MADRID, 11 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish international Robin Le Normand has acknowledged that the French coach, Didier Deschamps, contacted him to tell him that he “valued” him, but he has highlighted that Spain “has been there from the first minute” and choosing to play with her is a reward for the “trust” you have shown him.
“We have talked and they are things between two people. What I feel will not change anything if I tell you what has happened. He told me that he was looking at me and that he valued me. That did not change anything in my head, I was very calm, it was an intervention on that path, which I am also grateful for; that the France coach appreciates you is very good, but Spain has been there from the first minute. I have been here for eight years, I feel very good and very happy in Spain”, he declared in a conference press.
In this sense, he assured that it was Spain that first showed him its “trust”. “First are my values. All the confidence that all the people of the RFEF had given me, the coach, my teammates, my family… Everything was very clear in my head. There really hasn’t been any doubt. I appreciate you noticing me, he speaks well of my work, but in my head everything was very simple. My idea, since they called me and showed me their confidence, was to go with Spain”, he sentenced.
“After eight years in Spain, after having been raised and educated since I arrived at the age of 18, Real Sociedad and San Sebastián have given me a lot. Receiving a call from RFEF executives and also from the coach makes you make the decision very easily,” he continued.
In this sense, he considers that opting for Spain is also a thank you to the work carried out by the Royal Society. “There are three of us and there are other players who could be there. He speaks highly of the work they are doing there. Since I arrived I have found a very good dynamic, it is a luxury to be in this club; they train us, support us as footballers and as people, they They prepare, and that’s part of my decision to go with Spain. When I arrived here I wasn’t prepared to play in the First Division, they have prepared me and trained me. After so many years, what you want is to give them back that confidence, and go with Spain is a way to give them back that trust,” he stressed.
“They have given me almost everything. I arrived and I had almost no level to play in Second B. There were hours of video, of suffering with the repetition of the same exercises. Imanol Alguacil has been a very important piece, I can only thank the club and the teammates who have been around me have supported me. Physically I had a good base, but tactically I had weaknesses, and technically as well; Real’s style is to have possession without forgetting to defend well and be forceful at the back”, he continued.
In addition, the ‘txuri urdin’ defender downplayed some alleged statements by Deschamps, assuring that he did not watch the matches of the San Sebastian team. “Everyone interprets what they want to see. I don’t know exactly what he wanted to say, I interpreted it well. It is true that there have been some translations that were not the truth. I also understand that it could bother the Real, but I only What I felt is that he was looking at me. The important thing is what I feel; I want to go with Spain, period”, he indicated.
He also downplayed some words he said during an interview years ago: “If I go to Spain, my family will kill me.” “It has persecuted me, because you are asking me. It is an interview, nothing more. I was younger, playing with Spain was a hypothesis. You have just arrived, you start in the first team and you don’t think about it. Where I have formed as a person is In Spain, with more maturity you try to take something more height in the situation. You value it of another way”, exposed.
Regarding France, he assures that “it is doing things very well”. “She has been world champion and now she is runner-up. That does not affect my decision, I was clear about where I felt good and where I saw confidence. After two days here, I think I have chosen well. I am with very good people and players very ‘top’ and we don’t have to be afraid. We have a lot of work ahead of us, it’s time to work”, he said.
On the other hand, he confessed that what has impressed him most about the team is “the technical quality there is.” “I come from a club where they play very well, but it is true that here even a little more, each player is technically very good,” he said. “I’m part of the group, that doesn’t mean I’m going to be a starter. I work to be a starter, but that will be shown on the field if the coach considers it,” he said.
Regarding the most veteran players, he stated that “there have been no tips, but there have been examples”. “There is no better example than these players in world football. I try to train in the best way and follow in the footsteps of those people who have demonstrated their human and football quality at an international level,” he said.
The man from Pabu also explained that Italy, rival in the semifinals of the Final Four of the League of Nations, “is always powerful”. “The idea is to have a lot of confidence in what we do. The staff is doing a very good job to analyze them. We will try to find their weaknesses. We are two games away from a title and we have to think about that,” he asserted.
In another order of things, he considers that Aymeric Laporte, also French nationalized Spanish, and he have had “quite different paths” despite both opting for ‘la Roja’. “We haven’t spoken yet. He will still be celebrating other things -the ‘Champions’ won with Manchester City-, but I want to see him and that we can both talk”, he said.
Finally, Le Normand did not want to talk about the future of his teammate ‘txuri urdin’ Martín Zubimendi. “I’m not Martín, I can’t assure you of anything. He’s a very calm boy, he’s a friend, he’s always been with me since the quarry. I’ve seen him evolve, he’s a world-class player, what he does is impressive. He looks very calm with his situation, with a view to his future we will have to ask him,” he concluded.