Socceroos defender Luke Wilkshire admits the three seasons he spent at Bristol City were the worst period of his career and says he is eternally grateful to coach Guus Hiddink for believing in him and giving him a chance to realise his dream of playing in a FIFA World Cup.
Wilkshire was languishing in the third tier of English football in virtual anonymity and barely on the fringes of the national team in 2005 when Hiddink picked him, liked what he saw and took him to the 2006 finals in Germany.
The attacking fullback would go on to play 80 full internationals and become one of the longest serving Socceroos of all time yet it was Hiddink's faith in Wilkshire's combative game that made it all happen for the Wollongong-born defender.
"I still had a year in my contract at Middlesbrough but I was frustrated because I was not playing week in week out and I wanted regular football," Wilkshire, 38, said.
"Then came the opportunity to join Bristol, who had just missed out on promotion to the Championship when I joined them in 2003.
"Bristol are a big club and they were expected to push for promotion but it was a big gamble for me because I felt if we did not go up I would be stuck there. Coaches change and who knows what might happen, I reasoned.
"In football, however, sometimes you have to take a risk and back yourself. To be honest, they were the worst three years of my career but, looking back, they made me stronger mentally and helped me achieve what I achieved.
"Given my situation at Bristol, where sometimes I was not even on the bench, Hiddink obviously had faith in me even though I was on the fringe of the national team. So, needless to say, I was over the moon when he picked me in the World Cup squad. I will always be grateful to him."
Wilkshire took time out in his home town of Wollongong to discuss his long career.
What are you doing now?
"I've come out of playing football now and I'm into coaching where I have a head role at Wollongong Wolves. I also do some media work with Optus Sport which I enjoy very much. What this all means is that I don't have to travel by plane any more and I can spend a bit more time with my family."
What prepared you better for your long career: the year you spent at the AIS or the two years as a Middlesbrough youth?
"Both, I would say. The AIS was crucial for me especially in Australian terms. It was hard to get there but it was a massive year for me and a huge influence on my career because it prepared me for the next step towards professionalism. There was nowhere else.
"At Boro I was instantly immersed into a pro environment. I was only a junior but I was offered a contract and I had to make my way through which was challenging. But I took it as one foot in the door and I never looked back."
Was fullback always your preferred position?
"I was a central or holding midfielder for many of my early years. I was technically decent and I liked to break up play with strong tackling. To be honest that is probably why Boro signed me because they appreciated my physicality. I finished up as an attacking fullback down the track yet I broke into the Premier League and the Socceroos side as a midfielder.
"When I signed for Twente after the 2006 World Cup I went there as a midfielder but their coach told me after a few games in the middle that if I wanted to be a top player I should play right fullback because I would not get ahead in my career if I stayed in midfield. So that's how I became a modern right back who does a fair bit of attacking."
Did you have any role models when you were growing up?
"Not really. I just loved playing and watching football. I was only interested in working on my game. I admired guys like Pele, Diego Maradona and Roberto Baggio but I was never going to be that kind of player ... I just loved my football. People ask me which is my favourite team but I have never followed any team in my life except the ones that I played for."
Having been in the squad that defeated Uruguay in 2005, did you fear you blew your World Cup chances after being sent off in a pre-tournament trial versus the Netherlands?
"I was annoyed mainly because the red card meant I would miss the last World Cup trial against Liechtenstein and that could have affected my selection chances. The sending-off was unfortunate but that was just me and the way I played the game. Maybe the boss liked that, I don't know. I would have been happy to play just one minute in the World Cup in Germany and I ended up playing twice."
The matches against Japan and Italy must have provided you with conflicting emotions. Tell us about those two epics that captured the imagination of the Australian public.
"We were at the World Cup for the first time in 32 years and nobody gave us much of a chance of getting through the group that comprised world champions Brazil, Croatia and Japan. We came back strongly from a goal down against the Japanese to win 3-1, thanks to two goals from substitute Tim Cahill.
"I remember he was very disappointed not to be starting the game. He was expected to start while I did not think I would get a guernsey. We were actually room-mates at the World Cup and with him missing out and finding out I was playing created two very different emotions on the eve of the biggest match of our career.
"But everything happens for a reason and Hiddink made a great call to bring him on and he changed the game for us. The atmosphere at the Fritz Walter Stadium in Kaiserslautern was electric. It is still one of my favourite grounds.
"The dramatic loss to Italy was devastating. I thought we had done enough to win and we felt it was only a matter of time before we scored but in the end we got caught with a sucker punch. The 1-0 defeat was hard to take and it was even harder to follow the rest of the tournament on television and watch the Italians go on and win the whole thing. That's the crazy world of football for you."
You also played three times in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Did the Socceroos ruin everything by their 4-0 loss to Germany?
