Robin Aimé Robert Le Normand (born 11 November 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Real Sociedad. Born in France, he plays for the Spain national team.
 Le Normand with Real Sociedad in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robin Aimé Robert Le Normand[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 11 November 1996[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Pabu, France | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Real Sociedad | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Brest | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Brest II | 39 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Brest | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2019 | Real Sociedad B | 82 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018– | Real Sociedad | 163 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Spain | 9 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:03, 21 April 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:03, 26 March 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
He started playing at Brest, where he made one first-team appearance, before joining Real Sociedad.
He obtained Spanish nationality in 2023 and was part of the Spain squad that won the UEFA Nations League in the same year.
Club career edit
Brest edit
Born in Pabu, Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany[3] Le Normand represented Brest as a youth player. On 21 September 2013 he made his senior debut, starting with the reserve team in a 1–0 CFA 2 away loss against Lannion.
Le Normand scored his first senior goal on 19 March 2016, netting his team's third in a 3–3 draw at Fougères. On 15 April, he made his professional debut by starting in a 2–1 away loss against Sochaux for the Ligue 2.[4]
Real Sociedad edit
On 5 July 2016, Le Normand signed a two-year deal with Real Sociedad, being assigned to the B-team in Segunda División B.[5] He received a new contract in August 2018, for two more years.[6]
Le Normand made his first team – and La Liga – debut on 26 November 2018, starting in a 2–1 home win against Celta Vigo.[7] The following 12 February, he renewed his contract with the Txuri-urdin until 2022,[8][9] and was definitely promoted to the main squad on 9 June.[10]
After the departure of Héctor Moreno, Le Normand became an integral part of the starting XI.[11] He scored his first La Liga goal on 30 November 2019, opening the scoring in a 4–1 home win against Eibar.[12] He was rewarded with a contract extension until 2024 on 4 June 2020.[13] On 19 December, he scored in an 8–0 win at Tercera División club Becerril in the first round of the Copa del Rey;[14] he also played in the 1–0 win over Basque derby rivals Athletic Bilbao in the COVID-delayed final on 3 April 2021.[15]
Le Normand was chosen as La Liga Player of the Month for October 2021,[16] the first defender since Diego Godín of Atlético Madrid in 2014.[17] He played 48 out of 51 games in 2021–22, missing only one league game by suspension, and then extended his contract until 2026.[18]
International career edit
In May 2023, the Spanish Council of Ministers granted Spanish nationality to Le Normand after living in Spain for almost seven years, meaning he would be eligible to play for the Spanish national team.[19] On 2 June, he was included in their 23-man squad for the UEFA Nations League,[20] debuting 13 days later in their 2–1 semi-final win over Italy, where he started in central defence alongside another naturalised Frenchman, Aymeric Laporte.[21] On 18 June, he started in the final as Spain defeated Croatia in a penalty shootout to win their first Nations League title.[22]
On 19 November 2023, Le Normand scored his first goal for Spain in their final UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier – a 3–1 win over Georgia.[23]
Personal life edit
Le Normand's younger brother, Théo, is also a professional footballer, who made his debut for Guingamp in 2021.[24]
Career statistics edit
Club edit
- As of match played 21 April 2024[1]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brest II | 2013–14 | CFA 2 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | CFA 2 | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||||
| 2015–16 | CFA 2 | 19 | 2 | — | — | — | 19 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 39 | 2 | — | — | — | 39 | 2 | |||||
| Brest | 2015–16 | Ligue 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Real Sociedad B | 2016–17 | Segunda División B | 26 | 1 | — | — | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| 2017–18 | Segunda División B | 38 | 2 | — | — | — | 38 | 2 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Segunda División B | 18 | 1 | — | — | — | 18 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 82 | 4 | — | — | — | 82 | 4 | |||||
| Real Sociedad | 2018–19 | La Liga | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | La Liga | 31 | 1 | 8[a] | 1 | — | — | 39 | 2 | |||
| 2020–21 | La Liga | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 43 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | La Liga | 37 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 7[b] | 1 | — | 48 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | La Liga | 33 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | — | 41 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | La Liga | 25 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 7[d] | 0 | — | 39 | 2 | ||
