Andy Robertson

Robertson was born in Glasgow to parents Brian and Pauline. He has an elder brother named Stephen. He is of Irish descent via his Glenfarne-born grandmother. Robertson's father Brian grew up on Maryhill's Wyndford estate. A tenacious amateur player nicknamed "Pop" after Pop Robson, Brian was a childhood friend of footballers Jim Duffy and Charlie Nicholas. However a spinal injury required Brian to wear a back brace, preventing a sporting career. Robertson later said of Stephen as an amateur footballer, "He didn't move much, he was a bit of a static striker but scored a lot of goals." Robertson attended St Ninian's High School in Giffnock, East Renfrewshire, from 2006 to 2012. There he captained the football team. He was also the junior captain of his local golf club in Glasgow. Robertson played for Giffnock Soccer Centre, and then joined the youth set up at Celtic, the team he supported as a boy. Celtic Head of Youth, Chris McCart, then released him aged 15 in 2009, considering him too small. That was despite John Gallagher who had coached Robertson at under-14 and under-15, lobbying for Robertson.

Queen's Park

Gallagher recommended Robertson to Queen's Park, located conveniently for Robertson and his family in Glasgow's South side. In their youth setup he was nurtured by key figures such as head of youth David McCallum and technical director Andy McGlennan, who encouraged Robertson's switch to left-back from a more advanced position. Manager Gardner Speirs called Robertson up to the Queen's Park first team at the start of season 2012–13. On 28 July 2012, 18-year-old Robertson made his senior football debut. That was in Queen's Park's Scottish Challenge Cup penalty shoot out win at Berwick Rangers. The match attendance was 372. He scored his first senior goal when losing 2–1 at home to East Stirlingshire on 13 November 2012. Queen's Park were still an amateur club at the time, so players were only paid expenses. Robertson posted on social media in August 2012, "Life at this age is rubbish with no money. #needajob." As a part-time footballer, Robertson trained/played 3 evenings per week plus Saturday afternoons. Robertson did work as a telephone service recipient for ticket bookings at Hampden Park where Queen's Park were based. At lunch time he used the gym facilities there to bulk up. He took a part-time Christmas job on the tills at Marks and Spencer on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow. He also did landscaping work. He later commented on that season with Queen's Park, "I did apply for a couple of uni courses, but by the January or February of the season I knew…

Under-21s

Robertson debuted internationally for the Scotland under-21s on 10 October 2013, subbing on in a 2–1 win in Paisley against Slovakia. He was selected for the under-21 team in November 2015, when the full national team did not have a fixture.

Senior squad

Robertson was first named in the full Scotland squad for a friendly against Poland on 5 March 2014. He played for Dundee United at the time. He subbed on in the second half, as Scotland won 1–0 in Warsaw. Scotland manager Gordon Strachan said afterwards "Andy came on there and the first time he picked it up he drove about 30 yards. I thought 'that's fantastic'. Absolutely no grey area, I'm going to do what I do. I loved seeing that first touch." Robertson made his first start for the national team in a 2–2 draw at Craven Cottage with Nigeria on 28 May 2014. Robertson scored his first international goal in November 2014, losing a friendly 3–1 to England at Celtic Park. On 3 September 2018, Robertson was appointed Scotland captain by manager Alex McLeish. After a 2–1 defeat against Israel in October 2018, Robertson said that both he and fellow left-back Kieran Tierney were being played out of position in the 3–5–2 system adopted by McLeish to accommodate both players.

Steve Clarke era: 2019–2026

After the sacking of Alex McLeish, Steve Clarke was appointed manager of Scotland in May 2019; he elected to keep Robertson as captain. In Clarke's first game as Scotland manager, a UEFA Euro…

During his prime between 2018 and 2022, Robertson was frequently described by pundits and media sources as one of the best left-backs in world football. An online article specifically analysing Robertson's style (at the time under Klopp at Liverpool), highlighted defensively Robertson's, "discipline required to maintain the defensive integrity of the team", "ability to time his presses and regain possession," and "positional intelligence and awareness." The article added, "Robertson's defensive strategy involves proactive decision-making, calculated risks, and strategic positional play. This allows him to make crucial interceptions and regain possession for his team, [to] often launch counter-attacks." The same article described Robertson's attacking threat from his, "blistering pace", "exemplary assists", "work ethic", "dynamic overlapping runs" and "ability to exploit spaces and provide precise crosses helps his team create and convert chances". Former Manchester United manager José Mourinho commented in December 2018, after losing 3–1 to Liverpool, "I am still tired, just look[ing] at Robertson. He makes, I think, 100-metre sprints every minute. Absolutely incredible, and these are qualities." Robertson wrote in a 2019 self-penned article, "No magic wands have been waved in my direction, I didn't win some kind of lottery to land a spot on one of the biggest clubs in the world. The reason why I'm a Liverpool player is the same reason why I'm captain of my country: I've…