Lu Kun-chi
Encyclopedia
Lu Kun-chi is a Taiwanese
football goalkeeper
. Nicknamed Taiwanese Buffon
(台灣布馮), he is the first choice goalkeeper in the Chinese Taipei national football team
.
, Taiwan
. He has one brother and one sister, among whom he is the youngest. Lu started to play football at the age of 10 after his family moved to Jiali
, another township in Tainan other than which he was born. He has played goalkeeper since age 11 in Jiali Primary School and Jiali Junior High School.
When he was 14, his height reached 180 cm (5 ft 11 in). It was thought he was likely to be included in the Chinese Taipei U-15 squad, but he was not. "At that time, I told myself I should enter the [Chinese Taipei] youth team in three years," he said to the press after years. Under the instruction of Pei Men
goalkeeper coach Hung Chin-chang
, he spent only two years to make his wish come true. He was called up to the Chinese Taipei U-21 at age 17, the U-23
at age 18, and eventually the senior team in 2004.
in 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
. His amazing performance soon earned him a regular place in the national team. Since then, he has been the first choice goalkeeper for Chinese Taipei. He also performed well in domestic league. He has been voted as the Best Goalkeeper in the Chinese Taipei National Football League 2005 season at the time he plays for National Taiwan College of Physical Education
.
, former manager of J. League
side Júbilo Iwata
, was invited to Taiwan to give lectures and to provide selection tests to Taiwanese talented youngsters. Lu took the test but did not perform himself because he was too nervous to keep his pace.
One month later, supported by his professor Chao Jung-jui in Taiwan PE College
, he went to Japan for the first time to accept the training tests provided by Yokohama FC
and JEF United Ichihara Chiba
. However, he failed to earn his position in both clubs.
In October, 2006, with the recommendation of then Chinese Taipei manager Toshiaki Imai
, Lu flew to Japan again to join the trainings with Yokohama F. Marinos
for 2 weeks along with his teammate Chen Po-liang
.
of the Japanese regional Tohoku League. He became the first Taiwanese male footballer to join a Japanese professional football club. On March 4, 2007, a press conference was held, and Grulla Morioka formally announced their signings of Lu and his compatriot Chuang Wei-lun
, albeit the latter suddenly returned to Taiwan and failed to contract with the club afterwards. Lu's contract was confirmed on March 9, and he was assigned the number 22 shirt. On June 10, Lu made his debut for Grulla in the game against Furukawa Battery F.C., of which he substituted Kazuya Obara after 83 minutes. However, he was unable to prove himself and sidelined from first-team action. With Grulla Morioka's failure in the year-end JFL promotion tournament, Lu returned to Taiwan in December.
football team (as Molten Tso I) during the Enterprise Football League 2008
season. Then Lu served military service in National Sports Training Center football team
and joined Taiwan Power Company F.C.
afterwards.
Taiwanese people
Taiwanese people may refer to individuals who either claim or are imputed cultural identity focused on the island of Taiwan and/or Taiwan Area which have been governed by the Republic of China since 1945...
football goalkeeper
Goalkeeper (football)
In association football, the goalkeeper occupies a position that represents the last line of defence between the opponent's offence and his own team's goal. The primary role of the goalkeeper is to defend his team's goal and prevent the opposition from scoring a goal...
. Nicknamed Taiwanese Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team. He has won the FIFA World Cup and is widely considered by fans and experts to be one of most dominant and successful goalkeepers in history...
(台灣布馮), he is the first choice goalkeeper in the Chinese Taipei national football team
Chinese Taipei national football team
The Chinese Taipei national football team is the official name given by FIFA to the national association football team of the Republic of China ....
.
Early years
Lu was born in Tainan CountyTainan County
Tainan County was located in southern Taiwan. The name "Tainan" means "Southern Taiwan". Formerly a county of the Republic of China , Tainan County was merged with Tainan City at the end of 2010 to form a single special municipality....
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. He has one brother and one sister, among whom he is the youngest. Lu started to play football at the age of 10 after his family moved to Jiali
Jiali
Jiali District is located in Tainan, Taiwan. In the 17th century, it was named Soulang , after one of the four houses of the local Taiwanese aborigines. It is located some fifteen kilometers north of Fort Zeelandia. Due to the Candyworld activities in 2005 and 2006, it has become well known....
, another township in Tainan other than which he was born. He has played goalkeeper since age 11 in Jiali Primary School and Jiali Junior High School.
