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

Valentin Roberge
Personal information
Full name Valentin Sébastien Roger Roberge[1]
Date of birth (1987-06-09) 9 June 1987 (age 37)
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
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)
2014–2015Reims (loan) 11 (0)
2016–2023 Apollon Limassol 168 (4)
2023– AEK Larnaca 31 (0)
International career
2022– Cyprus 5 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 June 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:54, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

Born in France, he represents Cyprus at international level.

Club career

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Early years

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Born in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, Roberge had spells with hometown's ESD Montreuil, Les Lilas and Paris FC before joining 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, but met the exact same fate.[3]

Aris and Marítimo

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In the summer of 2008, Roberge signed for Aris Thessaloniki, penning a three-year contract. He made his debut against Panathinaikos 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 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

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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

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

International career

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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

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As of 5 June 2023[15]
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Aris 2008–09 Super League Greece 20 0 1 0 0 0 21 0
2009–10 5 0 1 0 6 0
Total 25 0 2 0 0 0 27 0
Marítimo 2010–11 Primeira Liga 25 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 28 1
2011–12 25 0 3 0 5 0 33 0
2012–13 27 1 1 0 0 0 9 1 37 2
Total 77 2 6 0 6 0 9 1 98 3
Sunderland 2013–14 Premier League 9 0 1 0 2 1 12 1
2014–15 1 0 0 0 1 0
2015–16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 10 0 1 0 2 1 13 1
Reims (loan) 2014–15 Ligue 1 11 0 1 0 1 0 13 0
Apollon Limassol 2016–17 Cypriot First Division 25 0 7 0 0 0 1[a] 0 33 0
2017–18 34 1 4 0 10 0 1[a] 0 49 1
2018–19 25 2 3 0 13 0 41 2
2019–20 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
2020–21 27 0 1 0 3 0 31 0
2021–22 29 0 2 0 31 0
2022–23 25 1 1 0 8 1 1[a] 0 35 3
Total 167 4 18 0 34 1 3 0 222 6
Career total 290 6 28 0 9 1 43 2 3 0 373 10
  1. ^ a b c Appearance in Cypriot Super Cup

Honours

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Apollon Limassol

References

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  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. ^ a b c d Valentin Roberge at Soccerway
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