Alex Robertson is here in the flesh, wearing official Socceroos apparel, standing in front of microphones and cameras and in front of a sponsored backdrop โ but still, the mystery endures.
Where have you been, mate?
How to explain the two-year gap between call-ups, and the strange stand-off (now resolved) in which he was deemed to be โineligibleโ to play for Australia because of some sort of missing paperwork? Tony Popovic said he had chosen not to make himself โavailableโ for selection. What was going on there?
Unfortunately, not even he can provide the answers.
โThere was [an issue],โ Robertson said. โBut I wasnโt actually too sure what it was. I just let the other people deal with that … and it all got sorted, but Iโm actually not sure what the issue was … I canโt remember now.โ
Righto, then.
One of the Socceroosโ brightest midfield products in years, Robertson emerged a few years ago from the academy of Manchester City, where he would track Kevin de Bruyneโs impossible runs at training and try to onboard the sage advice of Pep Guardiola as best he could.
Three other countries (aside from Australia) were clamouring for his allegiance: Scotland, where he was born, England, where he has spent most of his life, and Peru, where his mother is from.
He picked Australia, the nation his father and grandfather also represented. Then he played in two friendlies under previous coach Graham Arnold and declared he wanted to win the World Cup with the Socceroos.
Then, just as everyone was getting excited, he dropped off the radar with no explanation.
It was as if there was some sort of cold war between Robertsonโs camp and the Australian set-up. Coach Tony Popovic said the ball was in Robertsonโs court, and that he had to first make himself available in order to be picked, which led to speculation that he might have been thinking about playing for someone else.
At the time, Robertson was dealing with a major hamstring injury after moving from Portsmouth to League Oneโs Cardiff City; it sounds like putting the horse before the cart was his primary concern, rather than worrying about international football while unfit.
โI was just very focused on getting back to my full self and getting as many games under my belt as I could, and Iโve done that,โ he said.
What Robertson can tell us is that there was โnever really any thoughtโ of switching to play for another nation โ a stark contrast with his friend Adrian Segecic, who recently declared for Croatia, or Cristian Volpato, who said over the weekend that he was โwaiting for Italyโ despite Popovicโs recent attempt to win him over.
โIt was always Australia. I grew up in Australia as a kid,โ Robertson said. โI classed myself as being Australian and I couldnโt really think to play for any other country than Australia โ even though I played for England when I was younger, obviously because I was over there.โ
Whatever actually happened behind the scenes with the Socceroos, it has since been resolved to everyoneโs satisfaction, and thatโs the main thing.
Indeed, Popovic extended an olive branch to Robertson last October, calling him up for the away friendlies against World Cup co-hosts Canada and the United States. While he didnโt play in either, he was lucky to be there at all, having not featured at all that season for his club when he was named. He was sent away with information from Popovic about what he had to do to change that.
With five goals and two assists so far for this season for Cardiff, who look bound for automatic promotion to the Championship, Robertson seems to be a genuine shot at a World Cup berth โ or, at the very least, adding to his two caps so far for the Socceroos, the last coming in June 2023 in a 2-0 friendly defeat to Argentina in China.
Friday nightโs โFIFA Seriesโ clash with Cameroon at Sydneyโs Accor Stadium is one of the last opportunities heโll have to push his case in green and gold, and with midfield stalwart Jackson Irvine left behind in Europe to manage a foot injury, there is genuine intrigue about how Popovic plans to set up.
โIt would mean the world,โ Robertson said about World Cup selection. โItโs something I dreamt of as a little kid … Iโd never take it for granted and hopefully can get a few more games and just play as much as I can.โ
