'A special moment for me in my career': Robertson excited after pledging allegiance with Australia

Alex Robertson is on the verge of creating history with the Australia Men's National Team following his recent call-up to the squad by Graham Arnold for a pair of international friendlies against Ecuador.

Should the 19-year-old make his Subway Socceroos’ debut, he will be the third generation from his family to have represented the senior men’s national team, following his grandfather, Alex Robertson Sr. (1984) and father, Mark Robertson (2001).

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The prospect of that happening is a surreal moment for the highly-regarded midfielder, currently on the books of Premier League powerhouse Manchester City.

"My dad and my granddad played for the Socceroos, so to be the third generation will hopefully will be a privilege," Alex explained in an interview with Socceroos.com.au in Manchester.

"Australia is my home Australia, it's where I grew up, and to be back there, to be able to pull on that that Socceroos Jersey will be something special.

"And I think, you know, it'll just bring back all my memories as a kid, played football in Australia and just kind of put it all together and just be able to do that."


His father, Mark, made one appearance for the senior side in 2001 against Japan at the inaugural AFC/OFC Challenge Cup.

He admitted that he wanted his son to make the decision on his own volition, without applying any unnecessary pressure but be there to provide guidance if needed.

"For me, it's obviously a history and a heritage that we've got as a family," his father, Mark said.

"But I've never really wanted it to be as important, you know, a decision for Alexander, I always try to advise him if that makes sense.

"And just give him a little bit of a gentle reminder about how good the country has been to us as a family and how much opportunity it gave us.

"But I never wanted it to be, 'you should play for the Socceroos just because as a dad and your grandfather did'.

"So I think he's mature enough, bright enough to have made that decision on his off his own back, if that makes sense."


Indeed Robertson, who was born in Dundee, is eligible to play for Scotland, England because of the considerable time he has lived there, Peru due to his mother's heritage and of course Australia.

But deep down, the teenager knew Australia was always the country he felt the most connection with, given he grew in Sydney.

So when Graham Arnold made the call, Robertson could not refuse and was excited to begin this new journey in his burgeoning career, pledging his allegiance to the Green and Gold.

"With England, obviously I've been here now for seven, eight years. It's been like a second home to me. I've attended school here, I've played here for the last seven years," he explained.

"Scotland, I was born there. You know, it's it's a country that I was just on loan at to Ross County. It was a good experience.

"And then Peru, my mum and grandma are from there and her side of the family, but I've never actually visited.

"But you know Australia just hits home. It's got a place in my heart because that's where I believe I'm from and that's where I grew up and it's where I have all my memories from a child.

"So when I got the call to play for Australia, it was kind of a no brainer, really and I know it took a few days but them few days, I knew from the very first time Arnie (Graham Arnold) called me that I'd say yes.

"But you know, it's just kind of sorting some things out, but when he called me it was kind of just say, 'yeah for sure I'm going do it, you know, that's going to be a special moment for me in my career'."


Robertson has been living in England since 2015 when he joined Manchester United's youth academy and two years later switched to the blue half of Manchester.

At the time it was a leap of faith, and of course a lot of sacrifices made along the way for not only himself but his immediate family as well with his parents taking it in turns of who would live with him in the United Kingdom.

But it has been totally worth it.

Robertson has been able to put an injury-riddled two years behind him, enjoying a productive 2022/23 campaign with the Manchester City U21 outfit and training with the first team.

His performances have caught the eye of Sky Blues boss Pep Guardiola which has seen him sit on the bench in the EFL Cup against Liverpool and UEFA Champions League against RB Leipzig.

"This season has been one of the better ones," he said, having scored five goals in 11 matches in Premier League 2.

"I was injured at the start of the season so I got injured last year in March a year ago and I was out for seven months with a hamstring injury.

"So that was a bit of a tough one. I only got back playing in September and it was kind of just getting back to where I was a couple years ago, slowly, because the last two years have been tough."

In July 2021, he was sent on loan to Ross County but returned after six months having accumulated a handful of appearances.

"I went on a loan to Scotland and didn't play, although it was good learning experiences, you know, that was a bit of a chunk out of football, come back to Manchester to Man City, and then got injured for seven months.

"And it was like, I've missed a lot of football here."


But Robertson's big break arrived during the FIFA World Cup break just before Christmas and having been away with the senior set-up played a 15-minute cameo against Girona and impressing his manager.

"So we went away to Morocco, played a friendly in Morocco. And then went away to Abu Dhabi with the first team and it was like just experiences like that.

"And then the first proper game back was a friendly against Girona for the first team (at the Academy Stadium)

"And I come on for about 15 minutes. I came on for for (Ilkay) Gundogan, and it was like that was something special, Gundo is a player that I look up to, you know, training with him and watching him train every day and play every game he plays, he's a special player.

"But then being on the field with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez, you know that was a special moment."

From there, he has been able to build momentum and garner consistent playing time with the development squad, while finding the back of the net with regularity.


"Then the following weeks, I was on the bench against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup and that was just again a crazy, crazy night for me," he said.

"And then week after that played my first 90 minutes in two years against Arsenal, in under 23s (21s) and I scored two goals. And then that was kind of just like, right we build from here and that was at the start of the year.

"It was just it was really important for me to get my minutes back up to try and like I said, try and get back to where I was a few years ago.

"Now I think three months in, I feel like I'm still doing well. There's still more to come."

Robertson is hoping to make the most of his Subway Socceroos call-up with the upcoming matches against La Tri in Sydney and Melbourne.

He is one of four uncapped players named in Arnold's latest squad, joining Adelaide United goalkeeper Joe Gauci and Melbourne City duo Jordan Bos and Aiden O'Neill. 

Joe Gauci, Jordan Bos, Aiden O'Neill, Alex Robertson


He described the inclusion to the squad as arriving at the "perfect time".

"And then this call up come at a perfect time because I feel like it's a time where I'm thriving and I'm just trying to reach that next level," he continued.

"The call up from the Socceroos is just something special, but I think it'll really help me with my football as well."