Director of the Spanish selection, Albert Luque returned to the Robin Le Normand case. The French defender from Real Sociedad chose to wear the colors of La Roja, despite an appeal from Didier Deschamps.
In 2023, the Spanish selection has sometimes aligned a Franco-French central hinge. A few years after Aymeric Laporte, Robin Le Normand also decided to join La Roja, to the great dismay of the French team. Director of the Spanish selection, Albert Luque returned to the case of the Real Sociedad defender in an interview with AS.
“This is a subject that I have dealt with personally and Le Normand showed me that he had his say, explains the former La Coruna player. Before speaking to him, I spoke to Xabi Alonso, who had him at Real Sociedad. I also spoke with the sporting director of Real Sociedad. They told me wonders on a personal and professional level. I decided to take the plunge and told him what we had in mind for him and I think it was an incredible achievement. At the sporting level, we have already seen his performances. And on a human level, he is one of the three best in the locker room. For humility, personality, work. We are very proud to have achieved this. »
The Norman had accepted the Spanish selection because he was not called up to the French team by Didier Deschamps but, at the last moment, the Blues coach tried to make him change his mind. “For the anecdote, I tell you that at the last minute he received a call from Didier Deschamps to take him, confides Luque. Robin called me right away and told me that he gave me his word, that he had talked about it with his family and that he wouldn’t change his mind because he appreciated the commitment that Spain had taken and what we had done politically. »
The Norman had appreciated Deschamps’ call
This call from Deschamps is not a scoop, since Le Normand himself had already spoken about it last June. “He called me to tell me how interested he was in me. We spoke for quite a long time. Coming from such a person, given his career as a player, then as a coach and his track record, it touched me. I enjoyed our discussion. But that didn’t change anything in my head. Everything was clear and my choice was made”confided the Basque player, at Real Sociedad for seven years.
Spanish coach Luis De La Fuente also took the liberty of addressing a nice tackle to the Blues staff last June. “If France hasn’t called him, it’s because they haven’t seen him much. We watch all the championships and we don’t miss the good players. He is fantastic “declared De La Fuente, and added: “I thank Le Normand. He has a fantastic future in a position where we need players of this level. »
🇪🇸 Spain 2-1 Italy 🇮🇹
The reaction of Robin Le Normand after his first selection with La Roja at the microphone of @Gio_Castaldi #EDS pic.twitter.com/Y1fjI6Ay7S
— THE EQUIPE du soir (@lequipedusoir) June 15, 2023
