Dang Van Lam's turning point after a special phone call from Vietnam

“Do you want to come to Vietnam again?” - That was the question the president of Hai Phong Club asked Van Lam during a conversation in 2015.
"Sir, I really want to play as a professional player" - Van Lam replied.
“So, how much income do you want if you join my team?”
Van Lam replied: “I think money is not important. What I need is the opportunity to return to football.”
"Come over now."

Without further thought, the head of the port city club decided to bring Van Lam to Lach Tray stadium in the 2015 season.

Dang Van Lam in the Vietnamese national team jersey. Photo: VnExpress

This story is excerpted from Dang Van Lam's recent interview with Soviet Sport channel. It shows us that if Van Lam had given up and had not been lucky enough to get attention from Hai Phong, there would not have been a Van Lam like today.
Before that, Lam “Tay” almost thought about giving up football after his first journey in Vietnam and Laos. The most memorable time for this Russian-born goalkeeper was probably the period he played in Laos - where football is still underdeveloped.
“We played on the football field and often encountered piles of animal dung. Not to mention, every time we moved from the headquarters to the training ground, we had to push the bus about 20m to help the driver start the engine,” Van Lam shared about his difficult time in Laos.
But perhaps, those harsh hardships in Laos have tempered a strong-willed and determined Van Lam.

Van Lam and the job application letter posted on social networks.

Returning to Russia after being terminated by HAGL Club, Lam “Tay” lived in a state of uncertainty between continuing or giving up his passion for football. Until he received a phone call from the Hai Phong Club Board of Directors, he did not hesitate to accept the challenge once again.

However, Lam “Tay”’s journey at the Hai Phong team turned out to be not easy. Once again, Vietnamese football fans saw the passionate efforts of this goalkeeper from Europe.

During his 4 years playing for Hai Phong, things were not as easy as Van Lam thought. He encountered many problems during his years here. Once, because of a mistake in a match, his teammates tried to attack him. They thought that Lam had made a mistake that led to the team losing the match.

The most climax was probably the incident where an assistant threatened to assault him with a weapon. After this incident, many people thought that Lam would have a hard time staying in Hai Phong to continue playing. However, his desire and passion did not allow this goalkeeper to falter. He returned and played like a trance in the 2018 season.

With Van Lam's impressive performance, coach Park Hang-seo immediately called him up to the national team to prepare for the AFF Cup 2018. And then everyone knows, Van Lam became the hero of the Vietnamese team with 2 achievements: winning the AFF Cup and reaching the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup 2019.

On the day of his return, standing in the middle of Lach Tray, the place that gave wings to this goalkeeper of mixed blood to fly high as he does now, Van Lam said that Hai Phong is the place that helped him realize his dream of becoming a professional player and is also the bridge that brought Lam to the national team to achieve the success and position he has today.
“Lam would like to send his most sincere thanks to everyone, from the team's management board, the coaching staff and his teammates who have worked with him over the past 4 years.”
Van Lam left Hai Phong to play for Muang Thong United in Thailand. He shared with the media that his big dream is to play football in Europe, Thai League will be a great launching pad for him to continue to aim for new goals in the future.
Who knows, one fine day, Van Lam will receive another call from Europe. The story of this goalkeeper’s dream and persistent efforts will be continued with a new story. The story will not be much different from the way he came to Vietnam for the second time more than 4 years ago.