Always Russian in
Luke embraces challenges in life and footy
LUKE Wilkshire has never pulled out of a tackle and never shied away from a new challenge in his career.
At 36, Sydney FC’s right back has taken a series of surprising turns, from the moment Guus Hiddink picked him from nowhere for a World Cup squad in 2006.
Equally surprising was his sudden move to Russia in 2008, a country and culture that could scarcely have been less familiar.
After two years in Holland, where the comfort blanket of spoken English is everywhere, finding his feet at Dinamo Moscow was rather more challenging.
“There’s a bit more spoken now, but definitely when I first went there, there was not much English-speaking going on,” Wilkshire said.
“Football aside, it’s about challenging yourself in life.
“I embrace those challenges – it’s what I’ve loved about my career so far.”
It’s why in November 2015 he didn’t hesitate to accept a contract offer from the club then known as Terek Grozny, also in the Russian Premier League.
The fact Grozny is so disfigured by the Chechen Wars of the 1990s it was labelled the most destroyed city on Earth by the UN wasn’t a dampener, nor the habit of its citizens of carrying guns everywhere, even to football matches.
“It’s a completely different place,” Wilkshire said. “I’d experienced it to go into and play when I first went to Dinamo a decade ago and we’d travel to Grozny to play them.
“It has changed a lot in that time. But when I first went, it was a shock to the system.
“The hotels we stayed in, the food we were given, machine guns everywhere, military everywhere ... it’s kind of mind-blowing. It’s grown enormously since then and now it’s not a bad city at all.”
It’s literally and figuratively a world apart from playing in Sydney, with Wilkshire lining up against Perth at Allianz Stadium tonight.
But with the Socceroos hoping to visit Russia next year for the World Cup, Wilkshire’s attachment to the place is clear.
“It’s come a long way,” he said. “Football in Russia is very big, it’s a good-quality league and very tough. Russia in general is such an amazing place.”