When he was 14, his height reached 180 cm (5 ft 11 in). It was thought he was likely to be included in the Chinese Taipei U-15 squad, but he was not. "At that time, I told myself I should enter the [Chinese Taipei] youth team in three years," he said to the press after years. Under the instruction of Pei Men
National Pei Men Senior High School
Founded in August, 1981, National Pei Men Senior High School football team was one of the most strongest senior high school football teams in Taiwan. The first squad consisted of players from local Jia Li Junior High School and San Min Junior High School of Kaohsiung County...
goalkeeper coach Hung Chin-chang
Hung Chin-chang
Hung Chin-chang is a Taiwanese football coach and a former player. He had played goalkeeper for Chinese Taipei national football team. Currently he coaches National Pei Men Senior High School football team...
, he spent only two years to make his wish come true. He was called up to the Chinese Taipei U-21 at age 17, the U-23
Chinese Taipei national under-23 football team
The Chinese Taipei national under-23 football team is the national football team that represents Republic of China in the Olympic Games...
at age 18, and eventually the senior team in 2004.
Chinese Taipei debut
Lu's Chinese Taipei senior team debut was on October 14, 2004 against PalestinePalestine national football team
The Palestine national football team is the national team of the Palestinian Football Association, representing the Palestinian National Authority.The Palestine Football Federation was founded in 1952...
in 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for Asia.44 Asian teams are affiliated with FIFA, but Cambodia, Philippines, Bhutan and Brunei decided not to take part, and Myanmar was banned from the competition, so a total of 39 teams took part, competing...
. His amazing performance soon earned him a regular place in the national team. Since then, he has been the first choice goalkeeper for Chinese Taipei. He also performed well in domestic league. He has been voted as the Best Goalkeeper in the Chinese Taipei National Football League 2005 season at the time he plays for National Taiwan College of Physical Education
National Taiwan College of Physical Education
National Taiwan College of Physical Education is a college specialized in sports in Taiwan, Republic of China. It was established on June 12, 1961...
.
Seeking opportunities in Japan
In June, 2005, Masakazu SuzukiMasakazu Suzuki
is a retired Japanese football player and manager.-References:...
, former manager of J. League
J. League
The or is the top division of and is the top professional association football league in Japan. It is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football and the only league given top class 'A' ranking by the AFC. Currently, J. League Division 1 is the first level of the Japanese...
side Júbilo Iwata
Júbilo Iwata
is a professional Japanese association football team currently playing in the J. League Division 1 . The team name Júbilo means 'joy' in Portuguese and Spanish. The team's home town is Iwata, Shizuoka prefecture and they play at Yamaha Stadium...
, was invited to Taiwan to give lectures and to provide selection tests to Taiwanese talented youngsters. Lu took the test but did not perform himself because he was too nervous to keep his pace.
One month later, supported by his professor Chao Jung-jui in Taiwan PE College
National Taiwan College of Physical Education
National Taiwan College of Physical Education is a college specialized in sports in Taiwan, Republic of China. It was established on June 12, 1961...
, he went to Japan for the first time to accept the training tests provided by Yokohama FC
Yokohama FC
are a Japanese football club based in the city of Yokohama.-History:The club was formed in 1999, following the merger of the city's two J. League clubs, Yokohama Flügels and Yokohama Marinos the previous year. Flügels supporters, whose club was essentially dissolved, rejected the suggestion that...
and JEF United Ichihara Chiba
JEF United Ichihara Chiba
is a Japanese professional football club that plays in J. League Division 2. On February 1, 2005, the club changed its name from JEF United Ichihara to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba as its hometown in 2003. The club name, JEF -taken from JR East and Furukawa Electric-...
. However, he failed to earn his position in both clubs.
In October, 2006, with the recommendation of then Chinese Taipei manager Toshiaki Imai
Toshiaki Imai
is a Japanese football manager and former player. He currently manages Waseda University.In November 2005, Imai was appointed by Japan Football Association to coach Chinese Taipei national football team and to help the football development in Taiwan. It was his first international assignment...
, Lu flew to Japan again to join the trainings with Yokohama F. Marinos
Yokohama F. Marinos
is a Japanese association football team that participates in the fully professional J. League Division 1; the top Japanese professional football league. Having won the J-League title three times and finished second twice, they are one of the most successful J-League clubs. The team are based in...
for 2 weeks along with his teammate Chen Po-liang
Chen Po-liang
Chen Po-liang is a Taiwanese football midfielder. He played for Hong Kong First Division League side TSW Pegasus FC.-Early career:Chen started to display his goal scoring sense since young age. He was the top goalscorer in the National Futsal Championship, in which he scored 28 goals for Minzu...
