| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1975-12-06)6 December 1975 (age 49) | ||
| Place of birth | Pont-l'Abbé, France | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sunderland (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1987 | US Plonéour | ||
| 1987–19?? | AS Ergué-Armel | ||
| 19??–1991 | Quimper | ||
| 1991–1994 | Rennes | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993–1999 | Rennes B | 109 | (2) |
| 1994–1999 | Rennes | 31 | (0) |
| 1999–2002 | Laval | 52 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | KSK Ronse | 5 | (0) |
| Total | 197 | (2) | |
| International career | |||
| 1990–1991 | France U15 | 2 | (0) |
| 1991–1992 | France U16 | 3 | (0) |
| 1992–1993 | France U17 | 5 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2015–2022 | Lorient B | ||
| 2022–2024 | Lorient | ||
| 2024– | Sunderland | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Régis Le Bris (born 6 December 1975) is a French professionalfootball manager and formerplayer who is currently the head coach ofPremier League clubSunderland.[1][2]
Le Bris grew up inPlonéour-Lanvern, acommune in the west ofBrittany. He first began playing youth football for local side US Plonéour, before joining AS Ergué-Armel at the age of 12, and laterQuimper.[3]
In 1991, he joined the youth ranks ofRennes, where he would play primarily with the B team, but with whom he would also make his senior debut in 1994 and sign his first professional contract at the age of 21.[4] Le Bris made a total of 31Division 1 appearances for Rennes, across five seasons with the first team.[5]
In April 1999, despite still having two years left on his contract at Rennes, Le Bris opted to join nearbyDivision 2 sideLaval, signing a three-year deal with the club and joining up with previous teammatesUlrich Le Pen andMickaël Buzaré.[6] Le Bris struggled for consistent game time at Laval, only making a total of 52 league appearances across three seasons with the club,[7] though it was there that he would meet future friend and colleagueFranck Haise.[8]
Le Bris played his last professional football withBelgian second division sideKSK Ronse, retiring in 2003 to focus on youth coaching.[9]
Le Bris played in multiple different France youth representative sides,[10] including representing theFrance under-16 team at the 1991Montaigu Tournament.[11]
Le Bris became acertified sports coach in 2004,[12] and started his managerial career as a youth coach forWasquehal, before joining the youth sector of Rennes in the same role.[9] During his stint with the club's under-19 squad, he led the team to the victory of theChampionnat National U19 in 2007, before winning theCoupe Gambardella the following year.[9][10]
In July 2012, after rejecting an offer to renew his contract with Rennes,[9] Le Bris was appointed as the head of youth development atLorient.[9][10] He also served as the coach of the under-17 squad, with whom he would win theChampionnat National U17 with in 2015, before being appointed as the manager of the club'sreserve team later the same year.[9][10] While serving in the role, he coached several footballers who would go on to play for the first team, includingMattéo Guendouzi,Illan Meslier,Alexis Claude-Maurice andEnzo Le Fée.[9][10]
In May 2022, Le Bris obtained aprofessional coaching licence [fr];[9][13] on 27 June of the same year, he was appointed as the head coach of Lorient's first team, signing a three-year contract.[10][14] In his first season at the club, he led the team to a tenth-place finish inLigue 1;[1] in March 2023, he extended his contract with Lorient until 2027.[15][16] Following their relegation to theLigue 2 at the end of the2023–24 campaign,[17][18] Le Bris officially left the club by mutual consent on 22 June 2024.[19][20]
On 22 June 2024, it was announced that Le Bris would be appointed as the head coach ofEFL Championship clubSunderland on 1 July, signing a three-year contract in the process.[1][2][21] He made a dream start to his time in charge of the club, having a 100% record across the first month of the season, scoring ten goals and conceding only one, being awarded theEFL Championship Manager of the Month for August.[22] Le Bris ultimately guided Sunderland back to thePremier League after an eight years absence, winning theplay-off final 2–1 againstSheffield United on 24 May 2025.
Le Bris is the brother of fellow former footballerBenoît Le Bris,[9][23] as well as the uncle ofThéo Le Bris, whom he managed atLorient.[23]
In 2006, he obtained adoctorate in sportphysiology andbiomechanics atRennes 2 University,[9] having presented a study onaccelerometer-based running as histhesis.[24] He graduated with adiplôme universitaire (DU) in themental training of high-level athletes, from the same university in 2010.[9]
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Lorient | 27 June 2022 | 22 June 2024 | 76 | 23 | 20 | 33 | 104 | 123 | −19 | 030.26 | [25] |
| Sunderland | 1 July 2024 | present | 64 | 28 | 19 | 17 | 79 | 63 | +16 | 043.75 | |
| Total | 140 | 51 | 39 | 50 | 183 | 186 | −3 | 036.43 | — | ||
Sunderland
Individual
