Eddie Robinson (born June 19, 1978) is an American retired soccer player who played as a center-back. During his playing career, he played in Major League Soccer for the San Jose Earthquakes and the Houston Dynamo. He also earned one cap for the United States national soccer team. Robinson now serves as a color commentator for Dynamo TV broadcasts.
Youth and college
Born in Orlando, Florida, Robinson grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina. He began playing soccer at the age of 5. He played high school soccer at Walter Hines Page Senior High School, where as a senior he was named an NSCAA-Umbro All-American as well as earning All-State and All-South honors. Robinson played college soccer at the University of North Carolina from 1996 to 2000, finishing his career with four goals and eight assists in 73 games. While at UNC, Robinson helped lead the Tar Heels to a 2000 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament championship and earned second team All-ACC selection in 2000.
Club career
San Jose Earthquakes
Robinson was selected with the 8th pick of the 2nd round (20th overall) in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft by the San Jose Earthquakes. He made his professional debut on April 21, getting the start in a 2–1 loss to the Miami Fusion. Robinson would play 90 minutes in both of San Jose's playoff games against the Crew, but the Earthquakes lost each game by the score of 2–1.
Robinson and the Earthquakes opened the 2003 season on March 16, losing 4–2 to C.S.D. Municipal in the Champions Cup. Robinson would miss the return leg due to a right hamstring strain, an injury that would keep him out for the first 6 MLS games of the year. He would return on May 31, but left the game after 37 minutes after re-injuring his hamstring. He returned on July 5 and played the full game in a 0–0 draw with the Chicago Fire. Robinson scored his first and only goal of the season September 20, helping San Jose to a 4–1 win over Kansas City. He then suffered a MCL sprain in his left knee that forced him to miss the final 5 games of the regular season. Robinson would miss the first game of the playoffs, a 2–0 loss to the Galaxy. He returned for leg 2 and helped the Earthquakes win 5-2 and advance to the Conference Final. Robinson once again played the whole game as San Jose defeated the Wizards 3–2 to return to MLS Cup. In the final, Robinson helped the Earthquakes defeat the Chicago Fire 4-2 and win their second ever MLS Cup.
On April 24, 2004, In the 4th game of the 2004 season, Robinson was subbed off in the first half after rupturing a tendon in his left hamstring. He underwent surgery on April 29. Robinson returned to the field on August 24, coming on as a sub in a 1–0 loss to the Kansas City Wizards in a U.S. Open Cup match. He would leave the game on October 2 after suffering a left knee sprain, forcing him out for the final two games of the regular season. Robinson would miss the first game of the playoffs, a 2–0 win over Kansas City. He came on as a substitute in the second leg, but the Wizards would prevail 3–0, eliminating the Earthquakes by an aggregate score of 3–2. Robinson suffered a torn ligament in his right leg during preseason that forced him to miss the season opener. He made his Dynamo debut on April 8, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 loss to the Kansas City Wizards. Robinson scored his first goal for Houston on June 3, scoring off a Brad Davis corner kick in the 85th minute to give Houston a 2–1 win over the LA Galaxy. He would score again on July 15, helping the Dynamo to a 3–2 win over the Wizards. On August 2, Robinson would score in a 4–2 win over the Carolina Dynamo in the U.S. Open Cup. Robinson was selected to the 2006 MLS All-Star Game and played the second half of a 1–0 win over Chelsea. He would score again for the Dynamo on August 23 in a 3–0 win over FC Dallas in U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals. Robinson helped the Dynamo finish as a 2 seed in the Western Conference. As a result of his good performances, he was named the Dynamo Defensive Player of the Year. During leg 2 of the Conference Semifinals, Robinson set up Brian Ching in the 92nd minute to give the Dynamo a 3–2 lead on aggregate over Chivas USA. After defeating the Colorado Rapids 3–1 in the Conference Final, the Dynamo faced off with the New England Revolution in MLS Cup 2006. Robinson