RDS Arena, Dublin.

Felipe Contepomi says the links between him and the head coach role with Argentina are only “rumours” and he is still happy with his role at Leinster.

Contepomi has spent a lot of time with Leinster, playing there for six years and coaching for several more after he retired.

Only rumours

The rumours of the former Puma come as a result of Mario Ledesma leaving the head coaching role.

Leinster’s head coach Leo Cullen believes it is expected for Contepomi to be linked with the vacancy.

“It’s been all rumours, I haven’t heard anything from anyone in the Argentinian Union, personally with me, talking to me,” Contepomi told RTÉ Sport.

“Or I haven’t heard anyone coming publicly from the union saying anything so all that I’ve heard is people writing and I haven’t’ seen much because I have no social network. I’m lucky in that sense, only what’s been in the news.

“Having said that, we always ask our players to live in the present and if we ask that of the players you need to do it yourself. I don’t know where it came from but I know it was a big [story] going around.

“I’m really happy here in Leinster, I’ve got one more year on my contract, hopefully even more then. I have to do my job right to start with.”

Speaking on the possibility of him taking over the Argentine team, Contepomi said: “It would be great as a professional. When you are in professional sport it’s very difficult to plan ahead too much.

“It would be great if I could draw the line of how I want my career to happen. Maybe as a doctor I can say ‘I’m doing two years here, five years there and then moving’.

“But imagine that Lionel Messi, one of the greatest ever footballers, he couldn’t decide about his future, what is left for us.

“I would say if you ask me if I’d like to coach internationally, well, I can say yes. When? I don’t know.

“In professional sports you are always preparing and when opportunities arise you just go for them but I can tell you here in Leinster, I’m still developing, still growing.

“I feel I’m still learning every day. The day I stagnate in a learning curve, that’s the day you definitely have to move on. For the moment it hasn’t happened at Leinster for me.”

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