Robin Le Normand is one of the centre-backs that Luis de la Fuente is counting on for the Spanish defence. Together with Laporte, they form the defence that will play against Georgia in the round of 16 of the European Championship. Italy has already warned that anyone can go home early. Both Le Normand and Laporte have been the talk of the town for being French.
“I know I wasn’t going to convince everyone, but I’ve always said how I feel. I’m not going to forget my past, where I grew up, where my parents are from, but I’ve been in Spain for nine years, they’ve made me a footballer, they’ve allowed me to achieve my dream and I’ve grown as a person too,” the defender stressed.
“When a kid arrives at 18 years old and spends eight in the Basque Country, where they have welcomed me in a spectacular way, you have to value it. And especially when they call you from the Federation and the coach shows confidence in you, you can understand my decision “he explained.
He asks that there be no confidence. “We don’t pay attention to what is said outside because in the end before the Euros nobody believed in us and now we are going to win no matter what. That is why we have to keep a cool head and face the match against Georgia the same as the group, being very humble. We have to go out with everything to try to win by giving everything on the field,” he said. “I only see this match, we will see what happens if I am on the field and if the play calls for a foul or the referee gives me a yellow card. If that happens, we have a very complete group. Against Albania we saw that the coach changed ten players and the team did not drop the level. We have an incredible group,” he said. Le Normand acknowledged that what he is experiencing with the Spanish national team “is the dream of any player,” and that when he took the step of becoming a naturalized player “I didn’t know that I would get this far or win a title.”
“You work for it, but there are very few people who can win a title with their national team. I have been lucky enough to do it and now to be at the European Championship. I am grateful and I continue working on the pitch to grow and repay the trust that has been given to me,” he said.
Le Normand and Aymeric Laporte form the most frequent central defender pairing in Luis de la Fuente’s matches. He confessed that on the pitch they communicate in Spanish, despite both being French by birth.
“On the field we never speak French, sometimes in concentration, but very little because it doesn’t come naturally to us. I have grown up in Spain, I have learned to communicate in Spanish and that is how I feel comfortable. With Aymeric we have played many games together and we have a very good connection, but also with Nacho and Vivian. The three of them are very good and help me a lot,” he said.
He also highlighted Spain’s defensive work, which has not conceded a goal in the three matches of the Euro Cup, extending the credit beyond the defensive line: “The statistics speak for themselves and not only about the defensive line, but also of the group because you can have a very good defense that if the people at the top do not have commitment it does not speak very well of the group.
2024-06-29 21:45:37
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