If there was ever a player to epitomise Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, it was Andy Robertson.
Under the German tactician, the Reds went from being gatecrashers to reclaiming their place as European royalty. Robertson’s career mirrored this as he went from playing in the third tier of Scottish football to becoming one of the best left-backs in history.
Released by Celtic at 15, he wasn’t supposed to become a two-time Premier League winner, as well as a Champions League winner. But Liverpool weren’t meant to become the best team in the world either.
Robertson’s rise up the ranks wasn’t a traditional one but it was meteoric. He was told he was too small while at Celtic, he ended up at Queens Park and made his debut at 18. In the space of five years, he went from playing in the third division in Scotland to being signed by Liverpool.
There were no guarantees Robertson would be a success at Anfield. Klopp has never shied away from telling the world he wasn’t necessarily sold on the left-back.
Speaking in a tribute to the left-back for The Anfield Wrap, Klopp explained: “So you see a player, you watch the videos, and when you saw Robbo at Hull playing and you saw his potential offensively and you saw his weaknesses, he was involved in so many goals Hull conceded on his far post. It’s crazy. It’s like he’s not there.
“I told him, so I like everything about what you’re doing offensively and I don’t think I like anything, all the things you do defensively. So if we agree on working on that and you pay completely in and stuff like that, then we will have a lot of fun together.”
It took a while for Robertson to break into the starting XI. Klopp held off on using him while the coaching staff worked on his weaknesses. In a number of the tribute videos this week, former teammates mentioned how the No26 would work on one-on-one stuff in training all of the time as he looked to reach the level the manager wanted.
Ever since Klopp had been unveiled as Liverpool manager, he’d focused on uniting the fans and the squad. In his first press conference, he talked about turning them from doubters to believers. His emotion on the sidelines meant he had the fans on side. But seeing players give their all did the connection no harm.
And when Robertson relentlessly pressed Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ederson and Nicolas Otamendi in the 4-3 win over Pep Guardiola’s dominant Manchester City side during the 2017/18 season, the Scotland international was adopted as a Scouser.
Robertson had the fans. Klopp knew he had another weapon within his arsenal to turn Anfield into a feral cauldron the opposition would wither in.
It was a mutually beneficial situation too. The fans fuelled the passionate Robertson and the left-back fuelled the passionate fans.
Liverpool as a city have always had to work for what it has. They appreciate graft. They look out for their own. They relish being tagged as outsiders within the UK.
Robertson was brought up in Glasgow with the same mentality. It was a match made in heaven.
He knew all about the them vs us attitude. He knew what it was like to be written off. The left-back knew it was up to him to show everyone why they’d gotten it wrong. And Anfield was the perfect environment for him.
Klopp once said the atmosphere at Anfield was like a trampoline for the players. Robertson might’ve used it to bounce the highest of them all.
This was a player who was playing in the Scottish Third Division at 18. He had one season with Dundee United before Hull City signed him up. He was part of the yoyo team that went down and back up only to be relegated again.
He wasn’t a top choice for Liverpool and the manager told him to his face that he essentially hated everything about him defensively.
Others would’ve quit after the Celtic release. Others might’ve just stalled at Anfield under the sheer pressure. The opportunities only count for something if you take them. Robertson bounced back initially and then used Klopp’s words to improve as a player and deservedly take his place in the all conquering Liverpool side.
Others might claim the posterboy of the Klopp era was Mohamed Salah. Maybe it was Trent Alexander-Arnold. There’s a shout for Roberto Firmino. But did any of them really climb the same mountain as Robertson to reach the pinnacle?
He helped the club reach three European Cup finals, win two Premier League titles, domestic cups, European Super Cups and Club World Cups. A left wing-back who couldn’t defend.
He didn’t do a bad job did he?
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.