and the Dynamo held the Revs to only one goal, but could only score one goal themselves. Houston would come through during the penalty shoutout 4–3, winning Houston's first MLS Cup. Robinson played every minute of the Dynamo's playoff run. He returned on June 30 in a 0–0 draw against FC Dallas, but was then forced to miss a game due to yellow card accumulation. He would again be suspended for 1 match due to yellow card accumulation after picking up a card in a 1–0 win against Dallas on August 19. During the North American SuperLiga, Robinson started every match of the tournament. During the semifinal, Robinson headed in a Richard Mulrooney free kick to level the score at 2 in the 82nd minute. However, C.F. Pachuca would go on to beat Houston 4–3 on penalties. On September 8, Robinson scored his first league goal of the season when he got on the end of a free kick by Mulrooney in a 4–3 win over Real Salt Lake. Mulrooney assisted Robinson again on September 3–0, this time from a corner kick, in a 3–0 win over FC Dallas. Robinson would miss the final match of the regular season after picking up a red card in the previous game. Houston ended the regular season as a 2 seed, in large part due to a Robinson led Dynamo defense that allowed a league low 23 goals, setting a then MLS single season record for fewest goals in a season. He was also named the Dynamo Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season.
Robinson and the Dynamo began the 2008 season on March 12, getting a 0–0 draw at C.S.D. Municipal in leg 1 of the 2008 CONCACAF Champions Cup. They would win the return leg 3–1. Robinson played in leg 1 of the semifinal, helping the Dynamo to a 0–0 draw with Deportivo Saprissa, but missed the second leg on April 9 due to an injury. Without Robinson, Houston lost 3–0. Although he received no card during the match, the league disciplinary committee suspended Robinson for 3 matches after Robinson elbowed Wizards defender Tyson Wahl in the face during a corner kick. Robinson returned from his suspension on May 10 in a 2–1 win over the Colorado Rapids. On May 28, Dallas midfielder Marcelo Saragosa committed an offensive foul against Robinson, who retaliated by shoving Saragosa to the ground. Both were shown yellow cards and Robinson was ejected due to it being his second yellow of the game. After the initial incident, Dallas midfielder André Rocha confronted Robinson and was shown a straight red card after making contact with Robinson's face. Later the MLS disciplinary committee suspended Robinson for an additional game after deeming Robinson retaliated against Rocha. Robinson appealed the additional suspension, claiming he never touched Rocha, but the suspension was upheld. The game would end in a 2–2 draw. On June 21, Robinson was subbed off during the first half after picking up an ankle sprain, forcing him to miss 2 MLS games and the first two games of the 2008 SuperLiga. The injury forced him to miss the semifinal and final of the SuperLiga, where the New England Revolution would get revenge on the Dynamo for the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cup results, beating Houston 6–5 on penalties. Robinson returned to action on August 16, playing 90 minutes in a 4–3 win over Real Salt Lake. The Dynamo experienced a disappointing playoffs however, losing to the New York Red Bulls 4–1 on aggregate in the first round, with Robinson playing every minute of the series. On September 22, he returned to the field after being injured for over 6 months, scoring the opening goal in a 5–1 win over C.D. Árabe Unido in the 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League group stage. He made his only regular season appearance on October 25, coming on as a substitute in a 3–2 win over Chivas USA. Robinson did not play in either leg of the Conference Semifinals, where the Dynamo defeated Seattle Sounders FC 1–0 in extra time of leg 2. In the conference final, Robinson came on as a substitute, but the Dynamo would lose 2–0 to the Galaxy in extra time. On March 27, Robinson and the Dynamo opened the 2010 season with a 1–1 draw with FC Dallas, Robinson was subbed off after suffering a left hamstring strain. However, he missed only one game and returned to the field on April 10, a 2–1 loss to the Galaxy. On May 29, Robinson scored his only goal of the season and his first MLS goal since 2007 in a 3–2 loss to the Philadelphia Union.
