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Dang Van Lam during his introduction to Cerezo Osaka fans on April 18, 2021. Photo courtesy of Cerezo Osaka.

Lam’s introduction happened during the halftime break of a J1 League match between Osaka and Urawa Reds. He had earlier spent 14 days in quarantine, VnExpress reported.

Earlier, Cerezo Osaka said on its website that "We are very happy to announce that Lam has joined the club."

Wearing the number 1 jersey, Lam was introduced alongside Australian forward Adam Taggart.

"Hello everyone, I’m Dang Van Lam, a goalkeeper from Vietnam. I’m really happy and excited to be here for the first time. I will train really hard to play well and contribute to the club," Lam said.

Osaka is currently fourth on the table after 12 J1 League rounds. The club is slated to play in the AFC Champions League tournament. To get a regular spot in the team, the 28-year-old keeper will have to prove his worth and compete against other keepers in the team like South Korean Kim Jin-hyeon and Japanese Kenya Matsui.

Lam, who grew up in Russia and spent his youth at Spartak Moscow and Dynamo Moscow clubs, moved to Vietnam in 2011 to play for the Hoang Anh Gia Lai club. After unsuccessful spells in Laos and Russia, his career finally took off in 2015 after he joined Hai Phong FC.

He retained his excellent form for the next four years, got called up to the national team and has become its number one choice.

Dang Van Lam poses with Thai fans when playing for Muangthong United FC. Photo: Nhan dan (People) newspaper

In 2019, he transferred to Muangthong United for $500,000 and put in 42 appearances for the Thai club.

He will be the fourth Vietnamese to play for a Japanese club, after Le Cong Vinh (Consadole Sapporo), Nguyen Tuan Anh (Yokohama FC) and Nguyen Cong Phuong (Mito Hollyhock). All three predecessors played for the J2 League, making Lam the first Vietnamese to play for a J1 League team.

Lam was in the news earlier this year when he decided to end his contract with Muangthong United and move to Osaka. Muangthong has reported him to FIFA for contract violation, but Lam’s agent said the player has every right to terminate the contract since the Thai club had cut his pay without telling him.

Muangthong asked the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) and the World Football Federation (FIFA) for arbitration and though the legal dispute with the Thai team has not been resolved, Lam was granted a temporary International Transfer Certificate by FIFA to compete for the Japanese team.

Goalkeeper Dang Van Lam in Vietnam's national jersey. Photo: VnExpress

Dang Van Lam is currently a key pillar in Park Hang-seo’s Vietnamese squad. He has made significant contributions to Vietnam’s journey to winning the AFF Cup 2018 crown, qualifying for the 2019 Asian Cup quarter-finals, and leading the ongoing 2022 World Cup AFC qualifiers. So far, the 27-year-old player has had a total of 23 caps for the Vietnamese national team.

Throughout May, Van Lam will have the opportunity to play in five matches in the J-League 1 before flying to the UAE to join the Vietnamese national team as they participate in qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup in early June, the VOV said./.

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