League of Nations: Robin Le Normand, on Spanish time

“I saw the confidence of people from the RFEF (Spanish Football Federation), my teammates and my family and everything was very clear in my head. I am grateful for the interest of France but it was clear to me that my idea was to play for Spain”. These words come from Robin Le Normand, the defender of Real Sociedad, freshly called up for selection by La Roja. In a last square of the League of Nations cut off from the Blues, one of the curiosities remained to follow the Iberian beginnings of the native of Pabu (Côtes d'Armor).

After Aymeric Laporte two years ago, the Spanish selection has once again grabbed a central defender born in France. Like the Basque, Robin Le Normand waited a long time for a summons from Didier Deschamps, in vain. “My non-convocation for the 2022 World Cup was hard. Especially after Presnel Kimpembe's injury. Of course I thought about it because I was coming out of a season where I had done things well” he regrets. After eight years on Iberian soil, the 26-year-old has now made his choice and will wear the Roja tunic in the future.

Originally from Brittany (his little brother Théo currently plays for EA Guingamp), Robin Le Normand studied in Brest. He lives his late adolescence in Finistère but fails to gain the confidence of the club. As proof, he only played one Ligue 2 match (April 15, 2016 against Sochaux). Barred, he was spotted by Éric Olhats, Antoine Griezmann's "mentor", went to San Sebastian and joined Real Sociedad. Initially confined to the reserve team, Le Normand waits before climbing the ladder.

In 2019, he returned for AFP to his failure in Brest: “It had been very hard to accept. Me, I saw myself going pro there, it was a bit my dream that was crumbling, I was at the bottom of the bucket. The years went by, the elegant defender established himself with the flag team and the question of his national future naturally arose. In Marca, he declared this Sunday: “I am French and I am very proud of it. But where I was trained and where I grew up was in La Liga. My dream came true in Spain”. After meeting with the Federation and then Luis de la Fuente, the national coach, the process accelerated.

"I talked about it with my family and I decided quickly," he also said. A final call from Didier Deschamps, the tricolor coach, did not change anything. “He's a very good person, but my idea was very clear and I had no doubts. I am very happy and convinced of the decision I made. I prefer to keep these conversations confidential” evacuated the player about this famous telephone interview with the coach of the Blues.

Centerpiece of Real Sociedad, Robin Le Normand has played 41 games this season and has been a great architect of the qualification in C1 of the Basque club. Diego Simeone, the tempestuous coach of Atlético Madrid even considers that he “is one of the three best centrals in La Liga”. In contact with Imanol Alguacil, the only coach he has known since his arrival in the Basque Country, he has made great progress. “Physically I had a good base, but tactically and technically I had weaknesses,” concedes the player, “Today I identify with what I was taught at Real Sociedad: the game possession, technical quality".

"Grateful" to Spain, Robin Le Normand is very fond of Donosti (the Basque name of the city of San Sebastian) and sees himself there for a while. “I like everything here. I really like the rhythm and the way of life. The people and the city have welcomed me in a spectacular way. They have always supported me, even in difficult times,” he recalls for the Spanish daily.

A neophyte with La Roja, Robin Le Normand is slowly making his mark: "I feel good in the group, but I don't feel like a starter. It will depend on the coach. The game against Italy will give an indication of the role that awaits him. Aymeric Laporte should be in the Spanish eleven. Of the Manchester City defender, the Breton told Marca: “We took very different paths. I can't wait to play with him." The central hinge Le Normand-Laporte has many good years ahead of it on the other side of the Pyrenees.