Luke Wilkshire

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Personal information
Luke Wilkshire
Full name	Luke Wilkshire
Date of birth	October 2, 1981 (age 25)
Place of birth	Wollongong, Australia
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9¾)
Nickname	Wilkie
Playing position	Central Midfield/Right Back
Club information
Current club	FC Twente
Youth clubs
	Wollongong Wolves
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2002-03 2003-06 2006-present	Middlesbrough Bristol City FC Twente	21 (0) 110 (17) 15 (1)
National team²
2004-	Australia	13 (0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of December 18, 2006. ² National team caps and goals correct as of December 18, 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Luke Wilkshire (born October 2, 1981 in Wollongong, Australia) is an Australian football (soccer) player who currently plays for FC Twente in the Dutch Eredivisie and is a regular for the Australian National Team. Wilkshire has also represented Australia at youth level earlier in his career, playing in the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship in Argentina, and in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

After beginning his football at the Wollongong Wolves Youth setup, Wilkshire travelled to Canberra to spend a year at the AIS, Australia's elite sports academy. He then moved overseas and was part of the Middlesbrough's youth system. He made several senior appearances for them in the English Premier League and also started in an FA Cup Semi Final but ultimately never really established himself in the first team. In search of regular football, Wilkshire decided on a move to English lower league club Bristol City.

Three years of regular first-team football for the Robins allowed Wilkshire to mature his game and improve his versatility, so much so that former Australia coach Guus Hiddink described him as a 'modern player', also claiming he was one of the most technically gifted players in the socceroo side. Luke was selected in Australia's squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and started against Japan and Italy. His solid performances in the tournament earned him a trial and subsequent three year deal with Dutch top flight club FC Twente.

[edit] External links

Official Website
Luke Wilkshire Tactical Formations at Football-Lineups.com

	Australia squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Schwarzer \| 2 Neill \| 3 Moore \| 4 Cahill \| 5 Čulina \| 6 Popović \| 7 Emerton \| 8 Skoko \| 9 Viduka \| 10 Kewell \| 11 Lazaridis \| 12 Čović \| 13 Grella \| 14 Chipperfield \| 15 Aloisi \| 16 Beauchamp \| 17 Thompson \| 18 Kalac \| 19 Kennedy \| 20 Wilkshire \| 21 Sterjovski \| 22 Milligan \| 23 Bresciano \| Coach: Hiddink

FC Twente - Current Squad
1 Boschker \| 2 Wielaert \| 3 Braafheid \| 4 Zomer \| 5 Viðarsson \| 6 Brama \| 7 Touma \| 8 Bakircioglü \| 9 N'Kufo \| 10 Gerk \| 12 Heubach \| 13 Visser \| 14 Wilkshire \| 15 Schuurman \| 16 Paauwe \| 17 Bakkal \| 20 Aissati \| 22 Wellenberg \| 23 Gerritsen \| 24 El Ahmadi \| 25 Oude Kamphuis \| 27 Engelaar \| 29 Zijler \| 30 Kleizen \| Coach: Rutten