Robert Cullen (footballer)

Robert Cullen

Personal information
Date of birth	(1985-06-07) 7 June 1985
Place of birth	Tsuchiura, Ibaraki, Japan
Height
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1998–2000	Kashiwa Reysol
2001–2003	Municipal Funabashi H.S.
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2010	Júbilo Iwata	110	(29)
2010	Roasso Kumamoto	18	(3)
2011–2013	VVV-Venlo	69	(7)
2014	Suphanburi	22	(7)
2015	Seoul E-Land	34	(2)
International career‡
2003–2005	Japan U20	11	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 November 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 January 2011 (UTC)

Robert Cullen (カレン ロバート, Karen Robāto, born June 7, 1985, in Tsuchiura) is a Japanese footballer who plays as a forward.

Personal life

Robert is known to his teammates and family as "Bobby". He is the son of an Irish father and a Japanese mother.

Club career

Cullen is a striker, Cullen made his senior football debut for Júbilo Iwata on 5 May 2004, Oita Trinita being the opponent.

Cullen started training in the youth ranks at Kashiwa Reysol before eventually joining the team at Funabashi Municipal High School. After his graduation, he signed with Jubilo Iwata in 2004. Although mostly limited to substitute appearances and the occasional league cup start in his rookie year, big things were expected of Cullen as he matured and gained experience playing with such seasoned professionals as Masashi Nakayama and Toshiya Fujita.

He left Júbilo in 2010 to join Roasso Kumamoto of J. League Division 2. In January 2011 it was announced that Cullen joined Dutch Eredivisie club VVV-Venlo, best known in Japan for featuring another Japanese, Maya Yoshida, and having been Keisuke Honda's first European club.

International career

In 2005 he selected Japanese citizenship in order to be able to play for the Japanese national team. He was a member of the Japan U20 team which played in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship held in the Netherlands.

In February 2012 it was reported that Michael O'Neill had contacted Cullen with a view to convincing him to play for the Northern Ireland national football team.

Career statistics

As of 29 May 2011

Club

Club	Season	League		Cup1		League Cup2		Continental3		Other4		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Municipal Funabashi H.S.	2003	-		3	0	-		-		-		3	0
	Total	-		3	0	-		-		-		3	0
Júbilo Iwata	2004	9	0	0	0	4	0	2	1	-		15	1
	2005	31	13	2	1	2	0	5	1	-		40	15
	2006	23	5	2	0	5	0	-		-		30	5
	2007	26	7	1	2	4	2	-		-		31	11
	2008	16	4	1	1	3	3	-		-		20	8
	2009	4	0	3	1	1	0	-		-		8	1
	2010	1	0	-		-		-		-		1	0
	Total	110	29	9	5	19	5	7	2	-		145	41
Roasso Kumamoto	2010	18	3	1	0	-		-		-		19	3
	Total	18	3	1	0	-		-		-		19	3
VVV-Venlo	2010–11	15	2	-		-		-		4	2	19	4
	2011–12	28	3	1	0	-		-				29	3
	2012–13	26	2			-		-				26	2
	Total	69	7	1	0	-		-		4	2	68	9
Suphanburi	2014	22	7	-		-		-		0	0	22	7
	Total	22	7	0	0	-		-		0	0	22	7
Seoul E-Land FC	2015	35	2	-		-		-		0	0	35	2
	Total	35	2	0	0	-		-		0	0	35	2
Career total		248	48	15	5	19	5	7	2	4	2	293	62

¹Includes Emperor's Cup.

²Includes J. League Cup.

³Includes AFC Champions League.

⁴Includes Eredivisie Playoffs.

Appearances in major competitions

Team	Competition	Category	Appearances		Goals	Team Result
			Start	Sub
Japan	2004 AFC Youth Championship qualification	U18	2	0	0	Qualified
Japan	2004 AFC Youth Championship	U19	4	1	0	Third place
Japan	2005 FIFA World Youth Championship	U20	3	1	0	Round of 16

Awards and honours

Individual

• J. League Rookie of the Year: 1

2005

External links

• Official site (Japanese)
• Robert Cullen – K League stats at kleague.com (Korean)
• Robert Cullen – FIFA competition record