Luke Wilkshire is an Australian footballer who is well known to Russian fans for playing for Dynamo Moscow. However, this club was not the only one the player advocated for, not only in general, but also in Russia. If you did not know what the career path of this football player was, then you should read this article. Here you will find the Australian chronological path through all the clubs that have been his home for a long career. By the way, the football player continues to play - do you know which club? Luke Wilkshire is an outstanding player who is definitely worth a look.
Carier start
Luke Wilkshire was born on October 2, 1981 in Australia, where he began to get involved in football, which is not as popular there as rugby. At age 11, he entered the academy of the local small club, Albion Park White Eagles, where he spent three years, until at the age of 14 he was lured away by a more impressive club called Wollongong Woolves, where he spent another two years. But there, the young player did not stop - when he was sixteen years old, he moved to another Australian football academy at the club "AIS". But, as it turned out, he was not destined to perform in Australia - already in 1998, scouts from the English club Middlesbrough noticed a young talent and invited Luke to him. When he was 18 years old, he signed a professional agreement with the British and began playing for the Middlesbrough adult team since 2001, when he was already twenty years old. As it turned out, the guy could not quickly adapt to a completely different country with a different climate, different culture and strange environment. As a result, he spent only 25 games for Middlesbrough over the following years, before in 2003 at the age of 22 he moved to Bristol City, which laid out 375 thousand euros for the player. It was there that Luke Wilkshire opened up as an excellent player on the right flank and even in the supporting zone.
Career at Bristol
In the new team, which played in the third most important division of England, Wilkshire, naturally, got a place in the base instantly - the difference in classes between the top and third leagues was huge, which was used by Luke Wilkshire. The player immediately began to demonstrate an excellent game, and for three years he played in 124 matches, scoring 18 goals. No one doubted that such appearances would draw attention to the young Australian, and indeed - in 2006 the Dutch club Twente signed a contract with him, and Luc Wilkshire, whose photographs began to appear on the covers of sports magazines, received a second chance at a high level.
Going to Twente
In the new club, Luke immediately got a place at the base and began to progress further. For two full seasons, Wilkshire played 68 matches and scored five goals. Unlike the UK, where it was used more often as a right midfielder, in Holland he sank lower, playing either a defensive midfielder or generally a right back. It was for this role that he was taken to the Moscow Dynamo in 2008 - the Muscovites cost the Australian 2.2 million euros.
The heyday of Dynamo
It was in the Moscow club that Luke found himself the long-awaited place where he liked to play and wanted to be. He married Russian Kristina Dolgopolova and played for Dynamo on an ongoing basis. He spent six years in Moscow, having played 163 matches and scoring two goals. It was the longest stay of an Australian in any football club. However, it came to an end - in 2014, the 33-year-old player did not receive a new contract, so he decided to try his hand at another team. He chose for this the already familiar Dutch championship.
Dutch failure
The reasons why Wilkshire did not work out in his new club Feyenorde are different - and one of them was the fact that his wife missed her homeland. Therefore, just a year later, Luke Wilkshire and Kristina Dolgopolova returned to Russia, and in January 2016 the Australian signed a contract with the Grozny Terek.
Return to Russia
In the new club, Luke spent only six months - he played six matches, but did not renew the short-term agreement, as he received an offer that was impossible to refuse. The Australian could return to Dynamo - and he took this chance. Now the 34-year-old footballer has a one-year contract with his beloved club, and what will happen after - so far no one knows.
Team appearances
For the Australian national team, Wilkshire played 79 matches and was one of the key players, regardless of the position in which he played. He made his debut in 2005 in a match against the Solomon Islands. In the end, he contributed to the team’s output for the 2006 World Cup, where Wilkshire played in two matches, including in the eighth finals, where the Australians lost to the Italians. In the 2007 Asian Cup, Luke also played an important role, played three matches, but was disqualified - and the Austrian team lost to the Japanese in the quarterfinals without him. At the 2010 World Cup, Wilkshire already played as a right-back and participated in all three matches, assisted in a meeting with the Serbs. The Asian Cup in 2011 was the most successful - Wilkshire and Australia reached the final, but even there the Australians were defeated by the Japanese. In a match with India as part of that tournament, Luke gave two assists. Wilkshire spent his last match in May 2014 - it was a game against the South African national team, which ended in a 1-1 draw.