Declan Stephen Lambert Lee Kit Meng (born 21 September 1998) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Malaysia Super League side Selangor FC and the Malaysia national team. Lambert was born in Kuala Lumpur, but then moved to Thailand and Australia at a young age. He played youth football with

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

before starting his senior career with the side. In 2018, Lambert moved to the Netherlands, where he played for lower division sides

Achilles '29 Achilles '29 is a football club from Groesbeek, Netherlands, competing in the sixth-tier Eerste Klasse. The club is known for its successes in the Dutch domestic cup, having knocked FC Volendam, Heracles Almelo, RKC Waalwijk, Telstar and MV ...

and

FC Den Bosch FC Den Bosch () is a football club from 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. They were founded 18 August 1965, as FC Den Bosch/BVV. They are the successor of BVV (1906) and Wilhelmina (1890). Their stadium is called 'De Vliert', an 8,500 all-seater. R ...

. In February 2022, he returned to his birthplace and signed for Kuala Lumpur City. He has also represented Malaysia at international level, having made his debut for the national team in September 2022.

Early life

Lambert was born in Kuala Lumpur to an English father and Malaysian mother. The family then moved to Thailand, where they stayed for six months before relocating again to Melbourne, Australia. He has a twin brother,

Ryan Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an elector ...

, who is also a professional footballer. The two played together at Clifton Hill,

and

Club career

After playing youth football for

FC Clifton Hill FC Clifton Hill are an association football club which currently plays in the Victorian State League Division 2, the 5th tier of Association football in Victoria and the 6th tier in Australia. They were founded in 1975. History Founded in 1975 ...

and

, Lambert made his senior debut for Richmond aged 17. In 2018, the Lambert twins moved to Europe, and trialed with sides including

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently compete in the Eredivisie, the top flight ...

and

FC Dordrecht Football Club Dordrecht, or simply FC Dordrecht () is a professional Dutch association football club based in Dordrecht, a city in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. They currently compete in the Eerste Divisie, ...

. The pair eventually signed for Dutch Tweede Divisie side

. However, they left the club after it suffered relegation at the end of the

2017–18 Tweede Divisie The 2017–18 Tweede Divisie season is the second edition of the Dutch third tier since on hiatus from 1970-71 season and the 17th edition using Tweede Divisie name. Thirteen teams competed from the last season along with one relegated team from ...

. The twins then moved to Dutch Eerste Divisie side

in 2018. Their first-team opportunities were initially limited by the arrival of several other foreign players shortly after their signing. However, Lambert made his debut in the

2019–20 Eerste Divisie The 2019–20 Eerste Divisie, known as Keuken Kampioen Divisie for sponsorship reasons, was the sixty-fourth season of Eerste Divisie since its establishment in 1955. It began in August 2019 with the first matches of the season and was scheduled t ...

and by the

2020–21 Eerste Divisie The 2020–21 Eerste Divisie, known as Keuken Kampioen Divisie for sponsorship reasons, was the sixty-fifth season of Eerste Divisie since its establishment in 1955. It began on 28 August 2020, and came to an end on 12 May 2021. Relegation for ...

season, was a regular starter for the side. On 22 February 2022, Lambert signed for Malaysia Super League side

Kuala Lumpur City Kuala is a town and administrative district of Langkat Regency in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. It borders Selesai to the north, Salapian to the west, and Sei Bingai to the south and east. Most people in Kuala are Javanese people, with a signific ...

International career

Lambert was called up to the Malaysia national team for the first time in September 2022. He made his debut on 22 September in a friendly match against Thailand, scoring one of Malaysia's goals in a penalty shoot-out win.

References

External links

*
Career stats & Profile
– Voetbal International {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Declan 1998 births Living people Footballers from Kuala Lumpur Malaysian men's footballers Malaysia men's international footballers Australian men's soccer players Malaysian people of English descent Malaysian people of Chinese descent Australian people of Chinese descent Australian people of English descent Australian people of Malaysian descent Malaysian emigrants to Australia Men's association football fullbacks Richmond SC players Achilles '29 players FC Den Bosch players Kuala Lumpur City F.C. players National Premier Leagues players Tweede Divisie players Eerste Divisie players Malaysia Super League players Malaysian expatriate men's footballers Australian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Australian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Malaysian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands