How did I get over losing the Champions League? I went out to buy a BBQ...
IN Andrew Robertson’s mind, May 27 looked very different. It was going to be a chance to party after his dreams had come true; to spend time with his family as the proud holder of a Champions League winners’ medal.
Instead, the Liverpool left-back was at his local DIY store with his father, Brian, shopping for a barbecue. There was no talking; no appetite for celebration, just a hollow sense of what might had been.
Liverpool’s shattered squad had arrived back at their Melwood base at 6am and despite a pep talk from manager Jurgen Klopp, Robertson, who had shoved his runners-up medal in his washbag straight after the game, was distraught. All he could think about were the key moments in the 3-1 defeat by Real Madrid.
‘I had over 20 people at the final and they were all flying in at different times. When they got back they were all trying to catch some sleep,’ says Robertson. ‘But I couldn’t. I sat up and spent some time with my little one [Rocco, then nine months] because he can’t speak, which I was quite happy about!
‘I have since watched the game back on my own. It was tough. I watched the first half-an-hour and I kept thinking: “We’ve got them here!” but obviously, things started going wrong after that. I honestly think the second goal took the wind out of our sails. ‘You put so much into the whole day; so much adrenaline. Then you have a massive comedown afterwards. That hit me. I had to get through it. So I went out with my dad and bought a barbecue because everyone was coming round. ‘There I am, the day after the Champions League final, in Homebase in Formby buying a barbecue! It just got me out the house to be honest! Dad is quite good in those kind of situations. He’ll talk about everything bar football.
‘By about three o’clock, when everyone had arrived, I was just happy to have my family round me. I could see how proud they were of me and it was good to be surrounded by them.’
Eventually, the frustration began to ease and a summer playing golf in Portugal allowed him to take stock and appreciate everything that had happened over the past 12 months.
Robertson, after all, arrived at Anfield last July as — to put it bluntly — a left-back from Hull. There was no hype around the deal and he simply slipped in through the side door. It wasn’t until December that he managed to get a run in the side.
When his moment arrived, he took it in such impressive fashion that his lung-bursting displays have made him one of the Kop’s favourites. By the end of the season he was being spoken about as arguably the best left-back in the Premier League.
‘The first couple of months I wasn’t really anywhere to be seen,’ the Scotland international agrees. ‘There was no big deal about it and that was probably what I wanted at the time. Now I feel more established in the squad. It’s small things really.
‘I’ve never been to America before, for example, so to see the fans and hear them shouting your name… You’d maybe think they’d be here just to see Liverpool but they know all the players; they’re clued up. It’s good to be noticed because it means you’re playing and doing something right.
‘As soon as you put in one good performance for a club like this there’s pressure. The next week fans expect it again. Last season, nobody put pressure on me really. I think for some fans, anything I did was a bonus! This season there is more expectation but I have to use that.’
Expectation does not just stalk Robertson. It is swarming all over Liverpool, who have spent more than £250million improving a squad which will be complete tomorrow when £65m keeper Alisson Becker arives.
‘This year, we’ve got a stronger squad and the competition is there,’ says Robertson. ‘If there’s competition in training then the training is intense and then you have the pressure of a weekend that if you don’t put in good performances then your place is maybe up for grabs.
‘Manchester City blew everyone away last season, really. But hopefully the gaffer’s identified players who he thinks can come in and make a difference. There’s no doubting the quality.’
They might be good players but will they handle the scrutiny and expectation? If they need an example of how to get established at Anfield, they should look no further than Robertson. The quest to reach the top has started again.
‘I like pressure,’ says Robertson. ‘I put it on myself and I think I get the best out of myself by doing that. I just can’t wait for the season to start.’