36 Facts About Luke Wilkshire

Luke Wilkshire was born on 2 October 1981 and is an Australian football coach and a former player.

Luke Wilkshire next played in Russia for Dynamo Moscow, but later moved back to the Netherlands to play for Feyenoord in 2014.

Luke Wilkshire was released from the club in August 2015 by mutual consent.

Luke Wilkshire has played eighty times for the Australian national team.

Luke Wilkshire was a member of the squad at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Previously, with Australia's youth sides, Luke Wilkshire took part in the 2001 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Luke Wilkshire played his junior football with his home town club of Albion Park and attended Albion Park High School.

Luke Wilkshire moved on to represent his region by joining the Wollongong Wolves youth setup and spending several seasons there.

Luke Wilkshire then travelled to Canberra to spend a year at the AIS football program, Australia's elite sports academy.

Luke Wilkshire then moved overseas and was part of Middlesbrough's youth system.

Luke Wilkshire went on to make further senior appearances for them in the Premier League, including a sending off against Arsenal, and started in an FA Cup semi-final.

In search of regular football, Luke Wilkshire decided on a move to Second Division club Bristol City for an undisclosed fee.

Luke Wilkshire finished his first season at the club, making forty-five appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.

However, during the season, Luke Wilkshire was a subject to diving during a match against Blackpool after he dived in the penalty spot from a challenge to win a penalty, a claim that was denied by Luke Wilkshire, himself.

Luke Wilkshire previously wished to leave the club in hopes of being called up for the World Cup squad in Germany.

Luke Wilkshire continued to feature in the first team for the remainder of the season and finished his first season, making thirty appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.

Luke Wilkshire made his Russian Premier League debut for Dynamo Moscow on 31 August 2008, playing the full 90 minutes against FC Moscow at the Dynamo Stadium in Moscow.

Luke Wilkshire scored his first goal for Dynamo from a penalty on 27 September 2008, playing against Krylya Sovetov in Samara, Russia.

Luke Wilkshire became a first team regular at the club and finished his first full season, making eleven appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.

Luke Wilkshire's performance attracted interests from league's rivals and bigger spender Anzhi Makhachkala in the summer transfer window, but the move never happened.

Luke Wilkshire went on to finish the season, making twenty-four appearances in all competitions.

Luke Wilkshire previously hinted that it would be his last match for the club.

On 31 July 2014, Luke Wilkshire signed a one-year deal with Dutch Eredivisie side Feyenoord on a free transfer.

On 18 November 2015, Luke Wilkshire signed a one-year contract, with the option of an additional year, with Russian club Terek Gronzny, beginning on 1 January 2016.

On 12 May 2017, Dynamo announced that the club and Luke Wilkshire decided not to extend his contract as it ran out at the end of the season.

In July, 2017 Luke Wilkshire returned to Australian club football, signing a one-year contract with Sydney FC as an injury replacement player for Rhyan Grant.

Luke Wilkshire scored the club's first goal in the 2018 AFC Champions League, blasting home a parried shot away to Shanghai Shenhua at Hongkou Football Stadium.

On 9 May 2018, Luke Wilkshire left Sydney FC to pursue other opportunities.

Luke Wilkshire has represented Australia at youth level earlier in his career, playing in the 2001 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina, and in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, where he once captained the side against Iraq.

Luke Wilkshire was selected in Australia's squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and started against Japan and Italy.

Luke Wilkshire played in the 2011 Asian Cup Finals in Qatar, starting the first two games against India and South Korea respectively but missing Australia's final group-stage game against Bahrain due to injury.

Luke Wilkshire has not been selected for the Socceroos since the appointment of Ange Postecoglou as head coach in October 2013, apart from two early friendlies against Ecuador in which he did not play and South Africa in which he played 36 minutes.

Luke Wilkshire was not named in the Australian squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and was left off the longlist of 46 players for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, despite him maintaining his regular first team place at Feyenoord.

Luke Wilkshire served as an assistant coach with the Australia U-20 team in 2023, and served as an assistant coach with Australia from 2023 to 2024.

Luke Wilkshire was married to Quyeny and together, they have one child.

Luke Wilkshire has two other children, Paige and Toby, with Sally Ashton.