The son of former Socceroos midfielder and current North Geelong Football Operations director, Josip Skoko, has made his senior debut in round six of the FFA Cup.
North Geelong narrowly defeated State League 1 outfit Richmond SC and the game was marked by 16-year-old Luka Skoko, who came on in the 85th minute for his debut first team appearance.
Post-match young Skoko chatted with media about the milestone.
“When I first came on, the pace of the game wasn’t what it was at the start, but the intensity was still pretty full on. Richmond weren’t about to give up that easily,”
“To be honest, I was just happy to be named on the bench but coming on was a huge bonus.
“Getting a taste of senior football certainly opened up my appetite for more action at this level. Hopefully, there will be more opportunities as the season goes on,” Luka Skoko said.
On Tuesday evening’s ‘Geelong Region Soccer Show’ – Luka’s father, Josip, also reflected on the big moment for his son and acknowledged the youth program at the club.
“Very proud moment for me, Luka coming in and having a senior debut at 16, but I think that’s just the way things are happening at North Geelong at the moment,” Skoko told FNR.
“We’ve got a really talented U16s and U17s age group and we really want to push them through and get them up to senior level as quickly as we can.
“The best way to do that is expose them to senior football.”
Skoko made 51 appearances for the Socceroos and also played for the Young Socceroos (11 appearances) and Olyroos (3 appearances). He mentioned there are similarities between himself and his son.
“He’s a hard working central midfielder, he’s quite intelligent, keeps the ball very well.
“He’s a little bit like me, a very hard worker and that’s the key for all young players these day.
“You really have to work hard and work on the talent that you do have and make it even better.”
Luka Skoko has played eight matches in NPL2 VIC U20 West this season, scoring in the past two games against Whittlesea Ranges and Melbourne City.
Young Skoko is also currently eligible for the U-17 Joeys however hasn’t been called into the squad as of yet.
