He has more international caps than Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka, and three years ago was officially listed as Australia’s highest paid footballer. Yet, the career of ex-Dynamo Moscow full-back Luke Wilkshire hangs in a frustrating limbo after parting ways with Dutch club Feyenoord last month.
Wilkshire, whose 80 Socceroo appearances since 2004 include two World Cups, is training by himself near Moscow in the hope that his agent can find him a club. He says he’d prefer a return to the Russian Football Championship over heading home to play in the A-League.
Turning 34 next week, the Wollongong-born utility player still feels that he has plenty to offer.
“There’s still a few more years in these legs,” Wilkshire told ESPN FC. “I’m open to options and hopefully I’ll get something sorted out in the coming weeks, maybe here in Russia where there are some irons in the fire.”
But Wilkshire added that he’d be open to playing in Asia, which could spark the interest of cashed-up regional clubs like Johor Darul Ta’zim in Malaysia as well as Buriram United and Bangkok Glass in Thailand.
A month and a half ago, Wilkshire was in pre-season in the Netherlands as he began the second year of his contract in the Eredivisie. But, according to reports, he was released on Aug 13 by Feyenoord manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst for being overweight — which Wilkshire strenuously denies.
“That’s nonsense... it’s definitely not the case,” he said. “A new manager came in and I had a feeling I wasn’t going to play so I came to an agreement with the club and we parted on happy terms.”
Wilkshire’s career has never been short of highs and lows, with unexpected twists and turns.
The biggest shock came at the 2006 World Cup when — as a little-known midfielder for third-tier Bristol City — he was thrown in the deep end by Guus Hiddink for Australia’s opening match against Japan in Kaisterslautern, ahead of Premier League regulars, Tim Cahill, Stan Lazaridis and Josip Skoko.
“It was pretty surreal because I was rooming with Timmy [Cahill] and we all thought he’d start and I’d be on the bench but it turned out to be the other way around,” he said. “Guus was such a good coach and he gave me the opportunity which was a major career turning point.”
Hiddink saw something that many others did not. After Australia’s impressive march to the Round of 16, the Dutchman’s recommendation saw Wilkshire picked up Eredivisie club FC Twente, who’d play in the Uefa Cup and the Uefa Champions League qualifiers.
Suddenly, the man who had failed to secure a regular place at English Premier League club Middlesbrough a few years earlier was becoming a seasoned and wealthy European star. He’d go on to join Dynamo Moscow for a reported €6 million transfer fee and become his nation’s highest paid footballer on an official rich list in 2012.
The transformation of Wilkshire from raw and unproven international player into senior Socceroo was crucial as Australia qualified for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups and made the final of the 2011 Asian Cup.
And with Kewell, Lucas Neill and Mark Schwarzer fading from the scene, Wilkshire seemed destined to join fellow 30-somethings Cahill and Mark Bresciano alongside the new generation at the 2014 World Cup before being one of four players cut from the final 23-man squad at the Brazil training camp.
“Who would not want to go to a World Cup?” Wilkshire responded when asked about his omission. “It was his [coach Ange Postecoglou’s] decision. Life goes on.”
He was also left out of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup squad as Australia lifted a major men’s football trophy for the first time after defeating South Korea 2-1 in January’s final in Sydney.
Wilkshire isn’t ready to come home to Australia quite yet, and isn’t sure if he’ll ever play in the A-League.
In the meantime, he’ll hang out at his house in the city of Khimki, play with his one-year-old daughter, and hope that an interesting offer will come before the cold Russian winter sets in.
“I wasn’t the most flamboyant or gifted player but I worked hard and I was mentally tough,” Wilkshire said. “It’s difficult getting to the top but it’s even harder to stay there.”
Jason Dasey is senior editor of football website ESPN FC (formerly ESPN Soccernet) which now has a Southeast Asia edition.