Laurent Robert
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| Laurent Robert | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | May 21, 1975 | |
| Place of birth | Saint Benoît, Réunion | |
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | |
| Playing position | Left Winger | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Toronto FC | |
| Number | 32 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1994–1999 1999–2001 2001–2006 2005 2006 2006–2007 2008 2008– |
Montpellier Paris Saint-Germain Newcastle United → Portsmouth (loan) Benfica Levante Derby County Toronto FC |
124 (19) 61 (24) 129 (21) 17 (1) 13 (2) 13 (0) 4 (0) 8 (1) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1999–2001 | France | 9 (1) |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Laurent Robert (born May 21, 1975 in Saint Benoît, Réunion, French Overseas Departments) is a French left winger who currently plays with Major League Soccer side Toronto FC.
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[edit] Club career
Robert started his career at Montpellier, before signing for Paris Saint-Germain in 1999. He made his debut for France shortly after, on August 18, 1999, against Northern Ireland. In a Champions League match against Rosenborg in 2000 he set up six goals in a 7-2 win. Following a recall to the national team, Robert scored his first goal for France in a match against Turkey on November 15, 2000.
[edit] Newcastle United
In 2001, he joined English club Newcastle United for a fee of £9.5 million. During his stay at the club, Robert was known for his pace and crossing ability, and was often called upon to take corners and free kicks. He had a tendency to shoot from long ranges in both open play and free kicks (scoring four goals in the 2004-05 campaign, all from set pieces) and has scored from almost 40 yards (37 m) from goal - his powerful shot has been measured at around 75 mph. His stats for assists were very good and Bobby Robson stated this within the Newcastle United DVD season Review 2003-2004.
Robert spent several seasons at the club, publicly falling out with Manager Graeme Souness.[1] His public criticism of the latter, as well as the entire Newcastle squad, resulted in Newcastle's desire to offload the troubled winger following the 2004-05 season.
[edit] Portsmouth
Following his time at Newcastle United and a falling out with the club, Robert moved to fellow Premier League team Portsmouth in June of 2005 in a unique deal which created much confusion within the press at the time. Unsure of whether the move to Portsmouth was on a permanent basis or a temporary loan move, it was later revealed by the two clubs that Robert was signed by Portsmouth on a year-long loan, with two additional years agreed following the completion of the loan.[2] The deal was created in order to expidite Robert's exit from St. James Park, while allowing Portsmouth to protect themselves from Robert's well-documented temperment. It was thought that Portsmouth manager Alain Perrin's French connection with Robert would allow the winger to revive his career on the south coast — this, however, would not occur.
In his time at Portsmouth, Robert scored only one goal, in a 2-1 away loss to West Bromwich Albion, and is most remembered by Portsmouth supporters for his refusal to sit on the bench for the club's 4-1 demolition of Sunderland, storming out of the ground despite the relegation-threatened club's position.[3] The sacking of Perrin and return of manager Harry Redknapp meant a return for the final games of 2005 for Robert, but would shortly be followed by Robert's return to Newcastle after his unsuccessful stint. Newcastle would again look to offload the winger as soon as possible, and a move to Portugal would materialize.
[edit] SL Benfica
It was not long before he signed a three-and-a-half year contract with Ronald Koeman's Benfica side. Robert said: "This is a super club. To be able to play in the Champions League is fantastic and that's why I am here". He added: "They showed a lot of interest in me. I am very happy to be here."
Robert's first goal in the Portuguese Superliga was, not surprisingly, from a free-kick 40 yards (37 m) away against arch-rivals FC Porto. A powerful but fairly central free kick was spilled into the net by the usually dependable Vítor Baía. However, his time at Benfica, despite their reputation for quality wingers, his plan did not work out very well.
[edit] Levante
Laurent signed for Spanish La Liga side Levante UD on 11 July 2006 on a free transfer from Benfica. He played thirteen games before the season ended, twelve of those were incomplete (with one red card), scoring no goals.
[edit] Toronto FC
MLS side Toronto FC announced on April 2, 2008 that they had signed Robert to a contract.[4] He made his debut on April 5, 2008, against D.C. United in a 4-1 loss. Robert impressed despite his team's poor play, delivering a number of excellent set piece opportunities. Robert continued to impress in his team's second match against David Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy, delivering a blazing free kick, from which the subsequent rebound was converted by Jarrod Smith on route to a 3-2 victory, Toronto's first of the 2008 season. On April 19, 2008, Robert scored his first MLS goal on a free kick in the 31st minute of the first home game for Toronto FC against Real Salt Lake, and was named Man of the Match in a 1-0 victory for his squad.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Laurent Robert career stats at Soccerbase
- (French) Laurent Robert French league stats at lfp.fr
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