SLNA U17 captain seeks opportunity in U21 squad.

(Baonghean.vn) - One of the hallmarks of coach Nguyen Van Thinh since taking over the SLNA U21 team is the summoning of players born in the year of the 17-year-old, such as goalkeeper Duong Van Cuong, striker Tran Tien Anh, and midfielder Dang Van Lam. Among these, Dang Van Lam is truly an interesting case.

Looking at the friendly match between U21 SLNA and Than Quang Ninh a few days ago, it's easy to see that apart from Ho Tuan Tai, the U21 SLNA forward line almost completely lacks a player with goal-scoring potential. Players like Viet Nguyen and Tran Phi Ha constantly made mistakes that made the U21 SLNA coaching staff feel uneasy. Therefore, in the first 45 minutes, coach Nguyen Van Thinh deployed five midfielders and only had Tran Phi Ha upfront.

Dang Van Lam (center) in the SLNA U17 jersey.

In midfield, besides midfielder Bui Dinh Chau, who is almost certainly the most reliable defensive midfielder, among the remaining central midfielders, Dang Van Lam did not show any inferiority compared to Phan Van Duc, Hoang Vu Dat, Nguyen Huu Tuan, and Nguyen Phu Nguyen after 75 minutes on the field.

If U21 SLNA plays with a 4-1-4-1 formation, with his maturity and refined creative abilities, Dang Van Lam could very well secure a starting spot in central midfield, even though he is only 17 years old and has not yet played in any top-level matches.

Dang Van Lam is known in his hometown of My Son, Do Luong district, as another version of Nguyen Cong Phuong, with his innate football skills. Passionate about football, he participated in almost all village and commune football tournaments from a young age. Even at just 10 years old, Lam was registered by the Do Luong Children's Team to participate in the Nghe An Newspaper Youth and Children's Cup in 2009, despite not playing regularly.

Despite being only 17 years old, Dang Van Lam plays with great maturity.

A year later, having gained more experience through playing in several competitions, Dang Van Lam became a key player in helping the Do Luong District Children's team reach the finals of the 2010 season. Although he didn't help his team win the championship, his outstanding performance that year was more than enough for this young talent to be recruited into the SLNA academy.

2015 and 2016 were truly memorable milestones for the young talent from Do Luong. At just 15 or 16 years old, Dang Van Lam was selected as captain of the SLNA U.19 team to participate in the national finals. And after this tournament, the midfielder born in 1999 continued to make a strong impression as captain of the SLNA U17 team in the qualifying rounds. At the U17 National Championship finals, "one swallow does not make a spring," the goals this midfielder scored in the finals were not enough to help coach Pham Bui Minh's team reach the quarterfinals.

In both the U.19 and U.21 SLNA training camps this time, despite being younger than his teammates, Lam's playing style showed no signs of inexperience. Besides controlling the midfield very well, this midfielder also made his mark with powerful shots from outside the penalty area.

Dang Van Lam still has a long way to go, but the remarkable progress of the 1999-born player has given SLNA fans a lot of hope. The question is how the coaches will utilize this young talent to develop his qualities and become a key player for the SLNA first team in the future.

Trung Kien