Gilbert ROBIN

Gilbert Robin was a goalkeeper hailing from the Breton region of Finistère. He began his playing days aged 11 at Carhaix, where he progressed through all the youth team age groups, reaching the level of Division d'Honneur in his years as a senior. In 1962; he was called up to do his military service in Algeria. It was during this period that he was spotted by Stade Rennais, who got him to sign professional at the start of the 1963/1964 season. He was initially up against D'Arménia and then Lamia for the number one jersey, and only made a limited number of appearances between 1963 and 1966, but he finally established himself as first-choice in the three seasons that followed. He participated in Rennes' famous cup run in 1965, even if he never played an active part in any of those games. This remarkable goalkeeper was not spare of injury worries, and he left Rennes in 1970 to sign for Caen in the Second Division. First-choice with the Normandy side, he would spend a season there before returning to Brittany, finishing his playing career with Quimper between 1971 and 1975. A discrete man, he would go on to manage several amateur clubs in Brittany, of which Coray, where he spent fourteen years. He then became a manager at the French bank, Crédit Agricole, before becoming a competent cyclist, notably doing bicycle tourism in which he would hold several licences. As a big fan of sports, he would clock up many kilometres with his club Cyclos Randonneurs Gabéricois. Alas, he would lose his life during one of his outings with his cycling team, killed in a collision with a car, on 23rd April 2002, at the tender age of 59. His hometown of Kergloff paid tribute to him several years later, naming one of the streets in the town after him.