Warsaw March 5, 2014. A 19-year-old Andy Robertson is taking his first steps as a full Scotland international in a friendly arranged ahead of the World Cup.
A World Cup that, once again, proceeded to take place without any Scottish involvement. Eight-and-a-half years on from that 1-0 victory over Poland and it is the captain’s Liverpool team-mate Calvin Ramsay walking in those rookie shoes at 19, hoping for minutes in Turkey while the world’s best prepare for the greatest show on Earth 1400 miles down the road in Doha.
The circumstances, then, are similar. And Robertson, who is set to win his 60th cap tonight, won’t ever forget his own first taste of national service, a springboard to far greater occasions. A move from Dundee United to Hull followed that summer before, three years later, it was off to Liverpool where Premier League and Champions League honours lay in wait.
He knows it falls on his shoulders as well as every other experienced member of Steve Clarke’s group to ensure Ramsay settles in if he’s to cement his own place in the squad. But as he sat in the bowels of the Diyarbakir Stadium, which will host its first international match, he was keen to point out one major difference.
Robertson said: “I can help him and advise him but I definitely wasn’t anywhere near Liverpool at his age! I was only just starting my journey in football. You can tell he is still young and has a lot of learning to do.
“But I try to help him in every way possible. I made my Scotland debut at a similar time to his first squad. I was 19 as well in a friendly away to Poland. I remember everything about the game, how much it meant to my family and to me.
“It will be the exact same for Calvin. The build-up to it, it’s the hope to get on and your family hoping you win a first cap.
“Time will tell if that happens here but even just being involved in the squad at that age is so important for his progression. He will learn a lot from being around experienced players and the manager.
“It’s a really important few days for him and I’m sure he’ll take it all in his stride. He has an amazing future ahead of him. So long as he keeps learning and listening, his career will be special, that’s for sure.”
It’s the chance to integrate players like Ramsay that means friendlies such as this will never be meaningless to Clarke. However, the manager was keeping his cards close to his chest when asked if the newbie is likely to start in the absence of Nathan Patterson, Aaron Hickey and Anthony Ralston.
Don’t suggest to Robertson that any chance to represent your country is pointless though. He said: “It’s so important for all the boys. A cap for your country is never meaningless.
“People from the outside can always say, ‘What’s the point in this game?’. But when you are playing for your country, it is never meaningless.
“When it’s your first camp and potentially first cap, then Calvin and his family will all be excited. It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks for him, making his Liverpool debut, getting his first start in the cup and now getting his call-up. It’s been a lot.
“But he has taken it in his stride and been brilliant since he came in. Liverpool can see the potential in him and all the staff here with Scotland too. The manager must see how good he can be. He’s young and we have to protect him like we always do.
“However, it’s so exciting for him and I hope he does get time on the pitch – although I’m not in charge of that. But if he does get a cap, he’ll never forget that first one.”
Clarke is in no doubt Ramsay will handle the occasion if he decides to throw him into the cauldron of a near sell-out crowd in the hostile Kurdish stronghold of Diyarbakir.
The squad have been given armed protection in their movements, with the security level raised in the country following an explosion in Istanbul on Sunday that killed six. The manager knows the youngest member of his squad will require a level of safeguarding in football terms too.
Clarke said: “You have to be careful you don’t overexpose him because he hasn’t had too much game time recently. He obviously had the game last midweek in the Carabao Cup for Liverpool, which was good. It means he comes here with some minutes in his legs.
“Before that, it was 10 minutes as a sub against Napoli. A nice way to make your debut, incidentally – Champions League game at Anfield. So we have to be mindful of that as well.”
As for Robertson, the 28-year-old can’t wait for his 60th cap after injury saw him miss the last international camp, in which his team-mates clinched Nations League promotion. He said: “September was an unbelievable camp. After a disappointing June, it was so important that the lads bounced back and they did it in a pretty impressive manner.
“Away to Ukraine, we dug deep. We had a lot of injuries, a lot of lads out, but the lads dealt with it so well. We proved that we have got depth now.”
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