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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. In August 2007, Goian was transferred back again to Dinamo who needed a defender after the injury of Cosmin Moți. 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. 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. 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.

Astra Ploiești

In 2010, he joined Astra Ploiești, signing a contract for two years. He scored his only goal for the club on 5 November 2011 in a Ploiești derby when he equalized in the 1–1 with Petrolul Ploiești.

Tianjin Teda and Beijing Baxy

In January 2012, Goian moved to China, putting pen on paper with Tianjin Teda. He made his official debut for Tianjin on 25 February when coach Josip Kuže used him all the minutes in a 2–1 CFA Super Cup defeat in front of Guangzhou Evergrande. In his single season spent with the club he appeared in 27 Chinese Super League games, scoring two goals in two 1–1 draws with Changchun Yatai and Henan Jianye. He also appeared in five games from the 2012 AFC Champions League group stage, scoring once in a 1–1 with Seongnam. Goian signed a contract with China League One side Beijing Baxy in February 2013. 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.

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. 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. 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.

Mumbai City and Perth Glory

Goian went to play for Mumbai City in 2016 where he was colleague with Diego Forlán, making his Indian Super League debut on 3 October under coach Alexandre Guimarães in a 1–0 away victory against Pune City. On 19 November he scored his first goal in a 5–0 win over Kerala Blasters. He was named the league's best central defender and was included in the best 11 of the 2016 season. On 21 March 2017, Goian joined A-League club Perth Glory as a short-term injury replacement for Shane Lowry and Alex Grant. Coach Kenny Lowe gave him his debut on 26 March in a 3–0 loss in front of FC Sydney in which he opened the score with an own goal. He departed the Glory in May 2017. 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.

Chennaiyin

In August 2019, he joined Chennaiyin where he was colleague with compatriot Dragoș Firțulescu. 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. In the final, coach John Gregory used Goian all the minutes in the eventual 3–1 loss in front of Atlético de Kolkata. For the way he played, Goian was named the league's best central defender and was included in the best 11 of the season.

International career

Lucian Goian played 12 games for Romania's under-21 national team, including seven games at the 2006 European Under-21 Championship qualifiers. He was banned together with teammate Ianis Zicu from representing his country at any level for two years in 2004, because the Romanian Football Federation considered they had a "defiant attitude" during a 4–1 loss in front of Czech Republic U21.

Personal life

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. He also has three sisters. He has a son named Luca.

Honours

Dinamo București Ceahlăul CFR Cluj Chennaiyin