Nov 13, 2009 - 04:30 AM

By Shawn Cayley

BRUGGE, BELGIUM -- As seasoned as Mike Klukowski has become on the soccer pitch, there is still much to accomplish, he says.

The 28-year-old former Oshawa resident is living a nice life across the pond, playing the game he loves so dearly as a member of Club Brugge KV in Belgium.

It's been a tough road traveled at times for Klukowski, but having the chance to live his dream has made the journey well worth it.

"Since I was a kid, when I was growing up in Canada, it was my dream to play professional soccer in general, but to play on a top club like Club Brugge, which is a well-known team here in Europe, it's an honour for me," said Klukowski in a recent phone interview from his Belgium home.

This coming January will mark Klukowski's fifth season with the club, and in that span he has become one of the mainstays of the program, growing from a wide-eyed rookie to a seasoned veteran, relied on to provide guidance to the younger members of the club.

It's a role he is relishing at the moment and one he hopes will continue.

"When I arrived here I was one of the younger players and now I can say, at times on the field, I am one of the oldest," said Klukowski. "Time flies, but I am really enjoying my time. I still have another year on my contract and hopefully things keep going better. When I first arrived, I was just the new guy coming in from a smaller team, so I had to get to know the club and players. Since then though, I am one of only three still here. There has been a lot of changes in the last five years. Pretty much 90 per cent of the team is new guys so there is definitely more leadership to my role."

It's been so far, so good this season as Klukowski has helped lead Club Brugge work its way into first place in the UEFA Europa League Group J standings. The team hasn't lost a game since mid-August.

"The results are coming and hopefully it continues," Klukowski said of the impressive start to the season.

It's often said that winning breeds winning. If that's the case, Klukowski hopes this current run of success with Club Brugge can carry over into the next decade, where he is hopeful of getting one last shot to help Canada make it to a World Cup.

The 2014 Cup will be held in Brazil and Klukowski can't envision of a better setting to help put Canada back on the world soccer map.

"That's a long ways away," he says of 2014. "Of course (I want to play). That is going to be my last chance and it has always been a dream to play in a World Cup. I know our team, we have the quality to do so. We just have to prepare in the right fashion. If we do our chances will be much higher."