The 34-year old Socceroos Asian Cup winner will become the eighth official captain of the Sky Blues following on from the likes of Dwight Yorke, Steve Corica, Terry McFlynn, Alessandro Del Piero and Alex Brosque.

Wilkinson, who has been the club’s vice-captain for the last three seasons, tonight said he was proud to have been handed the armband. 

“It’s a huge honour for myself to be captain of Sydney FC who are in my opinion the biggest club in the A-League," said the Brazil 2014 defender.

“I was born and bred in Sydney and spent all my junior years here growing up playing football, so to be able to captain Sydney FC is a huge honour.

“Brosquey’s been an unbelievable leader for this club over the past few years now and it’s my job to continue on what he has built.

“This year we’ve kept the core group together again and the one thing we have at Sydney FC is a great culture and a great bunch of boys, and this year is no different.

“We’ve got a lot of experience in the change room and that will help me lead the group and push us to some more success.”

Coach Steve Corica believes Wilkinson was the natural choice for the captaincy.

“I don’t think there’s any surprise with Wilko taking the armband given the experience he has in the game,” he said.

“He shows great leadership within the dressing room, he knows the culture we want to drive and he also knows what it takes to win trophies.

“He will set a fantastic example for our younger boys and to be able to have this sort of continuity bodes very well for the season ahead.”

Wilkinson will be presented with the captain’s armband by the man he succeeded, Alex Brosque, at tonight’s first pre-season friendly match against Dunbar Rovers at Leichhardt Oval.