Midfielder Dang Van Lam and his 'mission' to fill the void of missing Khac Ngoc at SLNA

Talent does not wait for age

Midfielder Dang Van Lam is probably the brightest young star among the 1999-born players of the Nghe An team. This generation of players did not bring much success because of the poor quality of the input, but Van Lam, along with faces like Thai Ba Sang and Pham Duc Thong, are still former players of the Vietnam U19 national team.

Dang Van Lam was born in My Son commune, Do Luong, a fellow countryman of his senior Nguyen Cong Phuong. At the age of 10, Van Lam participated in the Youth Football Tournament - Nghe An Newspaper Cup but was only a reserve player. A year later, Van Lam was a pillar in bringing Do Luong Youth Football Team to the final but lost to Tan Ky Youth Football Team and missed out on the championship.

However, that performance was enough for Van Lam to join SLNA as a special student. Van Lam's talent was clearly demonstrated and the qualities of an organizing midfielder were developed by this player in youth tournaments.

Dang Van Lam was once called up to the Vietnam U19 team. Photo: FBNV

In 2015, the U19 SLNA players no longer had Tuan Tai, Van Duc, Xuan Manh, so they did not have high quality, so the Nghe An team promoted the youth team to compete. At the age of 16, Van Lam was elected captain of U19 SLNA and together with his seniors won the right to participate in the final round as group winners.

Despite being younger than his teammates, Van Lam's playing style showed no signs of immaturity. In addition to controlling the midfield very well, this midfielder also left his mark on important goals. However, due to an insufficiently strong squad, U19 SLNA had to stop at the group stage.

After that tournament, Van Lam continued to be the captain of U17 SLNA and won the Bronze medal with the Nghe An youth team. Before being called up to the Vietnam U19 team in 2018, Van Lam and his teammates overcame difficulties and achieved certain successes in other youth tournaments such as the National U19 Bronze Medal, U21 in 2017 and U19 in 2018.

Midfielder Dang Van Lam in his first match at V.League. Photo: VPF

In his first time wearing the national team jersey, Van Lam endured the pain to practice and his injury became more and more serious, forcing him to leave the Vietnam U19 team. After nearly a year of injury treatment, Van Lam returned when the Nghe An team participated in the 2019 National U21 Qualifiers.

Talented as he is, Van Lam was not promoted to the first team as early as many other senior players due to constant injuries. It was not until V.League 2020 that coach Ngo Quang Truong added his name to the official list in the context that Ngoc Toan, Khac Ngoc, and Van Binh had all left SLNA.

The flag is in hand.

In the opening match against Saigon, Coach Quang Truong surprised everyone by giving Van Lam the chance to start alongside Bui Dinh Chau, two midfielders, one attacking and one defending. Although he still had Quang Tinh, Sy Sam, and Quoc Trung - players considered to be mature for the Nghe An team.

Among the 3 young players who were promoted to V.League for the first time, Van Lam was the player who played the full 180 minutes after 2 matches. If in the match against Saigon, Van Lam played quite blandly and was perfectionist with 16 back passes and no significant assists, then in the 1-0 win against B. Binh Duong, this player showed visible progress even though he tended to play lower.

Professional statistics of Van Lam's most recent match. Graphics: TK

Specifically, Van Lam made 27/38 accurate passes, reaching a rate of 71%. The number of back passes was also limited by this player with 6 situations, including 4 interceptions. The combination of two players, one old, one young, Quang Tinh - Van Lam, helped the Nghe An team control the midfield.

However, Van Lam is still far behind his seniors and has to overcome many limitations. In that match, Quang Tinh only played 70 minutes, but this experienced player made 30/40 accurate passes (75%), successfully contested 60%, successfully dribbled 67%, recovered 5 balls, intercepted 5, passed back 4, successfully passed long 100%, had 2 shots, and created 2 opportunities.

In particular, Van Lam also had problems with long passes. The young SLNA player launched 3 passes over the line, but not one was accurate. The success rate of the contest was 52%, the success rate of the tackle was 33%, he did not launch any chances to create, and had 1 shot. Van Lam's performance was 68% compared to Quang Tinh's 74%.

Map of Van Lam's area of ​​operation in Binh Duong. Photo: Instat

Obviously, SLNA no longer has Khac Ngoc, which has made the quantity and quality of long passes from midfielders scarce and heavily dependent on older players like Quang Tinh. This is also part of the reason why SLNA's foreign strikers are always in a state of "ball hunger" or receiving the ball with their backs turned.

The professional statistics have shown the immaturity of a player playing in the V.League for the first time like Dang Van Lam. However, as coach Ngo Quang Truong shared, young players like Van Lam still have their own good points and qualities. That is the recklessness, the desire to express themselves and if they continue to be trusted, this face will certainly continue to improve.