by Greg Seltzer for Soccer365

One could say life currently has Luis Robles on the express train. A month ago, the Kaiserslautern keeper  was still awaiting his league debut. Now, the 24-year old has a first win, a first shutout and - at least temporarily - Red Devils promotion hopes next to his name. For now, the #35 shirt has the #1 job.

It has all happened rather quickly from the very beginning of this chapter of the Robles story. Nearly two years after signing with the historically strong mountaintop club, now down in the 2.Bundesliga having been a German champ as recently as 1998 and a UEFA Cup semifinalist in 2001, the Arizona native has suddenly been the man in goal for coach Milan Šašić.

His first start was a real surprise job, with regular Tobais Sippel coming down ill just before an October 17th visit from Ahlen.

"I learned that Sippel was sick the day before the game," Robles told Soccer365. "As I came into the locker room, the guys called me '#1'. After a few guys had said this, I finally asked 'what are they talking about?'. I was not aware about Sippel being sick, they all laughed."

"After training that day, we went into the hotel," he recalled. "I sent so many emails and made so many calls. It was a bad day to forget my charger because by the next day, game day, my phone battery died."

Robles picked up his first career victory in a 4-1 home romp, but was quite unhappy with the goal he allowed to deadly Ahlen striker Lars Torborg. Fortunately, says the youngster, his manager responded with a nurturing word about the incident.

"I made a decision to come out for a difficult ball and I just didn't get there in time as the forward deflected the ball," he said. "Though I felt I made a poor decision, it was great to see the coach support me and not cast blame. This was a boost of confidence especially since, two games later, I would be back in goal."

And back he would be when Sippel broke a bone in his arm against Osnabrück. Robles came on at the break to help close out a 2-0 win, then notched his first solo clean sheet in a scoreless draw with 1860 Munich.

"After the game, Sippel was back from the hospital with a cast surrounding his forearm," he said. "He told me that he would be out until Christmas, so that meant I would be in goal until at least the winter break."

Though it was his third appearance, Robles says the 1860 game was the one that gained him respect in the clubhouse.

"Getting the shutout against München was special because it was my first shutout as a professional and it came against a difficult opponent," he explained. "I felt we played well enough to win, but were a little unlucky."

"As far as my performance, there was not much to deal with since our team exhibited a fine defensive performance. Overall, by assisting to get the shutout, I feel it has increased the confidence of my teammates in me as a goalkeeper."

With his career moved into the spotlight so fast, Robles has only once had the honor of treading the line in front of a loved one from the States - and that was mere happenstance.

"Unfortunately, no family members or my girlfriend are going to be able to attend the games before Christmas because there is too much going on back in the States to allow this," sighed Robles. "But a solid group of friends I have made here in Germany through church has been at every game."

"Also by luck of chance, my best friend growing up just happened to be backpacking through Europe, so he had a detour and was able to attend the 1860 game."

Despite the American taking his first loss by a 4-2 count this weekend at Wehen, Kaiserslautern remain second in the table, only point off the top. For a club that has only spent five of the Bundesliga's 46 seasons a league below, the Fritz Walter crew have their fans daring to dream. 

Robles and his teammates believe it's too early to begin talking about promotion, an attitude he suggests may help them achieve it.

"I feel one of our strengths as a team is that we are able to maintain focus, whether we are losing at halftime or dealing with a promotion battle," he stated. "The chatter is brief and is mostly brought up by the media."

"Of course, in the back of our minds we realize what we are dealing with, but everyone is very professional and doesn't get caught up by it. We focus on the next opponent and it stops there."

Concedes Robles, "There might be more chatter if we are still in the same position with six games left to go in the season."

Now charged with holding down the fort for a title chaser, the former Portland Pilot could have joined MLS after being drafted 50th overall by D.C. United in January of 2007. Instead, Robles opted to gradually work his way up from the Kaiserslautern second team.

Though his path to the teamsheet in K-town was a long road, the netminder is grateful for every day of the experience because it gave him time to refine his craft in a top-notch environment.   

"I feel that my approach to being a professional has evolved," said Robles. "When I first got here, I just left college, and as you can imagine, being a collegiate athlete and a professional is two totally different worlds."

"You start to understand how to prepare your body and mind to perform. Signing a contract by definition can make you a professional, but being a professional is about preparation, consistency, and discipline - things that I never thought much about in college."

"Now, it's about eating the right things, getting enough sleep, maintaining peak physical conditioning, especially since I still had a lot to prove," Robles continues, clearly pleased with how far he's come as a player while cognizant that his soccer education has only just started.

"I began looking for the slightest things that would give me a competitive advantage. I am still learning every day and I feel that is one of my strengths as a player: I am willing to learn constantly."

What Mr. Sippel (four years junior to Robles) is probably learning right now is that keeper injuries give the back-up a chance to shine. While the sudden stand-in is not openly coveting the starting job, he also realizes that chances to be the man don't exactly grow on trees.

"I feel as a professional, every opportunity that comes your way is an opportunity to show what you are capable of doing," says Robles. "I can only control so much. In my case, I can control how I perform and how I prepare for each game."

"Whatever comes afterward will have to wait to be seen. However, I am really excited about my chance to show the fans of FC Kaiserslautern what I am capable of doing."

Soccer365 reporter Greg Seltzer blogs daily over at No Short Corners.

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