| Total | 163 | 4 | 28 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 217 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 283 | 10 | 28 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 337 | 12 | ||
- ^ Includes appearance in 2020 Copa del Rey final (played in 2021)
- ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearance in Supercopa de España
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
International edit
- As of match played 26 March 2024[25]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2023 | 8 | 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 1 | |
- As of match played 26 March 2024
- Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Martínez goal.[25]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 November 2023 | Estadio José Zorrilla, Valladolid, Spain | 8 |  Georgia |
1–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
Honours edit
Real Sociedad
Spain
Individual
References edit
- ^ a b "Robin Le Normand: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Robin Le Normand". Real Sociedad. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ "Stade Brestois: Robin Le Normand rejoint la Real Sociedad" [Stade Brestois: Robin Le Normand joins Real Sociedad] (in French). Ouest-France. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ "FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 1–0 Stade Brestois 29". Ligue 1. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ "Robin Le Normand, Sanse's new incorporation". Real Sociedad. 5 July 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ "El central francés Le Normand amplía su contrato hasta 2020" [French defender Le Normand extends his contract to 2020]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). 17 August 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ Fernández, Iñaki (26 November 2018). "Oyarzabal se recupera a tiempo y Le Normand entra por Aritz" [Oyarzabal recovers in time and Le Normand comes in for Aritz] (in Spanish). Gipuzkoa Gaur. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ "Three more years". Real Sociedad. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ "La Real Sociedad renueva a Kevin Rodrigues y Robin Le Normand hasta junio de 2022" [Real Sociedad renew with Kevin Rodrigues and Robin Le Normand until June 2022] (in Spanish). Naiz. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ "Promote to the first team". Real Sociedad. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ "Le Normand, la gran apuesta de la Real Sociedad" [Le Normand, the great bet of Real Sociedad] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ "Odegaard helps Real Sociedad to big win over Eibar". Marca. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ "Le Normand renews at Real Sociedad until 2024". Be Soccer. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ "Los últimos equipos de Primera no fallan en la Copa" [Last Primera teams avoid failure in the Cup]. Levante-EMV (in Spanish). 19 December 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- ^ a b "Athletic Club 0-1 Real Sociedad: result, summary, goal". AS.com. 4 April 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Robin Le Normand named LaLiga Santander Player of the Month for October". Página web oficial de LaLiga | LaLiga.
- ^ Huchet, Arnaud (14 June 2022). "ENTRETIEN. " Les Bleus restent un objectif " dit Robin Le Normand, le Breton qui a conquis l'Espagne" [INTERVIEW. "Les Bleus remain an objective" says Robin Le Normand, the Breton who conquered Spain]. Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ Ramajo, Roberto (20 July 2022). "Le Normand renueva hasta 2026". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ "Robin Le Normand a obtenu la nationalité espagnole" [Robin Le Normand has obtained Spanish nationality] (in French). L'Équipe. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
- ^ "Robin Le Normand appelé avec l'Espagne" [Robin Le Normand called up with Spain] (in French). L'Équipe. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- ^ Pettit, Mark (15 June 2023). "Spain 2-1 Italy: Joselu sends La Roja back to final". UEFA. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ "Spain win Nations League: Croatia edged out on penalties". UEFA. 18 June 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ "Spain's Gavi suffers knee injury in 3-1 Euro qualifying win over Georgia". Reuters. 20 November 2023.
- ^ Parisot, Julien (22 June 2022). "Le football, une histoire de famille pour Théo (Guingamp) et Robin Le Normand (Real Sociedad)" [Football, a family story for Théo (Guingamp) and Robin Le Normand (Real Sociedad)] (in French). Ma Ligue 2. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Robin Le Normand". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ Lowe, Sid (3 April 2021). "Real Sociedad beat Athletic to claim Copa del Rey and Basque glory". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ Smith, Emma (18 June 2023). "Spain win Nations League final on penalties". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
External links edit
- Profile at the Real Sociedad website
- Robin Le Normand – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)
- Robin Le Normand at L'Équipe Football (in French)
- Robin Le Normand at BDFutbol
