Lam Tan - Keep a passion forever

(Baonghean) -At the same age as Van Quyen, Nhu Thuat, Quoc Vuong… at the SLNA youth training center, Lam Tan was once considered one of the rare talents and was highly expected by the coaches of the Nghe An U youth teams. Although constant injuries have robbed him of opportunities in top-level football, for Lam Tan, that is the passion that he will always keep…

Lam Tan (number 3) plays amateur football in Vinh city.

Coach Nguyen Van Thinh, who has coached Lam Tan since he was a child, once commented: "Tan is an extremely perfect full-back, with a very good physique, skillful techniques and speed, so he can attack and defend well. Having Lam Tan play in the left wing position is very reassuring."

In fact, from 1996 to 2000, Lam Tan and his peers such as Van Quyen, Nhu Thuat, Quoc Vuong, Hai Nam, Quang Tuan, ... brought Nghe An football a series of titles in youth tournaments. Especially at the 2000 U16 Asian Football Championship held in Da Nang, Lam Tan was one of the most prominent faces along with Van Quyen and Nhu Thuat. In 2001, at the age of 17, Lam Tan was promoted to the first team by SLNA, and in 2002 he became a very good full-back for SLNA every time he played to replace his senior Van Sy Son, and that year Lam Tan was called by coach Alfred Rield to the National U23 team to compete in the Sea Games.

V.League 2003, in the SLNA club shirt, under the guidance of the club's Chairman and Head Coach Nguyen Hong Thanh, Lam Tan played extremely well, contributing to the team's consecutive top position in the first leg rankings and at times leaving the second-placed team 6 points behind. Not only did Lam Tan defend the left flank very well, he also often joined the attack and made passes like setting up a meal for the striker, in addition, he also had many long-range shots to score beautiful goals.

However, in a match in the second leg of the 2003 season, he suffered a serious injury and had to limp off the field. Doctors later determined that Lam Tan had a sprained ligament and had to rest for more than a month. During that month, along with Lam Tan's bad luck, SLNA lost consecutive matches and lost the top spot. When his injury had not yet recovered, Lam Tan impatiently asked the coaching staff to let him play, the result was that he had to leave the field on a stretcher and rest for the rest of the season. That season, SLNA only won 5th place overall.

Lam Tan's injury lasted for a long time, but at that time, it seemed that the teams and players did not realize the importance of treating injuries completely, especially ligament sprains. Or to be more precise, medical work in sports was not taken seriously and implemented seriously, the income of players was still low, so the consultation and instructions on care and treatment of injuries for players were not complete and thoughtful, especially the matter of going abroad for treatment could not be mentioned. Moreover, SLNA was in a severe crisis at that time, so the treatment of Lam Tan's ligament injury was mainly handled by the family according to folk experience such as applying betel leaves and hot green tea.

Fans who are always loyal and follow the SLNA team every day on the field have witnessed the image of Lam Tan persistently practicing alone in the pit lane. The perseverance of Lam Tan and his family helped him return to the field. In the 2007 season, Lam Tan played quite impressively for SLNA, but after a short time, after a strong collision with an opposing player, he had to leave the field in pain again and this time Lam Tan's ligaments were almost completely torn.

I thought that after that time, Lam Tan would retire forever, but for 3 years he persistently treated himself and maintained his fitness by playing "street football". In the 2010 season, Lam Tan was called back by coach Huu Thang to the SLNA team. However, bad luck still did not let him go, in a rare time on the field, he "got" injured and the name Lam Tan disappeared from top football from then on.

Over the past 3 years, even SLNA's loyal fans have forgotten about Lam Tan, a full-back who was once highly anticipated, because the "yellow shirt" team has had other young faces to replace him such as Van Hoan, Dinh Dong... Even many people who do not know the details of the incident still rumor that Lam Tan was spoiled and addicted, so he was fired by SLNA.

For the past 2 years, Lam Tan has been feeling inferior to his teammates' successes and sad about his own bad luck, so he rarely interacts with outsiders, especially strangers, and always avoids journalists. Only his passion for football remains intact. He has joined a grassroots football team in Vinh City, and has also organized a youth football class in Hung Dung Ward (Vinh City) and is directly the coach of this "ward" level youth football team.

Hoang Hao