Lu Kun-chi
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Lu Kun-chi (, born 6 February 1985 in
Tainan County Tainan County was a County (Taiwan), county in southern Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was in Xinying District, Sinying City. History Tainan County was established on 7 January 1946 on the territory of Tainan Prefecture () sh ...
(now part of
Tainan City Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and commonly called the " prefectural capital" for its over 260-year histo ...
),
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
) is a Taiwanese football
goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
. Nicknamed ''Taiwanese Buffon'' (台灣布馮), he is the first choice goalkeeper in the
Chinese Taipei national football team The Chinese Taipei national football team () represents Taiwan (The Republic of China) in international football and is controlled by the Chinese Taipei Football Association. Despite never qualifying for the FIFA World Cup, Chinese Taipei, t ...
.


Biography


Early years

Lu was born in
Tainan County Tainan County was a County (Taiwan), county in southern Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was in Xinying District, Sinying City. History Tainan County was established on 7 January 1946 on the territory of Tainan Prefecture () sh ...
,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. 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 hinese Taipeiyouth 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.


Chinese Taipei debut

Lu's Chinese Taipei senior team debut was on October 14, 2004 against
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
in
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America ...
. 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 may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
.


Seeking opportunities in Japan

In June, 2005,
Masakazu Suzuki is a former Japanese football player and manager. who is becoming the assistant coach of the Myanmar national football team. Playing career Suzuki was born in Yamanashi Prefecture on January 1, 1955. After graduating from Nippon Sport Science Un ...
, former manager of J. League side
Júbilo Iwata is a Japanese professional association football, football team based in Iwata, Shizuoka, Iwata, located in Shizuoka Prefecture. The club competes in J2 League following relegation from J1 League in 2024 J1 League, 2024. Etymology The team's ...
, 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 is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club was formed by fans of Yokohama Flügels as a protest against Flügels' merger with Yokohama Marinos in 1999, becoming th ...
and
JEF United Ichihara Chiba , full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chiba, capital of Chiba Prefecture. They currently play in the J2 League, Japanese second tier of professional football. History Furukawa Electric SC (19 ...
. However, he failed to earn his position in both clubs. In October, 2006, with the recommendation of then Chinese Taipei manager
Toshiaki Imai is a Japanese football manager and former player. Early life Imai was born in Saitama Prefecture on December 29, 1954. He is a graduate of Waseda University. Playing career Imai played for Fujitsu (later ''Kawasaki Frontale'') from 1977 to 198 ...
, Lu flew to Japan again to join the trainings with Yokohama F. Marinos for 2 weeks along with his teammate
Chen Po-liang Chen Po-liang (; born 11 August 1988) is a Taiwanese people, Taiwanese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Qingdao West Coast F.C., Qingdao West Coast. He is also captain of the Chinese Taipei natio ...
.


Grulla Morioka

After two months of waiting, although there was no update from Yokohama, Lu received an invitation from
Grulla Morioka is a Japanese association football club based in Morioka, capital of Iwate Prefecture. They play in Japan Football League from 2025, the Japanese fourth tier of semi-professional football after relegation from J3 League in 2024. Name origin ...
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 (; born 17 March 1982) 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. When he played for Tatung F.C., he wa ...
, 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 Education National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
football team (as Molten Tso I) during the
Enterprise Football League 2008 The 2008 season of the Enterprise Football League (also known as the Fubon Enterprise Football League) was held from January 5 to April 27, 2008. With 4 college teams also participating, the number of competing teams increased from 4 to 8. The 2007 ...
season. Then Lu served military service in
National Sports Training Center football team National Sports Training Center is a former football team based in Tainan, and was the football club for Taiwan's National Sports Training Center. It was merged in 2003 with the Lukuang football team, Taiwan's land army football team, after the ...
and joined Taiwan Power Company F.C. afterwards.


Career statistics


References


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 Wretch
Lu Kun-chi joined Grulla
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lu, Kun-Chi 1985 births Living people Men's association football goalkeepers Chinese Taipei men's international footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Footballers from Tainan Taiwan Power Company F.C. players Taiwanese expatriate men's footballers Taiwanese expatriate sportspeople in Japan Taiwanese men's footballers