He is also eligible to represent England, Scotland and Peru but Alex Robertson has accepted a call from the Socceroos. Amid all the hype at Manchester City, Sacha Pisani explores his journey to the Socceroos and link to the Isuzu UTE A-League.
Australia 2, Peru 0? Having already left an entire nation heartbroken as a result of last year’s FIFA Men’s World Cup play-off in the United Arab Emirates, the Socceroos have got another one over the football-mad South Americans.
READ: Arnold sprinkles future stardust on Socceroos by adding teen stars from Man City to Adelaide
Alexander Robertson is the highly-rated Manchester City midfielder with a great pedigree, deeply rooted in Australian football and the Socceroos, who has accepted a call-up from Graham Arnold for this month’s pair of international friendlies against Ecuador in Sydney and Melbourne.
The 19-year-old has been in the spotlight this season, training full-time alongside Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne with City’s star-studded first team and included by managerial mastermind Pep Guardiola in UEFA Champions League and EFL Cup squads recently. He has, however, only played 144 minutes of senior football across his blossoming career.
But answering Arnold’s call amid the pull of England, Scotland and Peru is a huge boost for the Socceroos, especially after fellow dual-national Cristian Volpato’s decision to reject the chance to represent Australia at the 2022 World Cup.
“I’ve probably been talking to him for over 18 months, and it was a matter of just one step at a time,” Arnold said on Tuesday. “This time, when I called him and told him I wanted to pick him for these Ecuador games, straight away, it was: ‘Arnie, I can’t wait’, and he was looking forward to it so much.
“I do believe the kid is aligned now with Australia, and I’m pretty sure once he puts a Socceroos shirt on and feels the emblem on his heart, there’s only one nation you will play for.
“I haven’t just picked him because he’s a talent. He’s doing very, very well at Man City and playing with the U23s but training every day with the first team.
“He plays more as a number eight, very similar to De Bruyne who plays that type of role at Man City. He’s there for a reason and that reason is obviously that Pep Guardiola rates him highly.”
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A third-generation Socceroo
Robertson is more than just a dual national, the exciting talent is eligible to represent Australia, England, Peru and Scotland.
Why?
Well, the teenager was born in Dundee, Scotland but grew up in Australia, where his last club before relocating to the United Kingdom in 2016 was Hakoah Sydney City.
Robertson qualifies for Peru through his mother while having lived in the UK for most of his teen life makes him eligible for England, who he has represented at U16, U17 and U18 level.
His connection to Australia, however, is strong.
Robertson’s grandfather, Alex, represented the Socceroos in the 1970s. He also played for Sydney City in the NSL, having also plied his trade in Scotland with Dundee and Dunfermline.
As for his father Mark, the 45-year-old is a one-time Australian international. After captaining the Young Socceroos and playing for the Olyroos, he was called up for his one and only senior appearance against Japan in 2001.
In a Frank Farina-led squad, the Socceroos went down 3-0 to the Samurai Blue in a rain-soaked match in Japan, where the inaugural AFC-OFC Challenge Cup took place.
“My dad and my granddad playing for the Socceroos and to be the third generation, to be able to pull on that Socceroos jersey will be something special,” Alex Robertson told Football Australia.
“It will just bring back all my memories as a kid playing football in Australia, just kind of put it all together.”
He added: “I feel like the whole group and the camp itself, looking from the outside, looks really strong. They all look together as a team and you seen that at the World Cup.
“Me going in there, I can’t wait to go and play with good players. I just want to add my qualities and values to the team and then hopefully we can get some more success in the future.”
Mark Robertson, whose career took him to Marconi Stallions and Wollongong Wolves before stints abroad in England and Scotland, said: “For me it’s obviously a history and a heritage that we’ve got as a family but I never really wanted it to be as important a decision for Alexander.
“I never wanted it to be ‘you should play for the Socceroos just because as a dad and your grandfather did’.”
Manchester United, The Guardian’s ‘Next Generation’ list, injuries and a stint at Ross County
Alex was born in Dundee while his dad was on the books of the Scottish club, but he relocated to his father’s native Australia at the age of four. Up until the age of 12, he was living in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra.
Robertson was playing junior football for Hakoah Sydney City in the NSW NPL. Then, his family took the leap and moved to England.
But his overseas adventure in Manchester actually started in the red half of town. The 14-year-old had been starring for Manchester United before he was sensationally snapped up by City, from right under the noses of their neighbours.
