FORMER Socceroo Ljubo Milicevic has captained club and country, marked Robin van Persie in the UEFA Champions League and had 25,000 fanatical Hajduk Split fans chant his name.

In contrast, when he returned to the pitch last month after a long hiatus, just a few hundred fans watched.

FRIENDLY RIVALS: Victory mates battling for one spot

After leaving Perth Glory in October 2013, Milicevic “lived like a gypsy” before “crashing”.

Milicevic, 36, locked himself away in his parents’ Oakleigh home and avoided the world. Not for weeks or months, but two years.

Hence running out with childhood club Dandenong City is a career highlight, for Milicevic’s reality check already hit.

“I always played because I loved it, I played in my backyard, on the street, at school. In front of no one,’’ Milicevic said.

“Reconnecting, even at this level, is great for my soul.

“I don’t care if there’s 200-300 (watching), because they actually mean more to me than 20,000 or 30,000 elsewhere.

media_camera Ljubo Milicevic in action for Dandenong City. Picture: Drazen Jurina

“They’ve genuinely taken an interest in my career, they’ve seen you grow up as a kid.”

Watching the elegant and technical Milicevic play again at any level is a feat after he shut himself off from the world.

“I didn’t make a conscious decision but I hit the wall and no one saw me for two years. It was soul destroying,’’ he said.

“I went back to mum and dad’s. All I could do to survive was shut myself off and try not to feel anymore.

“I would wake up late, tell them I was going to do yoga and I watched movies. I don’t think there’s a doco or a movie that I haven’t seen from the last 10-20 years.

“I couldn’t read or listen to music because it would bring up emotion and memories of the people I missed and loved.

“If I bumped into someone I knew, I’d get so much anxiety around them. I didn’t want anyone to see me in that condition.

media_camera Ljubo Milicevic (back row, fifth from left) in a Chelsea Hajduk junior team.

“I tried to stay comfortably numb for as long as I could. I ate lots of chocolate. Absolutely no one got responses to messages or calls.”

Milicevic’s CV includes Swiss sides FC Zurich, Basel and Thun, plus a final Euro stint with boyhood idols Hajduk Split, but there were hard yards.

From being “cheated” out $500,000 from an agent in his first move, to two long-term injuries while captaining Ange Postecoglou’s Young Socceroos in 2001 and the 2004 Olyroos, or missing the 2006 World Cup despite playing in the Champions League, Milicevic’s turbulent career played a part in his descent.

“You’re brought up to be this gladiator, a leader. I was captain of every team I played for so I’m not the dude who’s all of a sudden going to crumble,’’ Milicevic said.

“It’s happened a few times, where I’ve burnt out and went through a period of darkness, sufferance, depression, whatever the West wants to call it. But not like this.’’

“The biggest lesson through this period, that it’s OK to be vulnerable and ask for help. The response from family and friends has been beautiful.’’

* WATCH AN INTERVIEW WITH LJUBO MILICEVIC ON FOX SPORTS’ PRE-GAME A-LEAGUE COVERAGE

Dandenong City, with the assistance of the players’ union, has played a part in his rehabilitation, with Milicevic coaching the Under 13s.

His turning point came around Euro 2016 time. Basic exercises turned into killer workouts on the ramps and steps of Half Moon Bay.

Capped eight times by the Socceroos, Milicevic said many Australian players who’ve played abroad have suffered “darkness and isolation”.

media_camera Ljubo Milicevic in action for Melbourne Victory.

Milicevic became addicted to sugar, which he’s cut out of his diet.

The spiritual Milicevic starts each day with yoga at 6am, works at his brother’s law firm and finishes with training.

A yoga training course in India or Bali at season’s end and winning promotion to the NPL top tier with Dandenong City are the main priorities.

“Going full circle and coming back to where it all began, it’s beautiful. I want to kick arse and win promotion for them,’’ Milicevic said.

“The more you let go and surrender to the natural flow if life, the universe, the happier you will be.”

If you or someone you know needs help, phone Lifeline on 131 114