You might be surprised to learn there is a Socceroo in our ranks who has played in five countries, won two national titles and has represented his country in the Olympics and the World Cup finals, all before his 24th birthday. Possibly the only thing more astonishing is who that player is. Step forward Nikita Rukavytsya.

The livewire striker is not the obvious choice when the conversation turns to successful young Australian players but it is the former Perth Glory man who has plied his trade in Ukraine, Australia, Holland, Belgium and Germany, winning an Eredivisie and German Second Division title along the way, as well as playing in the two biggest sporting events in the world.

Perhaps it’s because he has done it so quietly. Apart from the odd appearance in an ‘Aussies Abroad’ news story or call-up to a Socceroo squad, Ruka’s profile back home isn’t as high as other players who have left the A-League to play overseas.

Much of this is down to his choice of clubs in Europe: playing for FC Twente in Holland, where he appeared sparingly, and then for clubs in Belgium and the German second tier, have hardly increased his visibility back home. There’s no late-night scouting missions on ONE HD or Setanta if you want to watch Nikita – if you want to see how he’s progressing, you actually have to go and see him play live, a novel concept in the internet age where instant experts can tell you all about a player without ever seeing them kick a ball.

Luckily, the right people have been making an effort to watch the Ukrainian-born Aussie play his game and it seems as though they like what they see.

Pim Verbeek and his team of European-based scouts were so impressed with his performances on loan at Belgian side Roeselare that he was called into the Socceroos squad for the 2010 World Cup. His performances in Belgium and cameos in South Africa then caught the eye of Markus Babel, the newly appointed coach of Hertha Berlin, who made him one of his first signings last off-season. Even new Socceroo coach Holger Osieck has been keeping his eye on Ruka, recently telling him to continue working hard and that he hoped Hertha would win promotion to the Bundesliga (which they did).

For Rukavytsya, it hasn’t been a matter of who he is playing for, but that he is playing in the first place. “Pim Verbeek told me before the World Cup that his players needed to be playing regularly to be in contention for a World Cup place,” says Rukavytsya. “And that stuck with me. Choosing to go on loan in Belgium, and now playing at Hertha, has been about me playing regularly. I’ve been doing that over the last 12 months and not only have I been enjoying my football but I’ve been fortunate enough to win things too.”

Luckily for Ruka, his days of playing in relative obscurity look to be at an end, with his Hertha Berlin side recently winning promotion back to the Bundesliga after just one season in the second tier. Fans of the Ukrainian-born striker can now set their alarms for some live TV games next season, with Nikita feeling the German top flight is where Hertha belongs.

“This club is a Bundesliga club with Bundesliga quality players,” he says. “And our support is amazing – last week we had over 70,000 to a game and we’re in the Second Division! The fans are amazing.”

When FourFourTwo caught up with the Socceroo star after training at Hertha’s training ground, the youngster was in good spirits, with promotion nearly secured and the end of the season – and a holiday to sunny Perth – within sight. With the remnants of a Ukrainian accent still audible – he only arrived in Perth at age 14 – Nikita talks about his rise from A-League teenage hot-shot to Bundesliga Socceroo.

You arrived in Australia with your family at 14, but you were already a pretty good footballer when you arrived, weren’t you?
I’d played a lot of football before I arrived in Perth. I went to a good school in Ukraine and we had a good local team as well. There was a lot of talent in the team that I was a part of and we were competing against other Ukrainian teams, like Dynamo Kyiv, in tournaments. And we were beating them too! In the Ukraine, everyone plays football, in the streets, for clubs, with their families. After training I would go and play in the street with all my friends. I was pretty much living football all the time. It was at such a good level at home that when I came to Australia, it wasn’t long before I was playing a couple of years above my age.

You joined Perth Glory as a teenager in 2007. Did you know much about the club?
When I first arrived in Perth, I heard all about the history of Perth Glory and how it represented the city so well over the years in the national league. So I would go and watch them when I was a kid and I always thought, “I would love to play for the team one day”. So it was a great feeling to play for the team that I had always wanted to as a young boy. I have great memories of playing for the Glory. Perth is great – I love the city and it’s like home to me now. The club was good and the fans were great – I miss it a lot even now. I think my time in the A-League was a great education. It was so good for me as a young player to get that experience of playing in a professional team with so many other great players to learn from. As a young kid to play there and make a name for yourself first, it’s a great stepping stone if you want to move on to Europe at some point.

