Star goalie to return to Vietnam after spell in Japan

"We are in the final stages of negotiation to acquire Dang Van Lam," said Nguyen Duc Thang, Binh Dinh head coach in a press conference Friday.

Lam is playing for Japan’s J. League 1 side Cerezo Osaka, but struggled to get into the main lineup and spent most of his time on the bench. Therefore, to maintain his form and prepare for AFF Cup later this year with the national team, the Vietnamese-Russian keeper decided to return to Vietnam.

His agent has been working with several V. League clubs in the past month. Lam will fly to Vietnam on Saturday to complete the negotiation with Binh Dinh. If everything goes right, he will sign a two-year deal there and might play his first league game for the club on Aug. 20.

Binh Dinh are one of the most active clubs in the V. League transfer window this season, as they recruited a handful of national players with the ambition to win the league title. After 11 games, the club are in fifth among 17 teams, five points from the top spot.

Before playing in Japan, Lam had joined Thai club Muangthong United in 2019 and enjoyed 42 appearances for the club over two seasons. In 2021, he joined Osaka on a one-year deal.

Lam is half Vietnamese and half Russian. 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. In the next four years, he retained his excellent form, got called up to the national team and became their number one choice.