Luke Wilkshire - Australian in Russia

Luke Wilkshire is an Australian football player, who is well acquainted with Russian fans in his performances for the Moscow "Dynamo". However, this club was not the only one for which the player played, not only in general, but also in Russia. If you did not know what was the career path of this player, then you should read this article. Here you will find the chronological way of the Australian for 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 - this is an outstanding player, which definitely worth paying attention to.

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 as rugby. At age 11, he entered the academy of the local small club Albion Park White Eagles, where he spent three years until he, at the age of 14, recruited an even more impressive club called Wollongong Wolves, where he spent two more years. But also there the young player did not stay - when he was sixteen years old, he moved to another Australian football academy under the club "AY-Es". But, as it turned out, he was not destined to perform in Australia - in 1998 scouts from the English club "Middlesbrough" noticed young talent and invited Luke to his place. When he was 18 years old, he signed a professional agreement with the British and began to speak for the adult team "Middlesbrough" 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, a different culture and a strange environment. In the end, he spent only 25 games for Middlesbrough in the following years, before moving to Bristol City in 2003, at the age of 22, who paid 375,000 euros for the player. It was there that Luke Wilkshire opened up as an excellent player on the right flank and even the support zone.

Career in "Bristol"

In the new team, which played in the third most important division in England, Wilkshire, of course, received a place at the core instantly - the difference in the classes between the higher and third leagues was huge, and that was used by Luke Wilkshire. Footballer immediately began to demonstrate an excellent game, and for three years he played in 124 games, scoring 18 goals. Nobody doubted that such performances would draw attention to the young Australian, and indeed - in 2006 the Dutch club "Twente" signed a contract with him, and Luke Wilkshire, whose photographs began to appear on the covers of sports magazines, got a second chance at a high level.

Going to "Twente"

In the new club, Luke immediately got a place in the base and began to progress further. For two full seasons Wilkshire played 68 matches and scored five goals. Unlike the UK, where he was used more often as the right midfielder, in Holland, he fell all the way lower, playing the defensive midfielder, then the right-back. It was for this role that he was taken to the Moscow "Dynamo" in 2008 - cost the Muscovites an Australian of 2.2 million euros.

Heyday in the "Dynamo"

It was in the Moscow club that Luke found a long-awaited place where he liked to play and wanted to be. He married Russian woman Kristina Dolgopolova and played for Dinamo on a regular basis. Six years he spent in Moscow, having played 163 matches and scoring two goals. This was the longest stay of an Australian in any football club. However, it also 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 already familiar championship of the Netherlands.

Dutch failure

The reasons that Wilkshire did not work out in his new club "Feyenoorde", there are different - and one of them was the fact that his wife missed home. Therefore, just a year later, Luke Wilkshire and Kristina Dolgopolova returned to Russia, and in January 2016, the Australian signed a contract with Grozny's Terek.

Return to Russia

In the new club, Luke spent only six months - he played six games, but did not renew the short-term agreement, as he received an offer that could not be abandoned. The Australian could return to Dynamo and he took advantage of this chance. Now the 34-year-old has a one-year contract with his favorite club, and what will happen after - no one knows yet.

National team appearances

For the national team of Australia, Wilkshire played 79 games and was one of the key players, regardless of the position on which he played. He made his debut in 2005 in a match against the Solomon Islands. As a result, he contributed to the national team's exit to the 2006 World Cup, where Wilkshire played in two matches, including one in the eighth finals, where the Australians lost to the Italians. At the Asian Cup in 2007, Luke also played an important role, played three games, but was disqualified - and the Austrian team lost in the quarter-finals to the Japanese without him. At the World Cup 2010, Wilkshire already acted as a right-back and participated in all three games, giving an assist in a meeting with the Serbs. The Asian Cup 2011 was the most successful - Wilkshire with Australia reached the final, but also there the Australians were defeated by the Japanese. In the match with India in the tournament, Luke gave two assists. His last match Wilkshire held in May 2014 - it was a game against the South African team, which ended in a 1-1 draw.