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Why did you decide to leave for Europe when you did?
Personally I have always wanted to play in Europe because that is where the best players and the best competition is. People live and breathe football over here and it was always my dream to play for a big club in a top European league when I was growing up. I’m now living that dream. With that as background, it wasn’t really that big of a decision to leave Australia and join FC Twente. I wanted to move as quick as I could but of course that wouldn’t have happened without playing for Perth first.

Is there pressure on young Australian players to accept the first big that comes in, in case another one doesn’t come along?
I think there can be but it’s not something I experienced. I have a very good agent based in Melbourne and I had a few options at the time of my move. I had a few trials with some clubs and I chose what was best for myself and my career at the time. And I think I made the right choice, even though I moved to Twente and I didn’t play there as much as I wanted to. I still got a great education in Holland – it’s a fantastic country for young players to learn football. I was there for a year and a half and
I gained a lot of experience that helped.

You decided to go on loan from Twente to Roeselare in Belgium to get more playing time ahead of the World Cup. Looking back, that was a great move for you.
Yeah, I was pleased because it was my decision to make a move in order to get more playing time. I didn’t want to be sitting on the bench in Holland. Even though the club were last in the Belgian league when I joined them, they welcomed me and they were very good to me. I did very well there, I scored goals and I was playing every game. As a footballer that makes all the difference and I was much happier both on and off the pitch. Every decision you make leads you to where you are at the moment so I look back at the choice to go to Belgium very positively.

The transfer to Hertha Berlin took place last summer. How did that come about? What appealed to you about the move to Germany?
After the World Cup there were a few clubs that said they were interested in me, but when my agent told me that Hertha were interested in offering me a contract, I didn’t have to think about it. It’s a massive club and a great environment and culture for a footballer to be in. There were no second thoughts when we knew the interest was there. Markus Babel had only taken the coach’s job a month before so it was good to know that he wanted me to be one of his first signings. He was a great player and a well-known player around the world. He’s done it all, playing at the very highest level and to be working with him is an honour. You’ve been in good form this season.

It seems as though Hertha’s system really suits your style of play?
We play attacking football and it’s a great set-up to be part of. We’ve got some great players and it’s a mix of technical and tactical football. We like to keep possession of the ball but when it’s time to go forward we go. We play a three striker formation and I play in one of the wide positions. And I’ve been happy with my form over the year. I’ve usually played as a central striker all my life but when I came here, we started playing with three up front – one target man and two quicker guys on the side. It was a bit new to me at the start but I’ve adapted well and I’m really happy with the way I’m playing at the moment.

Have you been surprised by the quality in the league, one level below the Bundesliga?
This is my first full season playing for a massive club, where I have played in most of the games. It’s a very tough league, the German Second Division – you can see from some of the cup results, where a lot of the second tier teams beat Bundesliga sides and in fact, a Second Division side, Duisburg, is in the final this year against Schalke. I’ve played a lot of games this season at a high level and your body definitely feels more tired and sore at this point in the season. But you have to push yourself through and with the team winning the championship this season, we ultimately got our reward. Of course, as a player you dream about playing in the best leagues in the world so it’s a great achievement to help the team get to the top flight in Germany.

You’ve played in Germany, Belgium, Holland and are originally from Ukraine. Does the fact you’ve moved around when you were younger help you now in your life as a footballer?
It’s a tough life, that’s for sure. When I moved to Australia it was hard for me because I couldn’t speak English and I didn’t have any friends. Everything was new to me and I found it hard at first. But as the years went by and it became home, I met people who are now my best friends. I miss family and friends a lot and no matter how many times you move as a footballer, it’s always hard to come to a new place because you are on your own. This season has been good for me because my girlfriend has been with me most of the time and my father and girlfriend’s parents have been over to stay with me, which makes life a lot easier. I haven’t seen my friends from home in a year, so I’m really looking forward to going to Australia at the end of this season.

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Is the theory that if you’re training well and playing in the team, everything else falls into place true?
Definitely. In Holland it was a very tough time for me because it’s hard enough when you make a move to a foreign country, but it makes it much worse if you’re not playing. You start thinking about a lot of things and it can really affect you. But when you play, and people are great to you at the club and the club likes you, it’s a completely different feeling. Everything just feels a lot better and you can just concentrate on your football.