.
Grulla Morioka
After two months of waiting, although there was no update from Yokohama, Lu received an invitation from Grulla MoriokaGrulla Morioka
is a Japanese association football club based in Morioka, Iwate. It currently plays in Tohoku League, one of the regional football leagues in Japan, and aims to promote to the J...
of the Japanese regional Tohoku League. He became the first Taiwanese male footballer to join a Japanese professional football club. On March 4, 2007, a press conference was held, and Grulla Morioka formally announced their signings of Lu and his compatriot Chuang Wei-lun
Chuang Wei-lun
Chuang Wei-lun is a Taiwanese football player who currently plays for Tatung F.C. and the Chinese Taipei national football team. He is fit either as a striker or as a midfielder...
, albeit the latter suddenly returned to Taiwan and failed to contract with the club afterwards. Lu's contract was confirmed on March 9, and he was assigned the number 22 shirt. On June 10, Lu made his debut for Grulla in the game against Furukawa Battery F.C., of which he substituted Kazuya Obara after 83 minutes. However, he was unable to prove himself and sidelined from first-team action. With Grulla Morioka's failure in the year-end JFL promotion tournament, Lu returned to Taiwan in December.
Returning to Taiwan
After returning to Taiwan, Lu was back to the National Taiwan College of Physical EducationNational Taiwan College of Physical Education
National Taiwan College of Physical Education is a college specialized in sports in Taiwan, Republic of China. It was established on June 12, 1961...
football team (as Molten Tso I) during the Enterprise Football League 2008
Enterprise Football League 2008
The 2008 season of Enterprise Football League was held from January 5 to April 27, 2008. With 4 college teams joining in, the number of participating teams increased from 4 to 8. The 2007 league champion Taiwan Power Company F.C...
season. Then Lu served military service in National Sports Training Center football team
National Sports Training Center football team
The National Sports Training Center football team is the football team in Taiwan's National Sports Training Center. It was merged in 2003 with the Lukuang football team, Taiwan's land army football team, after the option of alternate service in the Taiwanese militia...
and joined Taiwan Power Company F.C.
Taiwan Power Company F.C.
Taiwan Power Company Football Club , often shortened to Taipower , is a Taiwanese semi-professional football club based in Fongshan District, Kaohsiung City. The club was founded in 1979 and is affiliated with Taiwan Power Company, the country's national utility...
afterwards.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | Asia Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are... |
Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
 Taiwan PE CollegeNational Taiwan College of Physical Education National Taiwan College of Physical Education is a college specialized in sports in Taiwan, Republic of China. It was established on June 12, 1961... |
2005 | ? | 0 | ||||
| ? | 0 | ||||||
| 2006 Enterprise Football League 2006 - Round 2 :----- Round 3 :----- Round 4 :----- Round 5 :----- Round 6 :----- Round 7 :----- Round 8 :----- Round 9 :----- Top goalscorers :... |
? | 0 | |||||
| ? | 0 | ||||||
 Grulla MoriokaGrulla Morioka is a Japanese association football club based in Morioka, Iwate. It currently plays in Tohoku League, one of the regional football leagues in Japan, and aims to promote to the J... |
2007 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 1 | 0 | ||||||
| Taiwan PE College National Taiwan College of Physical Education National Taiwan College of Physical Education is a college specialized in sports in Taiwan, Republic of China. It was established on June 12, 1961... |
2008 Enterprise Football League 2008 The 2008 season of Enterprise Football League was held from January 5 to April 27, 2008. With 4 college teams joining in, the number of participating teams increased from 4 to 8. The 2007 league champion Taiwan Power Company F.C... |
? | 0 | ||||
| ? | 0 | ||||||
| Career totals | ? | 0 | 0 | 0 | ? | 0 | |
External links
- 台灣第一門神呂昆錡的部落格, Lu Kun-chi's official blog
- 扭轉乾"昆錡"開得勝, Lu Kun-chi's personal website at WretchWretch (website)Wretch is a Taiwanese community web site; in Chinese, its name means Anonymous Lil' Site or Nameless Lil' Station. It is the most well-known blog community in Taiwan with thousands of users registered. Wretch provides free album, and blog hosting services. Four languages, including English, are...
- Lu Kun-chi joined Grulla