Real Sociedad hit back at France manager Didier Deschamps after comments over player | OneFootball

Icon: Football Espana

Football Espana

·1 June 2023

Real Sociedad hit back at France manager Didier Deschamps after comments over player

Article image:Real Sociedad hit back at France manager Didier Deschamps after comments over player

France manager Didier Deschamps has explained his decision not to call up Real Sociedad defender Robin Le Normand to Les Bleus, and it was not an explanation that cut it with everyone.

Le Normand has been a regular in the La Real team in recent seasons, and Spain manager Luis de la Fuente approached him about potentially playing for the Spanish national team. He has since been nationalised by Spain, and is likely to be in de la Fuente’s second squad for the Nations League final.


OneFootball Videos


Deschamps told Marca why he had never gotten a look in with his side.

“Robin is one of those players who have an atypical career. We have been following him for some time, he is not in a club where you see him regularly, just when he plays against Barcelona or Real Madrid, and he is not someone who has a lot of presence in the media.”

“He is a player who has been performing regularly for several seasons, this has been a very nice campaign for him, I wish him the best with the Spanish team.”

After those statements, the Real Sociedad Twitter account published two tweets that seemed intrinsically linked with Deschamps’ statement.

The first was a tweet with Le Normand in it, with the words ‘One of the characteristics of champions was humility. La Real have been champions, and have had great champions. Allez Real, Allez Robin Le Normand.”

The second was an interview with Antoine Griezmann, where the French international, who has been capped 118 times for Les Bleus and won the World Cup with them too. During it, he states that “La Real gave me everything. At 14, nobody in France wanted me.”

Deschamps comments are somewhat bizarre. Given in recent years he has called up players from various sides in Ligue 1 that have not come close to the achievements Real Sociedad have managed with Le Normand at the back, not watching him is a strange reason for not calling him up. There is a legitimate argument to say that he is not amongst the best central defenders France have, which would have made more sense as a response.

Image via FRANCK FIFE / POOL / AFP

View publisher imprint