*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 03:25, 17 December 2018 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 October 2017
Lucian Goian (born 10 February 1983) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a centre back.
Club career
Foresta Suceava and FC Onești
Lucian Goian was born on 10 February 1983 in Suceava, Romania, starting to play junior level football at local club, Foresta, his talent being noticed by coach Ilie Gafencu.[1][2][3] He started to play senior level football at Foresta in the 2001–02 Divizia B season, then in the middle of the following season he moved to FC Onești in the same league where he spent one year.[1][2][3]
Ceahlăul and Dinamo
In 2004, Goian went to play for Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț, making his Liga I debut on 13 March when coach Marius Lăcătuș sent him on the field in the 29th minute in order to replace Tiberiu Șerban in a 5–1 loss in front of Petrolul Ploiești in which he scored his side's goal.[1][3][4] Until the end of the season he would score two more goals, one in a 3–1 win over Gloria Bistrița and the other in a 1–1 with Steaua București, however the team relegated to the second division.[1][3][5]
In the following season, he went to play for Dinamo București where he made his debut in European competitions when coach Ioan Andone sent him on the field in the 52nd minute in order to replace Andrei Mărgăritescu in a 2–1 home loss in front of Manchester United from the 2004–05 Champions League third qualifying round.[1][3][6][7] By the end of the season, during the final minutes of a game with Rapid București he made an error when he tried to pass the ball to goalkeeper Bogdan Stelea but opponent Lucian Burdujan got to it first and scored, the game ending 2–2 and the points that were lost would prove to be decisive as rivals Steaua became champions.[1][6][8] However the team managed to win the Cupa României but Andone did not use him in the 1–0 win over Farul Constanța from the final.[1][3][6][9]Next season he won his second trophy with Dinamo as Andone sent him on the field in the second half to replace Gabriel Tamaș in the 3–2 victory against Steaua which helped the team earn for the first time in its history the Supercupa României, also Goian helped the team eliminate Everton with a historical 5–2 on aggregate, reaching the group stage of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup.[1][3][6][10] He was loaned back to Ceahlăul for the second half of the season, helping the club earn promotion from the second league to the first.[1][11]
In the 2006–07 season, he returned to Dinamo, coach Mircea Rednic using him in seven league matches in the first half of the season, then Goian left the team again to go play for Ceahlăul but Dinamo still managed to win the title without him.[1][3][6][12] He also appeared in five matches in the 2006–07 UEFA Cup campaign as Dinamo got past the group stage and reached the sixteenths-finals of the competition.[1][6][13]
In August 2007, Goian was transferred back again to Dinamo who needed a defender after the injury of Cosmin Moți.[1][14] The team had the objective of reaching the Champions League group stage, Goian receiving a red card in the last minutes of the first leg of the third qualifying round against Lazio Roma, however they did not qualify, losing with 3–1 the second leg.[1][6][15] On 15 September he scored his first league goal for The Red Dogs after receiving the ball from a corner kick executed by Claudiu Niculescu in a 5–2 win over Politehnica Iași.[1][16] He made four appearances for the club in the group stage of the 2009–10 Europa League, having a career total of 14 matches in European competitions, all of them for Dinamo.[1][6][17]
Goian signed a contract with China League One side Beijing Baxy in February 2013.[1][25] In the first of this two seasons spell he scored the first double of his career in a 2–1 win over BIT, being voted by coaches, teammates, journalists and supporters as the best footballer from Baxy in 2013.[3][26]
FC Brașov and CFR Cluj
In February 2015, Goian signed with FC Brașov, the team relegating to the second league at the end of the season.[1][27]
He spent the 2015–16 season at CFR Cluj, managing to win the Cupa României but coach Toni Conceição did not use him in the final.[1][28] On 29 May 2016, Goian made his last Liga I appearance, playing in a 4–0 away loss in front of FC Botoșani, having a total of 175 matches with six goals scored in the competition.[1][29]
In July 2017 he rejoined Mumbai City on a two-year contract, being appointed as the team's captain for his leadership skills and experience in the league.[36]
Chennaiyin
In August 2019, he joined Chennaiyin where he was colleague with compatriot Dragoș Firțulescu.[37] He scored his first goal in a 1–0 over his former team, Mumbai City which helped his side mathematically earn qualification to the playoffs where in the semi-finals he scored a goal in the 4–1 win against Goa from the first leg, then an own goal in the loss from the second one but the team managed to go further in the competition.[38] In the final, coach John Gregory used Goian all the minutes in the eventual 3–1 loss in front of Atlético de Kolkata.[39][40] For the way he played, Goian was named the league's best central defender and was included in the best 11 of the season.[41]
Lucian Goian is the younger brother of former professional footballers Gigi, Liviu and Dorin, all of them having played in the Romanian top-division Liga I.[44] He also has three sisters.[45] He has a son named Luca.[46]
^"超级杯-克莱奥两球王新欣破门 恒大2-1胜泰达夺冠" [Super Cup - Cleo scored twice, Xin Xin scored, Evergrande beat TEDA 2-1 to win the championship] (in Chinese). Sports.sina.com.cn. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2024.