On the afternoon of June 9, Dang Van Lam had a starting match for Cerezo Osaka in the second round of the Japanese Emperor's Cup. He became the first Vietnamese player to play an official match for a team in the highest division of Japan (J.League 1). Previously, Cong Vinh, Cong Phuong and Tuan Anh all only played for teams in J.League 2.
Van Lam has been practicing hard at Cerezo Osaka, after not being able to join the Vietnam national team due to a COVID-19 infection at the team. In the match on the afternoon of June 9, he and his teammates only met the team playing in J.League 3 - Gainare Tattori.
Dang Van Lam took the full trust of coach Levir Culpi to get a starting position, after No. 1 goalkeeper Kim Jin-hyeon had to return to play with the Korean team. According to statistics in this match, Gainare Tattori had 8 shots but could not defeat Dang Van Lam once.
With home advantage and superior class, Cerezo Osaka had a smooth victory of 2-0, with 2 goals from Okubo (5th minute) and Okuno (31st minute).
Dang Van Lam and his teammates shook hands with their opponents after the match. Winning and not conceding a goal is a beautiful start for Dang Van Lam at Cerezo Osaka. That will give him more motivation to compete fairly for the starting position with his colleague Kim Jin-hyeon. Previously, in the J.League, Van Lam had 2 bench matches.
