Robin Le Normand Explained

Robin Le Normand
Full Name:Robin Aimé Robert Le Normand
Birth Date:11 November 1996
Birth Place:Pabu, France
Height:1.87 m[1]
Position:Centre-back
Currentclub:Atlético Madrid
Clubnumber:24
Youthclubs1:Brest
Years1:2013–2016
Clubs1:Brest II
Caps1:39
Goals1:2
Years2:2016
Clubs2:Brest
Caps2:1
Goals2:0
Years3:2016–2019
Clubs3:Real Sociedad B
Caps3:82
Goals3:4
Years4:2018–2024
Clubs4:Real Sociedad
Caps4:167
Goals4:4
Years5:2024–
Clubs5:Atlético Madrid
Caps5:1
Goals5:0
Nationalyears1:2023–
Nationalteam1:Spain
Nationalcaps1:17
Nationalgoals1:1
Club-Update:23:05, 19 August 2024
Nationalteam-Update:23:48, 14 July 2024 (UTC)

Robin Aimé Robert Le Normand (born 11 November 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Atlético Madrid. Born in France, he plays for the Spain national team.

Le Normand started his professional career in France at Brest, where he made one first-team appearance, before joining Spanish side Real Sociedad in 2016.

Le Normand obtained Spanish nationality in 2023, and was part of the Spain squad that won the UEFA Nations League in the same year, before also winning the UEFA European Championship in 2024.

Club career

Brest

Born in Pabu, Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany[2] 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.[3]

Real Sociedad

On 5 July 2016, Le Normand signed a two-year deal with Real Sociedad, being assigned to the B-team in Segunda División B.[4] He received a new contract in August 2018, for two more years.[5]

Le Normand made his first team – and La Liga – debut on 26 November 2018, starting in a 2–1 home win against Celta Vigo.[6] The following 12 February, he renewed his contract with the Txuri-urdin until 2022,[7] [8] and was definitely promoted to the main squad on 9 June.[9]

After the departure of Héctor Moreno, Le Normand became an integral part of the starting XI.[10] He scored his first La Liga goal on 30 November 2019, opening the scoring in a 4–1 home win against Eibar.[11] He was rewarded with a contract extension until 2024 on 4 June 2020.[12] On 19 December, he scored in an 8–0 win at Tercera División club Becerril in the first round of the Copa del Rey;[13] he also played in the 1–0 win over Basque derby rivals Athletic Bilbao in the COVID-delayed final on 3 April 2021.

Le Normand was chosen as La Liga Player of the Month for October 2021,[14] the first defender since Diego Godín of Atlético Madrid in 2014.[15] He played 48 out of 51 games in 2021–22, missing only one league game by suspension, and then extended his contract until 2026.[16]

Atlético Madrid

On 27 July 2024, Atlético Madrid announced an agreement with Real Sociedad for the signing of Le Normand.[17] On 3 August, Le Normand officially became a new Atlético Madrid player, signing a five-year contract.[18]

International career

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]

In June 2024, Le Normand was named in Spain's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 finals in Germany.[24] He started the team's first group match, playing the full match in central defence as Spain beat Croatia 3–0 at Berlin's Olympiastadion.[25] With Spain's victory over England, 2–1, in the final, Le Normand, along with the rest of the squad, became European champions.[26]

Personal life

Le Normand's younger brother, Théo, is also a professional footballer, who made his debut for Guingamp in 2021.[27]

Career statistics

Club

[28]

Club!rowspan="2"
SeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
2013–14CFA 27070
2014–15CFA 2130130
2015–16CFA 2192192
Total392392
2015–16Ligue 2100010
2016–17Segunda División B261261
2017–18Segunda División B382382
2018–19Segunda División B181181
Total824824
Real Sociedad2018–19La Liga403070
2019–20La Liga31181392
2020–21La Liga330207010430
2021–22La Liga3714071482
2022–23La Liga3304040410
2023–24La Liga2927070432
Total1674281251102216
Atlético Madrid2024–25La Liga1000000010
Career total288102812511034212

International

[29]

Appearances and goals by national team and year!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
Spain202381
202490
Total171

Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Le Normand goal.[29]

List of international goals scored by Robin Le Normand! No. !! Date !! Venue !! Cap !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
align=center 1 19 November 2023 José Zorrilla, Valladolid, Spain align=center 8 align=center 1–0 align=center 3–1

Honours

Real Sociedad

2019–20[30] [31]

Spain

2022–23[33]