What else do you miss about Australia?
I guess the weather and the lifestyle are the other things I miss the most. It’s such a relaxed lifestyle compared to Europe. Here everyone is in a hurry, there’s a rush to be somewhere or get something done. In Australia, there’s a laidback vibe to it; it doesn’t feel as busy. And it helps that the weather is good all the time! Although I lived in Ukraine until I was a teenager, I’ve got used to the good weather in Australia, so when I came to Europe again it did take a bit of getting used to the cold again.

Moving on to the national team, you’re one of the few Australian players to have represented their country at a World Cup. How does that make you feel?
It’s a dream come true. When I was a young kid I would always watch the World Cup and think to myself how unbelievable it would be to play in one. So to then play in one at such a young age – to say I have done that – it’s an amazing achievement and one that I’m very proud of. I will cherish it for the rest of my life.

What are your main memories of your time in South Africa?
There are too many to tell you about. The whole experience is just amazing – the camps before and getting prepared, arriving in the host country and experiencing the buzz of the tournament from all the fans, the build-up. Driving to the stadium before the first game against Germany was unbelievable, I’ve never seen anything like it. All the fans, the colours, the atmosphere. So many people were next to the bus, jumping and singing songs.

What was it like being part of the squad, with all the training sessions and the time you spent together?
The squad is pretty close and everyone is good to each other. There wasn’t really a group of people that I hung out with – you tend to hang out with everyone at different times. There were a lot of players who had been to the World Cup in 2006, so those players were always around to help the younger players, to give them advice and ask them how they’re going. But young or old, there was a general feeling across the squad about what it meant to be at the World Cup finals and how we all needed to be in our best form and shape to play the best football we can. Training was tough leading up to the finals but as we got closer and closer to the games it eased up a little, concentrating on tactics and how we were going to play against each of our opponents. It’s something I look back at very positively – both football-wise and confidence-wise – despite the fact the team didn’t do as well as we hoped. The margins for success are so thin. I think if we hadn’t lost the first game 4-0, we would’ve gone through, because in the other two games we did pretty well. But that’s football. You have to move on and hopefully you can learn from it.

What went through your mind as you were standing on the white line waiting to make that first subs appearance? Do you actually think to yourself, ‘Crap, I’m about to play in the World Cup!!’
Yeah. I actually played for about 30 minutes in the first game against Germany and as I was waiting to come on, I was thinking, “Wow, this is unbelievable. This is a dream come true”. The whole world is watching you at that moment but I didn’t really feel nervous. You don’t think about it at the time because you get into the game so much. You take it as a normal game and once you’re on the field you concentrate 100 per cent on the job at hand. I felt pretty good when I came on, there was never a feeling that I couldn’t handle the standard. It was just hard playing with ten men against a team of that quality. We had to do a lot of running and defending but when I got the ball I thought I did well. It would’ve been a different game if we’d had eleven men on the park.

The Asian Cup came around quickly after but you weren’t part of the squad. Was that disappointing after feeling that you had established yourself in the squad somewhat?
It was a little disappointing but I was also happy to stay here and play for Hertha at an important time of the season. It was mid-season and there were a lot of important games for us during that time. So I was just as happy staying here and concentrating on helping the side win games and try and get back to the Bundesliga. Of course, I was very happy for the boys and the team in what they achieved. It was a real shame they couldn’t go all the way and win the tournament.

You’ve now been part of a squad under the new coach Holger Osieck. What are you’re first impressions?
Every coach in football has their own ideas and their own style and coach Osieck is no different. I was in camp for a few days before the Germany game and it was the first time I’d worked with him and from what I’ve seen so far he’s good with the players and has some great ideas. He’s shown he’s a flexible coach who’s willing to try new things. I think you have to play each game differently because you can’t defend or attack against every opponent. It depends who you’re playing against, what strategies they use and what formation they play. Every time you have to adjust the way you play a little. I spoke to him while I was in camp and he told me I was doing well at my club and to continue working hard and hopefully we would get promoted. I’m looking forward to working with him in the future and being part of successful Socceroo teams.

Nikita wears the Nike CTR 360 Maestri II Elite boots. For Nike stockist information, call 1300 656453

This article appeared in the July 2011 issue of Australian FourFourTwo magazine. To buy back copies of this issue call 03-8317-8121 with a credit card to hand.

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