Team captain Luis Robles will face his long-time club on Wednesday when Inter Miami hosts the New York Red Bulls in a matchup at Inter Miami CF Stadium. The goalkeeper, who made his 250th MLS appearance last Saturday, spent eight years with the Red Bulls, winning the 2015 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year award, winning the Supporters’ Shield three times and breaking the MLS ironman record.
“I was wearing that jersey and that badge for a long time,” said Robles. “We got to experience some really high highs. [We won] our first Supporters’ Shield, it was the first significant trophy in the history of that organization, and we went on to win two more…When I say that it was an incredible experience, I don’t say that lightly. When I think about what that club provided for my family, I can’t help but smile.”
“I can’t help but think of those eight years as being really special, not only in my life but also for my family. When I consider where I was career-wise in 2012, for them to take me in and make me one of their own and allow my career to progress, [and allow] my development as a player, as a person, as a leader to take center stage, it will never sour anything about that experience.”
While the opportunity to face the Red Bulls will offer a unique experience to Robles, his focus remains fully on the objectives at hand for his current Club.
“I’m not the most sentimental person so I think this is one of the moments where that plays to my advantage. It will definitely be fun to play against those guys but there isn’t necessarily a ton of me that thinks ‘this is such a special game’...it’s just our next game,” said Robles. “For us, now the objective is putting together two good performances, results, and two wins…It just so happens that it is against a club that I played for for quite a bit of time: eight years and a lot of games and a lot of wins with a few trophies sprinkled in there. I think it’s really cool that we’ll be able to do that, but honestly for me the biggest feeling is that it’s our next opportunity to try to win consecutive games.”
“ What we’re trying to accomplish here at this organization, playing them is just part of that process. We have yet to play two games in a row where we win both of them and that is really our objective.”
The matchup presented Robles with the opportunity to reflect on his transition from his longtime home in New York to his new home with Inter Miami.
“The transition has been great. What a year 2020 has been, it’s been interesting in so many ways, it’s been discouraging in so many ways. Yet, for my family it’s also been very positive,” concluded Robles. “My kids are excited for daddy to play against the New York Red Bulls.”
