Vietnam star goalie ties the knot with trainer girlfriend

The couple held a private wedding with only 18 guests, including family members and close colleagues, inside a resort in central beach city Nha Trang.

They cut the wedding cake on the sandy beach and exchanged vows to "share joy, dreams, and to love and respect each other."

Dang Van Lam kisses his wife Bui Thi Yen Xuan at their wedding on a beach in Nha Trang on July 7, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Lam Dong

Lam was born in 1993, two years younger than his fiancée. The couple plans to organize a private wedding, so no information on the event has been disclosed. The entire preparation process is also kept secret.

Lam and Xuan have kept their relationship low-key on social media and refrained from doing interviews with the media to ensure their privacy.

The two met in 2018, and since then, Xuan has often been present at stadiums to watch her man. She also followed him to Thailand and Japan during Lam's times in Muangthong United (2019-2020) and Cerezo Osaka (2020-2021) for certain periods before returning to Vietnam for her own work.

Xuan also spent a long time in Russia with Lam's parents and siblings, and their relationship has received support from her boyfriend's family.

Earlier this year, the two families met in Xuan's house in Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City during the Lunar New Year celebration. Since then, the couple have been more open about their relationship on social media, sharing each other's pictures.

The families of Dang Van Lam (2nd, L) and Yen Xuan (3rd, L) pose for photos in Ho Chi Minh City in February 2024. Photo by Facebook/Dang Van Lam

On June 9, 2024, the couple celebrated six years together, and the keeper popped the question just over a week later.

Lam is not the first Vietnamese footballer to marry a woman his senior. Others include midfielder Nguyen Phong Hong Duy (born 1996), striker Nguyen Cong Phuong (1995), defender Tran Dinh Trong (1997), and Cong An Ha Noi defender Giap Tuan Duong (2002).

Xuan is a personal fitness trainer. She achieved a balanced and beautiful figure through exercise and a scientific diet after a period of being overweight. She follows a philosophy of discipline and strives to spread positive energy in life.

Lam has been one of Vietnam's top goalkeepers for the past eight years. He has been the number one keeper for the national team since 2018, winning the AFF Cup in 2018, reaching the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup in 2019, and advancing to the 2022 World Cup third qualifiers. By the end of 2023, naturalized goalie Nguyen Filip has emerged as Lam's competition between the posts.

Named Lev Shonovich Dang in Russian, Lam was born into a family of ballet dancers. His mother is Olga Zhukova, and his father is Dang Van Son, the twin brother of the renowned Vietnamese ballet artist Dang Van Hung. Lam's cousin is the "swan of Vietnamese ballet" Dang Linh Nga.

Dang Van Lam poses with Yen Xuan after winning the Vietnamese Bronze Ball on Feb. 19, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Dong

Before finding success, Lam had struggled for a place in Vietnamese football despite being trained at two famous Russian youth academies Spartak Moscow and Dinamo Moscow.

In 2010, he returned to Vietnam and joined Hoang Anh Gia Lai, then was loaned to Hoang Anh Attapeu in 2012, before returning to two lower-tier clubs in Russia, Duslar and Rodina Moscow. In 2015, Lam joined Hai Phong, where it took him more than a year to secure a starting spot.

In 2019, Hai Phong earned $500,000 through the sales of Lam to Thai club Muangthong United. Two years later, he became the first Vietnamese player to join J-League 1, signing for Cerezo Osaka.

Since August 2022, Lam has returned to Vietnam to play for Binh Dinh FC.

He won the Bronze Ball, one of the top three honors of the annual Vietnamese Golden Ball Awards, on Feb. 19, 2024.