Atlanta United centerback Miles Robinson participated in Wednesday’s media sessions ahead of Thursday’s World Cup qualifying game against Jamaica in Austin, Texas. The broadcast starts at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2, Univision and TUDN.
Here is an edited transcript of part of the interview with Robinson, which included reporters from numerous publications:
Q: Hey, Miles, wanted to ask about a potential centerback partner of yours, Chris Richards.
A: It’s my first time meeting him in person. Obviously he’s a great player, he’s a great person, you know. Funny guy, so it’s been great, you know, getting to know him these past you know few days. But yeah, he’s a great player.
Q: Curious how having played against Jamaica in the Gold Cup for you personally will add to your comfort level against them tomorrow.
A: Getting to play a team before somewhat recently helps because you know, I get to understand what they like to do, you know offensively, defensively things like this. But right now it’s just about focusing on us and how we can you know beat this team come tomorrow. I think we’re all ready and prepared.
Q: What did playing three times in seven days in last round of qualifier take out of your body? Was it any different than normal?
A: The fact that you played three games in seven days it’s, it can be tough on your body, but we’ve got a great staff and sports science staff. We’ve got a great medical team to get us all right, get us all mentally and physically ready for the game. I’m excited to play in it. And I think I always felt like I was physically ready when the time came.
Q: You mentioned that you’ve just been getting to know Chris Richards. How much time does it take for a pair of centerbacks to develop chemistry for a World Cup qualifying game and how much of an adjustment for you is it to go from playing alongside one style of center back to another?
A: I think, as professionals, you have to adapt to players that you play with, players that you play against. So I think I’m constantly adapting, and it’s just a matter of getting to learn what players like to do offensively, defensively, things like this, and you know just go out there and fight for each other. It’s gonna be a tough, tough game but it’s just about, you know, grinding and fighting for each other.
Q: (Manager) Gregg Berhalter and now some of the other players have talked a lot about being more direct and the attack and tactically we’ve heard the word verticality a lot. I was wondering what that means for you, your roles and assignments on the pitch and maybe what the preparation has been like this week. Is it different?
A: The training sessions have focused in on trying to play through the opponent rather than around them and I think with the few sessions we’ve had we’ve done a good job in that. It’s just about, defensively, trying to keep them pinned in their defensive half. As a centerback you try to win your duels, so I think that’s pretty much what we’ve been focusing in on.
Q: I’m curious about your preparation when you think about Jamaica and they’re under stress, they might have a problem. What do you think that you will need to be more aware of in terms of what they’re doing when they’re attacking you guys?
A: I think they’re very physical, strong team that likes to counter, likes to break, got some very fast players on the team, so as a centerback it’s a matter of trying to lock them in and trying to put out any fires in terms of counterattacks, and just focus for every second of the game for the full 90 minutes.
Q: With this set of three matches of qualifying coming up, how important is it to get off to a good start on Thursday to kind of set the tone for for this run?
A: I think the whole team is really just focused in on this match. We understand it’s a big game coming tomorrow and I think if we give it our all it starts with intensity, and if we actually go out there and give it absolutely everything as if it’s a final, good things will come.
About the Author
