Lu Lin (; born 3 February 1985) is a Chinese

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who plays as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Club career

Lu Lin was the product of the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical youth team and would soon be sent off to their satellite youth team

Xiangxue Pharmaceutical Xiangxue Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. also known as XPH, is a Chinese pharmaceutical company. It was headquartered in Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone, Guangzhou, the capital of the Guangdong Province. The company started in a pla ...

to play within the 2002–03 Hong Kong First Division League before he broke into the Guangzhou senior team during the 2003 Chinese league season. With his good technical ability and awareness he would also break into the Chinese U-20 football team and play in the

2005 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. Venues Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Worl ...

. Upon his return he would go on to establish himself as a regular with Guangzhou and was part of the team that won the 2007

China League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...

division and promotion to the 2008 Chinese Super League. Within the top tier Lu would help establish Guangzhou as mid-table regulars until the club was found guilty of

match-fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...

in 2006 and were punished with relegation at the end of the 2009 Chinese Super League season. Despite this Lu would remain faithful towards the club and was part of the team that went on to immediately win promotion back into the top tier at the end of the 2010 league season. Lu would, however decide to move to second tier club

Guangdong Sunray Cave Shaanxi Wuzhou Football Club () was a Chinese professional football club based in Xi'an, Shaanxi which last played in the China League One division. The club was originally formed on February 5, 2007 as Guangdong Sunray Cave F.C. and was once ow ...

on a free transfer in February 2011 to gain more playing time. On 13 July, Lu Lin scored Guangdong's second goal in a friendly against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in a 4-3 loss. Lu signed a three-year-contract with

Guangzhou R&F Guangzhou City Football Club (广州城) is a Chinese professional football club that competes in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Guangzhou, Guangdong, and their home venu ...

in December 2011 and would go on to represent them on more than 100 occasions. Lu is from Guangzhou and during his long career has only played professional football for Guangzhou-based teams which, combined with his displays on the pitch, makes him a favourite of the fans. This was confirmed on 8 May 2016 when Lu played his 300th competitive game for a professional team based in Guangzhou. He extended his contract with the club until the end of 2018 on 7 November 2016. On 26 April 2018, he extended his contract for another two years until the end of 2020 season. On 4 February 2021, Lu joined second tier club

Meizhou Hakka Meizhou Hakka Football Club (; Hakka language: Mòi-Chû Hag-Ga chuk-khiù khî-lo̍k-phu) is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). ...

on a free transfer. He would go on to make his debut for the team in a league game on 25 April 2021 against Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard in a 2-1 victory. He would go on to establish himself as a vital member of the team that gained promotion to the top tier after coming second within the division at the end of the 2021 China League One campaign.

International career

He would rise to prominence when he was called up to the Chinese U-20 football team in the

in the

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and scoring a free kick in the 4-1 win over

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

in the group stage. Lu Lin has also represented Guangdong Province in the annual Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup, including in 2014 when his two goals helped Guangdong to victory.

Career statistics

''Statistics accurate as of match played 16 December 2022.''

Honours

Club

Guangzhou F.C. Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...

: 2007,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Individual

* Guangdong's 'Mr Football': 2016, 2017, 2018

References

External links

Player profile
at sohu.com (Chinese)
Player profile
at sina.com (Chinese) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lu, Lin 1985 births Living people Chinese men's footballers Footballers from Guangzhou Hong Kong First Division League players Chinese Super League players China League One players Guangzhou F.C. players Shaanxi Wuzhou F.C. players Guangzhou City F.C. players Men's association football midfielders