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New Taipei City, Taiwan
- Apr 8
- 7 min read
Updated: Apr 8
Two blog posts covering the beautiful games on two separate continents within a calendar year? You can’t say I don’t spoil you, dear reader. After confirming that I would be visiting my second country in Asia, the search for the first soccer game that I would watch on the opposite side of the world was immediately underway despite being months away from flying out.
Once I found the one day that I could venture on my side-quest apart from the rest of my traveling party (my wife and two of our college friends), I had two games to choose from and four teams for me to decide on who to support; and I have an accidental but fortuitous scroll to the “Foreign players” section of the Wikipedia page of the Taiwan Football Premier League (TFPL), Taiwan’s top-flight league, to thank.
One thing that wouldn’t shock those who know me (and unfortunately for the growth of my blog, there’s a direct correlation between them and my readership) is how important the country of Mongolia is to me. After all, it’s where my wife is from as is her family who have welcomed me as one of their own from day one of our relationship. So when I noticed that there is a Mongolian on one of the teams I had the chance to watch, the decision of who I would be supporting was made; to badly paraphrase a cultural staple of my childhood that is unfortunately very litigious (please don’t sue me Pokémon) congratulations Taichung Futuro, I choose you!
Let’s meet the reason why I’ve devoted my short-term fan allegiance to Taichung Futuro; defender Münk-Orgil Orkhon.
Name: Münkh-Orgil Orkhon Nickname: Monk Age: 27 Position: Defender Professional Experience: 11 years |
As any hard hitting journalist would do when establishing a relationship for a piece, I channeled the legends like Woodward and Cronkite and tagged Monk (check him out on Instagram, Threads, and YouTube) in a post on Threads. After connecting online and confirming the date and location of the match, I started my journey as the best rent-a-fan Taichung Futuro would ever have; by purchasing a team jersey to support my newfound temporary club in style.
Before providing you with the hard-hitting journalism you’ve come to expect and admire from my game recaps, first, let’s get acquainted with Taichung Futuro.
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When becoming a rent-a-fan for a new team, you are hoping to attend a high-stakes match; one where one or both teams are looking to move up the standings, qualify to play internationally, or simply avoid relegation. In my latest soccer tourism destination, I was in for a competitive treat as this was a matchup between the 4th place (TFAF’s opponent, Tatung Football Club) and 5th place (TFAF) clubs in the TFPL. Both teams are separated by just one point in the standings and are still in the hunt to play internationally. As the icing on top for this soccer loving history nerd, Tatung was founded in 1963, making them one of Taiwan’s oldest private football clubs.
As I arrived at the stadium, I was instantly reminded of my experience watching soccer in Belize (indulge my shameless plug by reading that entry). Those comparisons started immediately as I got to the stadium which featured one-sided seating with concrete benches. By the middle of the field, however, was the media section where the cameras were that had weathered yet cushy leather seats mirroring what the seat of a 1990s Volvo two-door sedan.
After settling into my “VIP” section as an esteemed member of the press, I was able to assess the field, which like the Port Loyola match, took place at a local university; one notable difference was the surface of the field whose smoothly laid-out turf was a significant upgrade over the grass-dirt hybrid pitch in Belize. With the customary blow-of-the-whistle from the referee signaling the start of the match, while there wasn’t much separating the two teams as they both looked to settle into a rhythm, Tatung FC (TFC) looked smoother in possession. While the game was in its infancy stage, TFC did not waste time getting on the score sheet with a perfectly executed set piece.
Around 16 yards from goal on the far side of the field, TFC opted for a long-throw in that was delivered with pin-point accuracy to their player and gave himself enough momentum to flick it into the back of the net with a glancing header to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
After 10 minutes had passed since the inaugural goal of the match, TFAF started to look dangerous, being called for a close offside, which would’ve led to a breakaway opportunity and a miss from just six yards away. The action continued between the two evenly-matched sides with a great point-blank save from the TFAF goalkeeper to keep the score at 1-0. In the 15th minute, Taichung Futuro tried to capitalize off that momentum but bottled the gift of TFC’s goalkeeper being out of position and was unable to score.
After 30 minutes of play, the game has become a stalemate, with TFC doing little with the good possession they have and TFAF appearing to be comfortable with letting the game come to them despite trailing. At the end of the first half, TFAF had their best opportunity; a volley stopped point-blank by the TFC goalkeeper.
