Matt Kremkau - Empire of Soccer

by RUSS McKENZIE

Hanover, NJ – The last time Luis Robles saw a national team call up, it was 2009. Is it any surprise, then, that the reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year was caught by surprise with a call last month?



Despite a stellar season with the New York Red Bulls, Robles was simply not expecting a call from the USMNT.

“My wife and I were getting ready to go back to Arizona on vacation, and I knew right around that time frame we were supposed to receive our offseason workouts. I saw (an email) something along the lines of team workout, and I just assumed it was from Tony (Jouaux – New York Red Bulls strength and conditioning coach).

“I open up the email and I’m thinking who are these characters? That was early December, and the call from Jurgen (Klinsmann) came a couple of weeks later.”

And just like that, after debuting against Haiti in the Gold Cup five years ago, Robles returned to the U.S. National Team.

He started the friendly against Iceland, a 3-2 victory in a match better defined for its defensive miscues than the play of their keeper. Nevertheless, Robles took everything he could from the experience. “It’s a great chance to evaluate yourself,” he explained. “As far as summing up how camp went, I guess we’ll figure that out later when the next call up comes out.

“Ultimately, that’s the verdict; you want to go in, you want to impress, you want to do your best, but the idea is to stay involved and stay in the picture. That remains to be seen.”

The January call meant that Robles’ offseason was shorter than expected as well. With Klinsmann’s reputation for being a fitness taskmaster comes the concern of overreaching to meet his standards. But this was a different camp with the USMNT — one Robles said felt more “relaxed” than past offerings.

“In the end, he wants to mimic what a [club’s] preseason would look like,” he said. “We had more time that we could spend as a group and enjoy going to dinner together instead of doing double days everyday.

“You ended up spending a lot of downtime with these guys,” Robles continued. “My roommate was (Revs midfielder) Lee Ngyuen, so I ended up spending a lot of time with him. We ended up taking a couple of pictures with Instagram, because when we’re on the field (during MLS play) I can’t stand that guy, but when he’s my roommate, he’s a pretty good character.”

One man who is happy that Robles has returned to camp is head coach Jesse Marsch. “I’ll try to catch up with Jurgen and see how Luis fits in with them,” he said. “Because that will be important for us to know.”

Now, the attention turns back to the task at hand — the 2016 MLS season. Robles and his teammates have been eliminated from the MLS Cup playoffs in the Eastern Conference Finals two years in a row. That weight is something Robles is looking to turn into motivation.

“I feel like we got really close again last year,” he said. “We came really close again to getting to the final. I think the lasting memory was how close we came the last two years, and if we can find a way to get over the hump and get into the final and win the final, that’s something that I think about each and every day.

“My focus is trying to help this organization get over that hump and win a championship.”