Valentin Roberge

Valentin Sébastien Roger Roberge (born 9 June 1987) is a professional footballer who plays for Cypriot club AEK Larnaca FC as a centre-back.

Valentin Roberge
Personal information
Full name Valentin Sébastien Roger Roberge[1]
Date of birth (1987-06-09) 9 June 1987
Place of birth Montreuil, France
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 AEK Larnaca
Number 27
Youth career
ESD Montreuil
Les Lilas FC
Paris FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2007 Guingamp B 28 (1)
2007–2008 Paris SG B 31 (0)
2008–2010 Aris 25 (0)
2010–2013 Marítimo 77 (2)
2013–2016 Sunderland 10 (0)
2014–2015 → Reims (loan) 11 (0)
2016–2023 Apollon Limassol 168 (4)
2023– AEK Larnaca 2 (0)
International career‡
2022– Cyprus 4 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:11, 3 September 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 09:38, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

Born in France, he represents Cyprus at international level.

Club career

Early years

Born in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, Roberge had spells with hometown's ESD Montreuil, Les Lilas FC and Paris FC before joining En Avant Guingamp for his senior debut, but he went on to appear only for the reserve side.

For the 2007–08 season he signed with Paris Saint Germain FC, but met the exact same fate.[3]

Aris and Marítimo

In the summer of 2008, Roberge signed for Aris Thessaloniki FC, penning a three-year contract. He made his debut against Panathinaikos F.C. but, midway through his second year in the Super League Greece, an economic crisis took hold of the club, and he went five months without being paid before his link was terminated.[4]

Following his release, Roberge moved to Portugal's C.S. Marítimo after a successful trial.[5] He started in all of his 25 Primeira Liga appearances in the 2011–12 campaign, helping the Madeirans to finish fifth and qualify for the UEFA Europa League.[6]

Sunderland

On 10 June 2013, Premier League side Sunderland announced the signing of Roberge on a free transfer.[7] He made his debut on 17 August in a 0–1 home defeat against Fulham,[8] and scored his first goal on 24 September in the 2–0 home win over Peterborough in the League Cup, heading in an Adam Johnson cross.[9]

Roberge left the Stadium of Light in June 2016, with only 13 competitive matches to his credit.[10]

Apollon Limassol

Roberge joined Apollon Limassol FC in the 2016 off-season. He won several accolades during his spell, including the Cypriot First Division in 2021–22.[11]

International career

In September 2022, Roberge became a Cypriot citizen.[12] He won his first cap for the national team on the 24th at the age of 35, in a 1–0 victory against Greece in the UEFA Nations League.[13] He scored his first goal three days later, but in a 5–1 loss in Kosovo in the same competition.[14]

Career statistics
As of 5 June 2023[15]
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aris 2008–09 Super League Greece 20010—00—210
2009–10 5010———60
Total 25020—00—270
Marítimo 2010–11 Primeira Liga 251201000—281
2011–12 2503050——330
2012–13 271100091—372
Total 772606091—983
Sunderland 2013–14 Premier League 901021——121
2014–15 10—00——10
2015–16 000000——00
Total 1001021——131
Reims (loan) 2014–15 Ligue 1 1101010——130
Apollon Limassol 2016–17 Cypriot First Division 25070—001[lower-alpha 1]0330
2017–18 34140—1001[lower-alpha 1]0491
2018–19 25230—130—412
2019–20 2000—00—20
2020–21 27010—30—310
2021–22 29020———310
2022–23 25110—811[lower-alpha 1]0353
Total 1674180—341302226
Career total 2906280914323037310
  1. Appearance in Cypriot Super Cup

Honours

Apollon Limassol

References
  1. "List of players under written contract whose registrations have been cancelled by mutual consent between 01/03/2016 and 31/03/2016" (PDF). The Football Association. p. 8. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  2. "Valentin Roberge". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  3. Denis, Sébastien (3 April 2011). "Info FM, Valentin Roberge: "Au Portugal, beaucoup comparent mon parcours à celui d'Aly Cissokho"" [Info FM, Valentin Roberge: "In Portugal, many compare my career to that of Aly Cissokho"] (in French). Foot Mercato. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  4. Pereira, William (25 October 2012). "Roberge: «Tu sens que le Portugal ne va pas bien»" [Roberge: "You can feel Portugal is not well"] (in French). So Foot. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  5. "Francês Roberge chega à experiência" [Frenchman Roberge arrives on trial]. Record (in Portuguese). 29 June 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  6. Carvalho, David (31 July 2012). "Marítimo quer primeira vitória europeia da época" [Marítimo want first European win of the season] (in Portuguese). TSF. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  7. O'Rourke, Pete (10 June 2013). "Sunderland have signed Valentin Roberge, Cabral and Modibo Diakite". Sky Sports. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  8. Begley, Emlyn (17 August 2013). "Sunderland 0–1 Fulham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  9. "Sunderland 2–0 Peterborough". BBC Sport. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  10. Hunter, James (21 March 2019). "Sunderland's ill-fated class of 2013: Where are Roberto de Fanti's signings now?". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  11. Macedo, Aurélien (24 September 2022). "La belle histoire du Français Valentin Roberge sélectionné avec Chypre à 35 ans!" [The beautiful story of Frenchman Valentin Roberge called by Cyprus at the age of 35!] (in French). Foot Mercato. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  12. "Διεθνής με την Κύπρο στα 35 του ο Βαλεντίν Ρόμπερζ" [International with Cyprus at the age of 35, Valentin Roberge] (in Greek). BN Sports. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  13. Papamakarios, Petros (24 September 2022). "Κύπρος-Ελλάδα 1–0: Ο Τζιωνής "πλήγωσε" την γαλανόλευκη που γνώρισε την πρώτη της ήττα" [Cyprus-Greece 1–0: Tzionis "hurt" blue-and-white team that experienced their first defeat] (in Greek). Sport 24. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  14. "Κόσοβο – Κύπρος 5–1: Σφαλιάρα προσγείωσης στα μπαράζ παραμονής (vid)" [Kosovo – Cyprus 5–1: Landing playoff berth (vid)] (in Greek). Phile News. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  15. Valentin Roberge at Soccerway
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