Player Profile

Luke Wilkshire

Date of Birth

02 Oct 1981

Place of Birth

Wollongong

Height

175

Weight

Current Club

Dinamo Moscow (Russia)

Previous Clubs

1999-2003 Middlesbrough (England)
2003-2006 Bristol City (England) 2006-2008 FC Twente (Netherlands)

Junior Clubs

Shellharbour (NSW), Albion Park (NSW), Wollongong Wolves (NSW)

Institutes & Academies

Australian Institute of Sport (1997-98)

Major Honours Achieved

2001 World Youth Championship (Argentina)
2004 Olympic Games (Athens)
2006 FIFA World Cup (Germany)
2007 Asian Cup

Qantas Socceroos

Playing Position

Defender

Appearances

Goals

Debut Match

v Solomon Islands (W5-1), Honiara, October 2004

Last Match

v Indonesia (W1-0), Asian Cup qualifier, Brisbane, March 2010

Qantas Under 23s

Appearances

Goals

Debut Match

v Spain (L0-1), Lorca (SPN), April 2003

Last Match

v Iraq (L0-1), Olympic Games (Q/F), Greece, August 2004

Qantas Young Socceroos

Playing Position

Midfielder

Appearances

Goals

Debut Match

v Samoa (W16-0), World Cup qualifying, Cook Islands, February 2001

Last Match

v Brazil (L0-4), World Cup (Q/F), Argentina, June 2001

Biography

Qantas Socceroos

Solid performances for the Qantas Under 23 team at the Athens Olympics suddenly put Wilkshire in the mix for the senior national side. He took a risk by moving from Middlesbrough to Bristol City in 2003, but the regular first team football improved his game tremendously and put him in the spotlight. A tenacious and hard working midfielder, he is always looking for the ball and gets forward at every opportunity to support in attack, this didn't go unnoticed by national team boss Guus Hiddink and to the shock of many he was picked in the 2006 World Cup squad. While most saw him as a squad player, Hiddink saw something different and he started in the opening game against Japan. Missed next two games, but in Emerton's absence was selected against Italy, putting in a very solid performance. On advice from Hiddink, Wilkshire moved to the Netherlands in 2006 to play with Eredivisie side FC Twente and has been a first team regular ever since. Played in three of the four matches at the 2007 Asian Cup finals and was an important player during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.