"I thought we had a fantastic tournament. Cahill's red card did not help us against the Germans but we backed up beautifully against Ghana. Despite having Harry Kewell sent off after 25 minutes we could have won that game instead of drawing 1-1. We had opportunities to score and I missed a good chance in front of goal.
"We ended up beating Serbia 2-1 but it was not enough. We went out on goal difference so, yes, the four goals we conceded against Germany hurt us."
The late Pim Verbeek's playing system was not to everyone's liking. Was he too cautious in his approach?
"I liked Pim. He was a fantastic coach. He played to our strengths and did not want to step outside the box and try to do things he did not believe we could do. His role was to maximise our opportunities and that is exactly what he did."
You were a regular starter under Verbeek. Was it because you provided him with an attacking outlet?
"Brett Emerton and I had a fantastic understanding on the right. We were both very fit and we needed to be because, I tell you, going up and down the flank can be very tiring.
"The way we played, if one of us got caught the other would slot in to cover."
You must have lost count of the number of assists to your name.
"I scored only a few for Australia, including a couple of penalties, but I had more assists than goals, that's for sure. Many of Cahill's goals came from me (laughs). Everyone has a different role to play in a team and for me the important things were to play, win and be appreciated by my teammates."
In between the two World Cups you moved to Dynamo Moscow. How did you cope with playing in a country that could not be any more culturally different to Australia?
"A Russian teammate of mine at Twente told me Dynamo were interested in me and he asked me if I would consider going there. I said to myself 'why not? I'm on the other side of the world so what difference would another two hours make'. I saw this as a massive challenge firstly because I had never been to such a huge city as Moscow and secondly no Australian had ever played there.
"My mother told me 'don't you dare go to Russia, you're crazy no matter how much they pay you' but I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and I was impressed with the people running the club and the phenomenal facilities and I signed up. It was cold, very different and the traffic was horrendous but it was the best decision of my life and I ended up staying there for six years."
Which was the biggest Dynamo game you were involved in?
"I played in a few European matches but Dynamo's biggest games of the season were the derbies against Spartak Moscow, which were always very special. I played in a few of those at the famous Luzhniki Stadium."
Yours is a classic 'from Russia with love' story: your wife Kristina is Russian, two of your children were born in Moscow, you can speak Russian and you are now a member of the Russian Orthodox church.
"Kristina and I met through a mutual friend in Moscow and we got to know each other. One thing led to another and I fell in love with her and her family. I still have a house in Moscow which I built and we intended to make it our home but things change very quickly in football and before I knew it I was off to Feyenoord in the Netherlands. I'm not unhappy to be living in Wollongong, actually, after travelling in planes all my life."
Was the 2011 AFC Asian Cup final against Japan in Doha which Australia lost 1-0 in extra time the one that got away?
"A hundred per cent. We had the better chances, we were the better team and we should have won that game. We had a wonderful tournament with a great group of players of the highest order and it was hugely disappointing to come up short in the final. The final left us with a bitter taste."
In your first season in Australia you helped Sydney FC win the 2018 premiership. It must have felt like a fitting climax to your career.
"It nearly did not happen. I had never played in Australia and I did not want to come here. When the opportunity arose my first reaction was 'no'. I was not young any more and a lot of Socceroos players had come back, did not succeed and copped a lot of criticism. I'm the sort of bloke who will not do something just for the sake of it. If I'm going to do anything I want to do it properly.
"But Kristina kept telling me to come home and show that I still had it. I put a lot into my last season and I'd like to think I finished up on a high. We won the premiership but unfortunately we missed out on the grand final after losing to Melbourne Victory."
You however must be supremely satisfied with your career that took you from Albion Park juniors to facing Italy for a place in the World Cup quarter-finals. Any regrets?
"Not really. Sometimes in hindsight you think that you could have done things a bit differently or wish you knew then what you know now but I believe things happen for a reason. I really do. I'm not the type to look back and feel sorry so I have no regrets. I just get on with it and look forward to the next challenges life throws at you. I don't even watch videos of games I have played in."
What was the highlight of your career?
"It is hard to say. What I did last year when Wollongong won the NPL title in my first year as head coach felt like the best year of my career. Watching a group of terrific players enjoy their triumph was pretty satisfying."
Finally, who are the best players you have played with and against?
"This is a big one. The most gifted Aussie player I have played with was Harry Kewell. He was a unique and exceptional footballer.
"I played against many top players including David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Thierry Henry in the Premier League when I was at Middlesbrough."
LUKE WILKSHIRE FACTFILE
Club career
2000-2003: Middlesbrough
2003-2006: Bristol City
2006-2008: Twente
2008-2014: Dynamo Moscow
2014-2015: Feyenoord
2016: Terek Grozny
2016-2017: Dynamo Moscow
2017-2018: Sydney FC
International career
2004-2014: Australia (80 matches)
Honours
Sydney FC: FFA Cup 2017.
