Young midfielder Dang Van Lam: 'The first goal in the new year is to be officially promoted to SLNA's first team'

Born in 1999, from the same commune as player Nguyen Cong Phuong, Van Lam has had a passion for football since childhood and has participated in every football tournament from the commune, district to the province. At the age of 10, Van Lam was named in the Do Luong Children's team to register for the Nghe An Newspaper Youth-Number Football Cup in 2009 but did not get to play regularly.

Van Lam is a player who has played quite prominently for SLNA's youth teams in recent years. Photo courtesy

By the following year 2010, Van Lam had become the key factor helping the Do Luong District Children's Team advance straight to the finals of the 2010 season. Although he did not bring home the championship for the team, this player caught the eye of SLNA scouts.

At the youth level at SLNA's training center, Van Lam's generation of players, although not achieving many achievements in the defense of tradition, all made it deep into the final matches. Van Lam and a number of other players such as midfielder Mai Sy Hoang, striker Tran Tien Anh and center back Thai Ba Sang were the ones who played quite outstandingly to help U19 SLNA reach the semi-finals of the 2018 National U19 tournament and finish in 3rd place.

Immediately after that, the 4 players mentioned above were called up by coach Hoang Anh Tuan to the Vietnam U18 team to participate in the 2018 International U19 tournament. However, a serious injury took away Van Lam's chance to participate in the U19 Asian Cup. In early 2019, Van Lam was loaned to Pho Hien Club to play in the First Division.

Preparing for the new 2020 season, SLNA fell into a serious shortage of players after the departure of a series of key players. Young players like Van Lam had the opportunity to be promoted to the first team early to fill the gaps left. In the friendly match to prepare for the new season between SLNA and Thanh Hoa, Van Lam was also sent onto the field by coach Ngo Quang Truong and had a pretty good match in the central midfield area.

After the match, in an interview with the media, Van Lam said: “This is the first time I have been to the first team to practice, the environment causes a lot of pressure but with the encouragement of the seniors and the coaching staff, young players like us gradually integrate and become more confident. Although we have little experience, what my peers and I have gained more is the desire to contribute and the spirit of fighting for the flag and the shirt.”

Van Lam is full of pride when wearing the SLNA shirt. Photo: FBNV

Talking about his goals for the new year, the 20-year-old midfielder shared: “My first goal in the new year 2020 is to officially join the SLNA first team. After that, I will strive to be able to participate in the 31st SEA Games.”

At present, SLNA is lacking in central midfielders and most likely, Van Lam will have the opportunity to test his skills in the V.League 2020 environment alongside seniors like Ho Sy Sam or Quang Tinh. In the past, many SLNA players were exposed to the V.League environment very early and now many of them have become pillars of many teams across the country.