Change of heart: Inter Miami forward Robbie Robinson returns from Chile national camp
Inter Miami forward Robbie Robinson, who was set to debut for the Chilean national team in a World Cup qualifier against Brazil Thursday night, had a last-minute change of heart and returned home to South Florida.
The 22-year-old has an American father, Chilean mother and is a dual citizen, so he is eligible to play for the U.S. and Chilean national teams. He accepted Chile’s invitation, flew there on Monday, trained, and met with the media on Tuesday.
He told reporters how proud and honored he was to wear the Chilean shirt and that he hoped to play well for their team.
But he changed his mind, was not ready to commit to Chile, and can now keep open the option of playing for the United States. Had he played a match for Chile, he would have forfeited that option.
Robinson flew back Wednesday night, missed Inter Miami training Thursday morning but is expected to play in the road game Saturday at FC Cincinnati.
He posted on Instagram: “Thank you to the La Roja fans, players, coaches and staff for the warm welcome as I had the honor of joining national team camp. I’ve really enjoyed training with you and feel very grateful for how well you’ve treated me. At this time, I’ve decided to return to South Florida to take some time to process my international allegiance while helping Inter Miami push for the playoffs.”
Chilean fans did not take kindly to his decision. By noon there were 18,900 comments under his post, most of them roasting him in Spanish.
Inter Miami coach Phil Neville fully supports Robinson’s decision.
“To commit yourself to a country is one of the biggest things Robbie will have to do in his career, it’s bigger than joining a football club, it’s for me almost like getting married,” Neville said. “It’s that type of decision...It’s not like going into Target and picking an iPhone or a Samsung. It’s not as easy as that. You get two or three instances in your life where you’ve got to make the right decision. Get married, have children, which country you want to align yourself with. We will support Robbie and help him in making the right decision. He’s young enough and has plenty of time.”
Robinson had been on the U.S. national team radar and was listed on a preliminary roster for the Gold Cup earlier this summer but was not called up.
Neville said of Robinson’s critics: “When people say he should just play for Chile, why did he come home? He came home because he’s experienced the environment and wants more time to make a decision. We should respect that. Those people criticizing Robbie have probably never had a decision like this in their careers. He should feel no pressure whatsoever to play for a country if he doesn’t feel like he wants to play for that country. It’s his decision and will impact the rest of his career. He’s 22, in terms of career quite young. He’s a baby. He’s done nothing wrong. He’s not escaped from jail. He just wants more time.”
This story was originally published September 1, 2021 at 11:13 PM.