City had actually been banned from signing academy players due a breach of Premier League transfer rules. However, they were able to bring in Robertson as he was uncontracted at United.
Funnily enough, a 6-1 loss to City while playing for United caught the attention of the Citizens.
After he was headhunted by City, website City Watch said: “[He was] considered to have been Manchester United’s best under-14 player last season… it looks like Manchester United’s loss is Manchester City’s gain”.
“I know the main reason Manchester City really, really like him – he was playing for Manchester United and his team was getting beat 5-0 and when the fifth goal went in, Alexander sprinted into the net, picked the ball up and sprinted back to the halfway line and turned around gave words of encouragement to his teammates,” Mark Robertson recalled to Optus Sport in 2019.
Alex – who was previously represented by Liverpool and England great Michael Owen – has not looked back since crossing the Manchester divide.
He was named in the 2020 Guardian’s ‘Next Generation’ list as one of the world’s top 60 young talents, alongside the likes of Bayern Munich’s German sensation Jamal Musiala, Bayer Leverkusen and Germany star Florian Wirtz, Austrian starlet Yusuf Demir – who spent time on loan at Barcelona – Dutch talent Xavi Simons, RB Leipzig’s Manchester United-linked Benjamin Sesko and Leeds United forward Wilfried Gnonto.
He was also international teammates with in-demand Borussia Dortmund sensation Jude Bellingham, and Musiala at youth level for England. Robertson and Bellingham were England’s central midfield pairing in a friendly against Scotland in 2018.
But it has not been completely straightforward for Robertson.
He suffered a series of long-term injuries – firstly at United that kept him out for seven months and another during his first season at City which also sidelined him for the same period.
The following campaign, Robertson was limited to only seven games due to two ankle injures.
In 2021-22, he returned to the country of his birth as City loaned him to Scotland’s Ross County for the entire season.
The move was for first-team experience, however Robertson did not start a Scottish Premiership game during his time under Malky Mackay at Ross County. He amassed 74 minutes of league football, while another 70 minutes came courtesy of the league cup and one start.
“I liked the chat I had with him beforehand, it was really positive, and then when I got there, it just didn’t play up to what it was,” Robertson told The Sydney Morning Herald last year.
“I just wasn’t playing – I was on the bench, I’d come on a few times, and then I started to get left out of the squad. I’m not really sure why, but it’s part of football, it’s part of learning.
“But I think it was one of the best things I’ve done because now I know how to deal with stuff like that from managers… on the football side of things, it could have been better, but we’ve got to take what we can out of it and then just move on.”
Rubbing shoulders with City’s elite
Robertson has been a mainstay for City’s Elite Development squad this season, having emerged through the ranks at the Etihad Stadium.
In 2022-23, he has already scored five goals as City chase a third successive Premier League 2 title.
He is also training with Pep Guardiola’s first team full-time this season. It is something the legendary Spanish manager had been requesting as far back as three years ago.
Such has been his impact with the development squad and on the training pitch with superstars like Haaland, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Rodri, Robertson has already been involved in two significant matchday squads.
He was on the bench as City edged Liverpool 3-2 in December’s EFL Cup showdown before also making the trip to Germany for last month’s UEFA Champions League last-16 opening leg against RB Leipzig, with the return fixture on Wednesday (AEDT).
“He’s so in love with football. He pays attention to so much detail. And he’s a legend of the game – he’s the best manager in the world. It’s a privilege to be able to train under him, and learn stuff off him,” Robertson told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“But everyone, obviously – they’re seasoned professionals. I’m only 19 years old … they’ve been doing it for a lot longer than me and they kind of know how it goes.
“It’s something you dream of, playing with the best players in the world. Growing up in Australia, you watch some of these players on TV, and now you train them. It’s a bit of a mad thing, really.”
The A-Leagues link
The Robertson name has been seen in the Isuzu UTE A-League before.
Mark Robertson, who was involved in that famous 2000 NSL Grand Final that saw Wollongong overturn a 3-0 deficit against Perth Glory, spent a season in Western Australia.
In 2006-07, he was part of a Glory squad that featured Simon Colosimo, Nikita Rukavytsya, Jamie Harnwell, Bobby Despotovski, Ante Kovacevic and Jamie Coyne.
After a stint in Hungary, he was lured back to Australia via Sydney FC on a short-term deal in 2007-08, making three appearances.
During his solitary Socceroos appearance, Mark played alongside current A-Leagues coaches John Aloisi (Western United) and Steve Corica (Sydney FC).
