Lin Chia-sheng

Lin Chia-sheng is a football player. He has played for Taipei City Bank F.C. in Taiwan and the reserve teams of Hayes F.C. and Bolton Wanderers F.C. in England.

Biography

Early years

Lin began to play football at the age of 9 when he studied in Sheng Li Elementary School in his home town Tainan. He later entered the football teams of Guei Ren Junior High School and Hsin Feng Senior High School and started to play in the with Taipei City Bank F.C. when he was 18. In 1999, he was enrolled into Ming Chuan University and helped its football team to win the National College Cup.

However, 2000 was a miserable year for Lin. His most supportive mother was seriously injured in a car accident when she drove home after a match in which she cheered for her son. It left her , and Lin had to give up his participation in Ming Chuan football team and commuted between Taipei and Tainan every week for taking care of her. Moreover, Taipei City Bank dissolved its football club as it turned into a private entity. Those have made him out of the field for nearly one year until he joined the .

Move to England

After serving the military service, Lin determined to develop his career overseas. On January 26, 2005, Lin contracted with the reserve team of Bolton Wanderers and became the first Taiwanese footballer joining European professional football club. He has been there for nearly one and half years, played 7 games, and scored 3 goals in the .

MLS tryouts

In the early 2007, Lin tried to move to the Major League Soccer in the United States. In Fabruary, being one of the the 900 participants competing in the open tryouts of Los Angeles Galaxy, he was included in the final 24, but the coaching staff did not pick him up in the end. Lin also tried out for Chivas USA, but he was not able to make the semifinals. In February 2008, he made another attempt in LA Galaxy's open tryout but did not succeed.

Return to Taiwan