Girlfriend praises goalkeeper Lam's silent efforts

Goalkeeper Dang Van Lam and girlfriend Yen Xuan on the red carpet of the Vietnamese Golden Ball awards ceremony on Feb. 19, 2024. Photo by Facebook/Dang Van Lam

Xuan posted photos taken with Lam and family at the Vietnamese Golden Ball awards ceremony on Monday to congratulate her boyfriend for winning the Bronze Ball. This is the first time Lam won one of the awards' top three honors. Xuan said the event was the well-deserved result of Lam's relentless efforts over the last decade.

The 33-year-old personal trainer said that Lam was such a detail-oriented perfectionist that even minor training errors could upset him for days.

She added that her boyfriend was always conscious of maintaining his health and fitness to achieve the best performance. The national goalie steps on the scale every morning, takes vitamins at noon and always goes to bed early, according to Xuan.

Lam is also "excited before every game like a child," she said.

She also pointed out that Lam's path to his current success had traversed many difficulties, especially injuries.

"After 13 years of striving, you have had an individual accolade to your name. You inspire me every day," Xuan wrote in the post.

Lam and Xuan started dating in 2018 but kept their relationship private. During the Lunar New Year holiday, Lam took his family to Xuan's home in Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City. Since then, the couple has become more open. Now they often post their photos together on social media.

Lam was born in Russia to a Vietnamese father and a Russian mother. He spent his youth at Spartak Moscow and Dynamo Moscow. In 2011, he returned to Vietnam to play for Hoang Anh Gia Lai. After unsuccessful spells in Laos and Russia, his career finally took off when he joined Hai Phong FC in 2015. Over the next four years, he demonstrated the excellent form he's now become known for and was called up to the national team as starting goalkeeper.

He missed Asian Cup this year due to injury and thus lost his place on the national team to Vietnamese-Czech goalkeeper Filip Nguyen.