After the 2010 season, the Dynamo declined the contract option for Robinson, but worked out a new contract for 2011. He made his first appearance of the season on April 6 in a 1–0 loss to Sporting Kansas City in a U.S. Open Cup qualifier. The Dynamo would make a run to MLS Cup 2011, where Houston lost 1–0 to the Galaxy, however Robinson did not appear in any games. Robinson was not selected in the draft and became a free agent. He announced his retirement at the age of on January 11, 2012.
Style of play
Robinson was known for his tough, physical, and aggressive play, aiming to intimidate opposition forwards. This led to him committing many fouls, sometimes resulting in yellow and red cards. He led the MLS in yellow cards for the 2006 and 2007 seasons. He holds the Dynamo franchise record for most red cards across all competitions.
International career
Robinson was first called into camp for the United States national team in November 2002, but he did not play in the friendly against El Salvador. On January 19, 2008, Robinson earned his first cap the friendly against Sweden. The game also saw him score his first international goal in the 2–0 victory. He was called into camp again ahead of a friendly against Mexico on February 6, but he did not make the match day squad.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan="2" |Club
! rowspan="2" |Season
! colspan="3" |League
! colspan="2" |Playoffs
! colspan="2" |Open Cup
! colspan="2" |CONCACAF
! colspan="2" |Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
| rowspan="6" |San Jose Earthquakes
|2001
| rowspan="5" |MLS
|1||0||0||0||3||0|| colspan="2" |—||4||0
|-
|2002
|19||2||2||0||1||0||2||0||24||2
|-
|2003
|13||1||3||0||1||0||1||0||18||1
|-
|2004
|8||0||1||0||1||0||0||0||10||0
|-
|2005
|29||1||2||0||2||0|| colspan="2" |—||33||1
|-
! colspan="2" |Earthquakes Total
!70!!4!!8!!0!!8!!0!!3!!0!!89!!4
|-
| rowspan="7" |Houston Dynamo
|2006
| rowspan="6" |MLS
|25||2||4||0||3||2|| colspan="2" |—||32||4
|-
|2007
|25||2||4||0||1||0||7||1||37||3
|-
|2008
|20||0||2||0||0||0||7||0||29||0
|-
|2009
|1||0||1||0||0||0||3||1||5||1
|-
|2010
|23||1|| colspan="2" |—||2||0||3||0||28||1
|-
|2011
|2||0||0||0||1||0|| colspan="2" |—||3||0
|-
! colspan="2" |Dynamo Total
!96!!5!!11!!0!!7!!2!!20!!2!!134!!9
|-
! colspan="3" |Career total
!166!!9!!19!!0!!15!!2!!23!!2!!223!!13
|}
=== International Goals ===<!---DO NOT DELETE REPEAT ENTRIES!!! REPEAT ENTRIES REPRESENT SCORING MULTIPLE GOALS IN A GAME!!!--->
{| class="wikitable"
! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
|-
| 1. || January 19, 2008 ||Home Depot Center, California, United States|||| 1-0 || 2-0 ||Friendly
|}
Honors
San Jose Earthquakes
- Major League Soccer MLS Cup: 2001, 2003
- Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield: 2005
- Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship: 2001, 2003
Houston Dynamo
- Major League Soccer MLS Cup: 2006, 2007
- Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship: 2006, 2007
- Major League Soccer Eastern Conference Championship: 2011
Individual
- MLS All-Star: 2006
- MLS Best XI: 2007
- Dynamo Defensive Player of the year: 2006, 2007
Post-playing career
Upon his retirement as a player, Robinson worked with the Dynamo Academy as a coach. He also has worked as a color commentator for local TV broadcasts of Dynamo games since 2012. From 2018 to 2019, he had worked as an assistant coach for the Houston Dash of the NWSL.
Personal life
Robinson lives in Pearland, Texas, a suburb of Houston.