Individual

October 2021[14]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Robin Le Normand . 2 August 2022 . Real Sociedad.
  2. Web site: Stade Brestois: Robin Le Normand rejoint la Real Sociedad. Stade Brestois: Robin Le Normand joins Real Sociedad. Ouest-France. fr. 4 July 2016. 18 October 2016.
  3. Web site: FC Sochaux-Montbéliard 1–0 Stade Brestois 29. Ligue 1. 18 October 2016.
  4. Web site: Robin Le Normand, Sanse's new incorporation. Real Sociedad. 5 July 2016. 18 October 2016.
  5. News: El central francés Le Normand amplía su contrato hasta 2020. French defender Le Normand extends his contract to 2020. 13 November 2020 . . 17 August 2018 . Spanish.
  6. News: Fernández . Iñaki . Oyarzabal se recupera a tiempo y Le Normand entra por Aritz. Oyarzabal recovers in time and Le Normand comes in for Aritz . 13 November 2020 . Gipuzkoa Gaur . 26 November 2018 . Spanish.
  7. Web site: Three more years. Real Sociedad. 12 February 2019. 4 July 2019.
  8. News: 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. 13 November 2020 . Naiz . 12 February 2019 . Spanish.
  9. Web site: Promote to the first team. Real Sociedad. 9 June 2019. 4 July 2019.
  10. Web site: 3 April 2020. Le Normand, la gran apuesta de la Real Sociedad. Le Normand, the great bet of Real Sociedad. 4 June 2020. El Desmarque. Spanish.
  11. Web site: 30 November 2019. Odegaard helps Real Sociedad to big win over Eibar. 4 June 2020. Marca.
  12. Web site: 4 June 2020. Le Normand renews at Real Sociedad until 2024. 4 June 2020. Be Soccer.
  13. News: Los últimos equipos de Primera no fallan en la Copa. Last Primera teams avoid failure in the Cup. 5 April 2022 . . 19 December 2019 . Spanish.
  14. Web site: Robin Le Normand named LaLiga Santander Player of the Month for October. Página web oficial de LaLiga | LaLiga.
  15. News: Huchet . Arnaud . 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. 25 May 2023 . Ouest-France . 14 June 2022 . French.
  16. News: Ramajo . Roberto . Le Normand renueva hasta 2026 . 25 May 2023 . Diario AS . 20 July 2022 . Spanish.
  17. News: Agreement with Real Sociedad for the transfer of Robin Le Normand . 27 July 2024 . Atlético Madrid . 27 July 2024.
  18. News: Welcome, Le Normand! . 3 August 2024 . Atlético Madrid . 3 August 2024.
  19. News: Robin Le Normand a obtenu la nationalité espagnole. Robin Le Normand has obtained Spanish nationality. L'Équipe. 24 May 2023. 24 May 2023. French.
  20. News: Robin Le Normand appelé avec l'Espagne. Robin Le Normand called up with Spain. L'Équipe. 2 June 2023. 2 June 2023. French.
  21. News: Pettit . Mark . Spain 2-1 Italy: Joselu sends La Roja back to final . 19 June 2023 . UEFA . 15 June 2023.
  22. Web site: Spain win Nations League: Croatia edged out on penalties. 18 June 2023. 20 November 2023. UEFA.
  23. News: Spain's Gavi suffers knee injury in 3-1 Euro qualifying win over Georgia. 20 November 2023. Reuters.
  24. News: 7 June 2024 . OFFICIAL Final Spain squad for the Euro 2024 finals . . 7 June 2024 .
  25. Web site: Spain 3-0 Croatia LIVE: UEFA Euro 2024 - score, updates & reaction. BBC Sport. 19 June 2024.
  26. News: Marcotti . gab. Spain's identity, not star power, vaulted them to Euro 2024 glory . 15 July 2024 . ESPN . 14 July 2024.
  27. News: Parisot . Julien . 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). 18 November 2022 . Ma Ligue 2 . 22 June 2022 . French.
  28. Web site: Robin Le Normand: Summary . Soccerway . Perform Group . 1 January 2024.
  29. Web site: Robin Le Normand. EU-Football.info. 15 June 2023.
  30. Web site: 4 April 2021. Athletic Club 0-1 Real Sociedad: result, summary, goal. 3 April 2021. AS.com.
  31. News: Lowe. Sid. 3 April 2021. Real Sociedad beat Athletic to claim Copa del Rey and Basque glory. The Guardian. 3 April 2021. 0261-3077.
  32. Web site: UEFA.com . Spain 2-1 England UEFA EURO 2024 Final . 2024-07-14 . UEFA.com . en.
  33. News: Smith . Emma . 18 June 2023 . Spain win Nations League final on penalties . BBC Sport . 18 June 2023.