Football in the times of war: How Rangers legend David Robertson is helping the sport grow in Kashmir

It's the 90th minute. Real Kashmir has just been pegged back to 3-2 by Delhi Dynamos Reserves, after leading the game 3-0. A place in the knockout stages is on the line. Coach David Robertson is shouting instructions from the sidelines, asking his forwards to get back and defend.

Kashmir would eventually hold out to win the match, extinguishing a final onslaught by the Dynamos Reserves. Robertson, however, told his team to cool down on the pitch, as he delivered his remarks.

The scene looked familiar to what Phil Dowd had done almost a decade ago when he addressed his team, Hull City, on the pitch. However, unlike Dowd and Hull City, this was not a dressing down. Instead, Robertson was calm and collected as he gave pointers to his players.

Ent — David Robertson playing for Scotish side Rangers (Picture credit: rangers.co.uk)

Talking to Sportskeeda afterwards, Robertson gave his remarks on the match, "The last twenty minutes weren't the best. But if somebody had said 3-2 before the game, I'd take it. The job here was to win the game and we managed to do it. It should've been a lot easier than it was, with us in a 3-0 lead.

"We have let teams back in, in a few games now. We have a young squad and there were a couple of guys playing with injuries but I'm happy we won the game."

Indeed, Real Kashmir has a young and inexperienced squad. The club, itself, was formed 18 months ago, and the ex-Rangers man was given the task to build it from the ground, something he had done for Phoenix Wolves when he was working in the United States.

He had made it to the level of Executive Director of the club before an offer came from India with the position of the Head Coach of a club that had just been established. Robertson took the chance and moved to India, a place which has been his home for the past 18 months.

"I've been here for a year and a half now but it's been good so far. I must admit the first week in India was very difficult. My first visit to the country and it was snowing heavily. It was tough, yes, but I'm glad I stuck around," he said.

Some people might call it courageous to stick around in a place as conflicted as Kashmir. But for Robertson, it has not been an issue. "Obviously, there are a few issues there but I believe they are hyped up. It's a beautiful place up in the mountains and the people are fantastic both outside and inside the club. As I said, it was hard at the start but I love every minute of it."

In fact, the Scot says he feels safe in the midst of all that is being reported in Kashmir and remarks that a lot of media attention has resulted in matters being shown worse than they actually are.

"Obviously Kashmir has had years and years of issues but I feel safe. The people here are really nice and I've been fortunate that nothing as such has affected me."

It is difficult to focus on other issues when the state of things are as complicated, as they are in Kashmir. However, a growing footballing culture is helping the locals forget their troubles for at least 90 minutes. A key factor in the growth of football in Kashmir is a budding rivalry between Real Kashmir FC and Lonestar Kashmir. Both Real and Lonestar are participating in the I-League 2nd division this year and have faced two distinctly different campaigns.

Robertson is no stranger to such rivalries, having played in one of the oldest and fiercest there is -- the Old Firm Derby (Glasgow Rangers vs Celtics). He gives his take on the one being played in Kashmir: "You always need a bit of a rivalry to keep the entertainment factor of the game. You always need that. The games that we have against Lonestar are always tough. Although they have had a disappointing season, when we played against them it's always tough."

Lonestar Kashmir used to be the only professional club in the state before Real Kashmir was established. Robertson had a tough task at hand to build a team, which he and his team did by careful selection of youth and mixing them with the more experienced international signings.

"We're trying to create a professional environment for football in Kashmir. A lot of players have a misconception that you're not professional until you play for a club like Real Madrid and Manchester United. The thing is when you get paid you're professional.

"Step-by-step we're getting there. Even the travel aspect has improved. Our training is now more structured with the whole team building and that kind of things. This job has had its hurdles but fortunately, I'm an easy-going person! Every day is a challenge but it's all part of the job," he said.

The Rangers legend also had to face a task unlike any he had faced before -- to build a team consisting of people who had different religious identities; a job, he admits, which was difficult at first.

"Our manager said, I think, that we've got seven different religions on the club. Combine that with three different races -- Asian, African, and European. We've got a wide mix and it's taken a while to get them all together. They've started to respect each other and work for each other," he said.

And it has brought results. Real Kashmir currently sits joint top of their group in I-League 2nd division alongside Hindustan. Both the teams have the same points along with the same goal difference and have a good chance of qualifying.

If Real Kashmir does indeed manage to qualify from their group and eventually progress through the playoffs, they'll become the first team to be promoted to the I-League, an achievement which will bring Robertson more joy than his six consecutive titles with Glasgow Rangers.

"At Rangers, we were clearly the best team in Scotland at that time. We were expected to win titles and the pressure was on to win it. We almost got to the Champions League Final as well. All that was great but here, since the club is only 18 months old, we've created the whole team from scratch. We've recruited players initially through trials and have also signed a couple of players who've been good.

"It's a new league, a new culture for me. There also aspects which I've never had to face before such as the heat, altitude, and humidity. If we are promoted it'll definitely be up there (with the six titles) for me," the Scot signed off.

Edited by Sagnik Kundu