Régis Le Bris

Régis Le Bris
Personal information
Date of birth (1975-12-06) 6 December 1975
Place of birth Pont-l'Abbé, Brittany, France
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position Centre-back
Team information
Current team
Sunderland (manager)
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 professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Premier League club Sunderland.[1][2]

Club career

Le Bris grew up in Plonéour-Lanvern, a commune in the west of Brittany. He first began playing youth football for local side US Plonéour, before joining AS Ergué-Armel at the age of 12, and later Quimper.[3]

In 1991, he joined the youth ranks of Rennes, 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 31 Division 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 nearby Division 2 side Laval, signing a three-year deal with the club and joining up with previous teammates Ulrich Le Pen and Mickaël 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 colleague Franck Haise.[8]

Le Bris played his last professional football with Belgian second division side KSK Ronse, retiring in 2003 to focus on youth coaching.[9]

International career

Le Bris played in multiple different France youth representative sides,[10] including representing the France under-16 team at the 1991 Montaigu Tournament.[11]

Managerial career

Rennes and Lorient

Le Bris became a certified sports coach in 2004,[12] and started his managerial career as a youth coach for Wasquehal, 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 the Championnat National U19 in 2007, before winning the Coupe 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 at Lorient.[9][10] He also served as the coach of the under-17 squad, with whom he would win the Championnat National U17 with in 2015, before being appointed as the manager of the club's reserve 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, including Mattéo Guendouzi, Illan Meslier, Alexis Claude-Maurice and Enzo Le Fée.[9][10]

In May 2022, Le Bris obtained a professional coaching licence;[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 in Ligue 1;[1] in March 2023, he extended his contract with Lorient until 2027.[15][16] Following their relegation to the Ligue 2 at the end of the 2023–24 campaign,[17][18] Le Bris officially left the club by mutual consent on 22 June 2024.[19][20]

Sunderland

On 22 June 2024, it was announced that Le Bris would be appointed as the head coach of EFL Championship club Sunderland 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 the EFL Championship Manager of the Month for August.[22] Le Bris ultimately guided Sunderland back to the Premier League after an eight years absence, winning the play-off final 2–1 against Sheffield United on 24 May 2025.

Personal life

Le Bris is the brother of fellow former footballer Benoît Le Bris,[9][23] as well as the uncle of Théo Le Bris, whom he managed at Lorient.[23]

In 2006, he obtained a doctorate in sport physiology and biomechanics at Rennes 2 University,[9] having presented a study on accelerometer-based running as his thesis.[24] He graduated with a diplôme universitaire (DU) in the mental training of high-level athletes, from the same university in 2010.[9]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 20 December 2025
Managerial record by team and tenure
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 69 30 21 18 84 69 +15 043.48 [26]
Total 145 53 41 51 188 192 −4 036.55

Honours

Sunderland

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b c "Sunderland appoint Le Bris as head coach". BBC Sport. 22 June 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b Onyeagwara, Nnamdi (22 June 2024). "Sunderland appoint Le Bris as new manager". The Athletic. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  3. ^ Le Mée, Dylan (6 November 2022). "FC Lorient. Régis Le Bris, une carrière d'entraîneur qui a pris racine dans le Finistère". Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  4. ^ "Stade rennais : Six premiers contrats professionnels". Ouest-France (in French). 24 April 1997. pp. 22S02.
  5. ^ "Régis Le Bris". fbref.com. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  6. ^ "Régis Le Bris au Stade lavallois". Ouest-France (in French). 27 April 1999.
  7. ^ "Régis Le Bris". lequipe.fr (Official website of L'Équipe) (in French). Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  8. ^ "Haise-Le Bris, retrouvailles en pleine ascension". ligue1.com (Official website of Ligue 1) (in French). 31 August 2022. Archived from the original on 18 December 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Régis Le Bris, de la formation au banc du FC Lorient" (in French). L'Équipe. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Gouzerh, Paul-Marie (27 June 2022). "Le FC Lorient ouvre une nouvelle page de son histoire : Régis Le Bris nommé entraineur" (in French). FC Lorient. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Tournoi de Montaigu 1991 - Effectifs nations". mondial-football-montaigu.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 19 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Site Officiel de la F.F.F. – La formation" (in French). 12 June 2004. Archived from the original on 18 October 2005. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Zoumana Camara (entraîneur des U19 du PSG) diplômé du BEPF" (in French). L'Équipe. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Régis Le Bris nommé nouvel entraîneur du FC Lorient" (in French). L'Équipe. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Régis Le Bris et son staff prolongent jusqu'en 2027" (in French). FC Lorient. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Régis Le Bris à Lorient jusqu'en 2027" (in French). L'Équipe. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  17. ^ Calvet, Nicolas (19 May 2024). "Malgré la victoire du PSG à Metz et son carton contre Clermont, Lorient relégué en Ligue 2 pour un petit but" (in French). L'Équipe. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  18. ^ Cogné, Baptiste (30 May 2024). "FC Lorient. Régis Le Bris, une longue attente" (in French). Ouest-France. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  19. ^ Gouzerh, Paul-Marie (22 June 2024). "Régis Le Bris n'est plus l'entraîneur du FC Lorient" (in French). FC Lorient. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  20. ^ Abautret, Olivier (22 June 2024). "FC Lorient. Régis Le Bris n'est plus l'entraîneur des Merlus" (in French). Ouest-France. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  21. ^ "Welcome to Sunderland: Régis Le Bris". Sunderland Association Football Club. 22 June 2024. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  22. ^ a b "August's Sky Bet Championship Manager & Player of the Month winners". efl.com. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  23. ^ a b "Chez Théo Le Bris, le foot c'est de famille !" (in French). Ouest-France. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  24. ^ Le Bris, Régis (2006). Etude biomécanique de la course à pied par une méthode accélérométrique : comparaisons méthodologiques et applications. Rennes 2 University (Thesis) (in French) – via theses.fr.
  25. ^ "Football Club Lorient Bretagne - Results and fixtures". Soccerway.
  26. ^ "Managers: Regis Le Bris". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  27. ^ "Sheffield United 1–2 Sunderland: Line-ups". BBC Sport. 24 May 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  28. ^ "Sky Bet Championship: Manager & Player of the Month October winners". EFL. 8 November 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.