Luis Robles went abroad towards the beginning of his professional career, joining Germany's Kaiserslautern at young age. Born in Arizona, he attended college at the University of Portland. He made a school-record number of saves there. The circumstances in which he arrived in MLS in 2012 are quite interesting. The goalkeeper nearly retired from the sport after a potential deal with the Vancouver Whitecaps fell through. He worked with a realtor for a few weeks while his wife was pregnant. Eventually, his name was entered into the Allocation Draft, where the New York Red Bulls acquired his rights.
Robles did not play much in 2012, but his time came when the starter, Ryan Meara got injured. Robles played in the playoffs. In 2013, he won the starting job, never to give it up for the next seven years. He helped win the Supporters' Shield in 2013. He was an Ironman for five straight seasons, meaning he played every minute of every single game. In 2014, he had the highest saves per game number of his career, with 3.38. He added 6 clean sheets on the year. On April 5th, he faced 11 shots, saving 9 of them in Montreal. His late denial of Marco Di Vaio kept the match at 2-2. He saved his first penalty of the year against Blas Perez of FC Dallas. His best game of the season was an 11 save clean sheet in New England. Somehow, he kept one out with an impossible spin on it. The Revs were in pure shock to be kept scoreless. Robles saved a Mike Magee penalty, but the rebound was steered in. He won the 2014 Save of the Year with a double save denial of Marco Pappa and Clint Dempsey. RBNY was knocked out in the playoffs by the New England Revolution.
In 2015, Robles upped his clean sheet tally to 9. The Red Bulls won their second Supporters' Shield with Luis in goal. The defense was so solid that he did not have any outrageous, high number save games. The most saves he recorded in one match was 6, though he conceded a rare 3 times. He made a great save on a late Kennedy Igboananike strike, but they lost the match. Robles won the 2015 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award despite making 2.56 saves per game, the second lowest of his career since 2014. The Supporters' Shield curse continued for the team, as Columbus sent them home.
On May 28, 2016, Robles shut down Toronto FC on all accounts. After Will Johnson scored a penalty and it was retaken for encroachment, Robles went the other way to stuff the penalty attempt. He later stoned Johnson again en route to a 7-save clean sheet. On Decision Day, he saved all 6 shots he faced in a shutout performance against the Philadelphia Union. He made a save in the right place at the right time on a deflection, then sprawled out for a diving stop later in the match. New York's regular season dominance continued, as did their playoff mediocrity. After a first placed Eastern Conference finish, Montreal sent them packing in their first playoff series. He finished with 11 clean sheets.
Robles kept a Lamar Neagle strike out of his net during a 2-0 victory early on in the 2017 season. He saved another 6 shots in a May visit to Kansas City, including a strong-handed stop on a Dom Dwyer header. He pushed aside a Benny Feilhaber shot later in the match. Jonathan Lewis ran in behind to get stuffed by Robles during a Red Bull loss in the Hudson River Derby. He saved 7 shots in the match. The year was not as successful for the Red Bulls, but they moved into the postseason as the six seed. Toronto FC got the best of them in the playoffs. It was another double-digit clean sheet campaign for Robles, with 10. He also made 3 saves per game even.
In 2018, Robles posted a career-high 14 clean sheets. In a CONCACAF Champions League game in March, he put up what may be his greatest performance of all time. He saved 13 shots against Tijuana during a 2-0 road win in Mexico, a rare feat in itself. He parried away a long-range strike, kept a header out of the bottom corner, then swiped his top hand on a ball destined for the top corner. Back in MLS play, he played two perfect matches in net in a row in June and July. On June 23rd, he saved all 6 shots he faced in a 3-0 win over FC Dallas. He kept it scoreless with a stretching stop on Maxi Urruti. On July 1st, he dove on a Marky Delgado opportunity, then put his paws on a Sebastian Giovinco penalty to stop it. Once again, the New York Red Bulls won the Supporters' Shield, their third with Robles. This time, they got past Columbus in the first round. The second round was where the story ended, at the hands of Atlanta United.
In 2019, Luis Robles, the iconic Red Bulls keeper, played his final season with the club. He was 35 at the time, which is fairly old, but normal for a goalkeeper. He kept 9 clean sheets on the season. His best game was in June, where he saved 7 shots against the Chicago Fire. He kept a shot from CJ Sapong out, before saying no to Przemyslaw Frankowski. After finishing sixth in the East, New York fell to the Philadelphia Union 4-3 after extra time in the playoffs. He temporarily kept the season alive by flashing the left glove on Fafa Picault in stoppage time. The final save of his Red Bull career also came against Picault, but it was not enough to extend the postseason.
The Red Bulls opted not to re-sign Robles after the 2019 season. He leads their records in games played, started, and minutes played. In December, he signed a contract with Inter Miami CF ahead of their inaugural MLS season. He played the final 15 matches of his career in South Beach, keeping 2 clean sheets. His best game with Miami was also his debut. In a match against LAFC, he saved 8 shots. He turned away a header from Diego Rossi as his first action for the club. Robles dove low to keep another Rossi shot out. The lone goal he conceded was an absurd chip from Carlos Vela. Rossi though, left the stadium wondering how he didn't score as Robles made a kick save on him later as well. His final match ever was on October 3rd against NYCFC. He announced his retirement on January 6, 2021. After retirement, he worked as a travel manager for the 2022 World Cup. Now, he works with MLS Next as a senior manager. The legendary goalkeeper in Luis Robles comes in at #34.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | CS | SAVES/PG |
2020 | MIA | 1,350 | 2 | 2.27 |
2019 | RBNY | 2,970 | 9 | 2.67 |
2018 | RBNY | 2,790 | 14 | 2.74 |
2017 | RBNY | 3,060 | 10 | 3.0 |
2016 | RBNY | 3,060 | 11 | 2.97 |
2015 | RBNY | 3,060 | 9 | 2.56 |
2014 | RBNY | 3,060 | 6 | 3.38 |
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