LookAtVietnam – Do Thi Ngoc Cham was a top student at Ha Noi’s Nguyen Van Cu Secondary School where she was a quick learner and the source of great admiration and hope for her parents. They planned that she would take the university examination and become a teacher.

Golden ambition: Hanoian Do Thi Ngoc Cham (left) vies for a ball against Dao Thi Mien of Ha Tay, now Hoa Hop Ha Noi, during a national championships match. Cham is raring to win the Golden Ball award for the first time in her career.

“Football was a dream of my life,” said Cham. “It brings me not only success but also happiness. For me, playing football on the field is a wonder which nothing can compare.”

Cham had come to the decision to play football without thinking about the consequences and she had totally ignored her parents’ strong objections and the advice of her teachers.

“Only seconds after hearing about a new football training course opening I knew that I must join it and become a footballer,” recalls Cham, now 24.

And it proved a good decision. The more she learned, the better she got. Her progress was obvious day by day. She was a born football player, a natural, with an endurance and resistance that were quickly appreciated by her coaches.

She found no difficulty to complete most strenuous exercises that required strong physique and skill.

She also developed superior ball control skills and impressed with her clever and accurate passes and, most importantly, Cham became a dogged goal hunter.

After only one year of training, Cham was promoted to the A team of the Ha Noi football club where she had the chance to mate up with national veterans like Thuy Nga, Hien Luong and Minh Nguyet, who had already taken part in great victories in regional tournaments.

By this time her parents had realised their daughter had made the right decision to follow her dream and they became her greatest supporters. Cham’s talents meanwhile, had come to the notice of top level administrators and within a year, in 2002, she was selected for the national team, just as Viet Nam were preparing to host the Southeast Asian Games for the first time.

It was a great chance for Cham but then disaster struck. She broke a knee ligament during training and was out of the team and the tournament.

“Eliminating her from the team was unexpected,” said coach Mai Duc Chung. “I was really sorry for her, and for the team, because Cham is a dynamic and smart athlete who can play in different positions and does her job very well.”

On the night Viet Nam won the cup, Cham was alone in the stand and she cried. She was happy the team had won, but she should have been enjoying the victory with the other players.

The injury turned into her worst nightmare when doctors said she would never return to football.

But Cham chose to ignore the advice and while going through rehabilitation she kept training.

Another SEA Games came and went while Cham still perservered with the knee, but time was running out. A footballer’s life is not long and even shorter for a female.

“I thought of retirement but football is my life and I could not give up,” she said. “Even when I can not play anymore, I will work as a trainer.”

And then the break she had been training for came. Cham was brought back into the national team in 2007 and with the selection came Games contention.

It was a surprise to many people but not those close to her. It was obvious that Cham’s determination had paid off. She had gained back her power and had retained her talent for scoring.

Cham went on to shine at the Myanmar’s Southeast Asian Women’s Football Championship, proving a nightmare to defenders at the games in Thailand some months later and was one of the top scorers at the national championship last year.

But it was the silver medal at the games last year, her first international, that has really spurred her on.

Joining the national team as a centreback, Cham proved her ability but it was when Chinese coach Chen Yun Fat put her in the striker’s position that Cham’s talent really showed.

For the past two years, he has moulded Cham into the sharpest striker in the region.

It was a decisive move because the role is the most important on the field but Fat has great faith in Cham. He played a key role in driving her to near-perfection for the games in which she was top scorer.

Cham also scored six goals for Ha Noi to give them gold at the national tournament 2008, her third for the team.

The 24-year-old was the only female athlete nominated as the best athlete of 2008. A student of Tu Son Sports College, she was voted Most Valuable Player by Bong Da (Football) newspaper this month.

“Football is my love and I will try my best until I can not serve any more,” Cham said. “The women’s team completed the duties given to them by the officials in 2008. We defeated two strong rivals, Thailand and Myanmar, in the regional tournament. It is my most successful year and also for the whole team.”

At present, Cham is in line for the Golden Ball award, which will be announced on March 23. Many people believe she will take it because she had a perfect year.

But Cham, remains modest about the predictions, claiming she celebrates every day when she holds a ball in her hand.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News