Taichung Futuro’s final change of the half was a deflected screamer (hard hit shot) that was denied by a great diving save from the TFC goalkeeper.
After that, the first half came to a close. Despite not having anything to show for it, I could see Taichung becoming more confident and threatening to tie this game up. With the noticeable change in momentum going to the away side, I wouldn’t be surprised if they leave this match with at least a tie and possibly a win.
As the game resumes, the second half continues the theme of the first, chaos and missed chances. Tatung had the first goal-scoring chance of the half, but thanks to a perfectly timed slide from TFAF’s last remaining defender, that’s all it is, a chance, instead of the second goal. Despite trailing, TFAF have demonstrated an uncanny ability to have multiple lives, being unbelievably lucky as Tatung missed an absolute sitter that was hand wrapped and delivered right to them by TFAF’s keeper.
Looking to benefit from their good luck, Taichung began to have chances of their own; unfortunately missing a wide-open volley early in the second half and then a point-blank shot in the 70th minute. With chances being wasted more than a vegan at an all-you-can-eat-BBQ, TFAF finally came to collect with the likeliest unlikely hero of them all, our friend from earlier, Münkh-Orgil Orkhon.
With just 25 minutes to spare and a bit of good luck, Münkh found himself as the winner of the right-place-at-the-right-time award as the TFC keeper deflected a shot attempt right to him that he quickly one-timed it into the back of the net. After celebrating this surreal moment with his teammates (it’s not every game that a central defender not only scores, but scores his first league goal), Münkh paid homage to a viral moment created by his homeland. For those who haven’t watched Netflix’s Physical Asia, Mongolia not only participated, but finished quite well out of the eight Asian countries in a series of physical competitions. What became a common rallying cry and catchphrase in team Mongolia’s pre and post event huddle was a choreographed display and phrase that caught the eye of this show’s global viewers, including myself.
When I asked him about it post-game, somehow upgrading myself to a blogger that gets on-field access, he told me that it became tradition among Mongolian athletes to do this as a celebration when warranted (a soccer player scoring a goal, a basketball player hitting an important shot, etc). Despite being caught by better cameras than the Go-Pro I was using, my angle included unneeded yet unique commentary by yours truly.
Thanks to the heroics of our favorite TFAF defender (yes our; I’m sorry, did you have another favorite soccer player in Taiwan?), the game was all knotted up — a scoreline of “Taiwan to one” if you will (for all who just groaned at that pun, remember, you know who I am and read this anyway, so, who's really to blame?). With the game resuming, the chaos I spoke about earlier changed its shape to a Shaolin Soccer-esque takedown resulting in TFC’s second yellow card.
Remember my halftime analysis predicting that Taichung walks away with points (3 for a win or 1 for a tie)? Well call me an oracle because TFAF wasn’t finished. In the 89th minute with the end of regulation moments away, a cross delivered parallel to the end line powered by pogo stick like hop aided the TFAF attacker to loft the headed ball over the outstretched hand of the TFC keeper and put the away side on top.
Within a span of 25 minutes, Taichung went from walking away in the bottom half of the table to climbing that much closer towards achieving their international dreams with a win. After a goal-saving block from the TFAF defense, the final whistle blew, ending the game at 2-1.
Celebrating from the railing separating the supporter section from the running track surrounding the pitch, Münkh miraculously picked me out from the crowd and let me know that we would catch up after a post-game talk with the team. With a care package of Liquid IV in hand, Münkh and I spoke for nearly 15 minutes; with topics ranging from the game, Physical Asia, and his amazement in my love and knowledge of Mongolia. As this was my inaugural post-match chat with a professional soccer player — it felt surreal talking to someone who had played approximately 150 games as a pro.
While I feel like he would’ve spoke to me for another 15, we were about to say goodbye before he recruited one of his teammates to take our photo, capping off another once in a lifetime football experience with image worth more than the 150 words that this blog definitely exceeds.
P.S. Make sure to give Münkh a follow on both Instagram and Threads) and for any Football Manager fanatics who fancy themselves as a scout, check out his YouTube page to see his highlights.
Result of Game: Win!
Overall Record (Wins-Losses-Draws): 4-1-1
Nicely written Jake! My favourite so far 👏🏻🙌🏻🫶🏻