In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, which appeared in today’s print edition, Inter central defender Stefan de Vrij spoke on a range of different topics, starting with being compared to legendary Inter defender Walter Samuel, who was nicknamed, ‘the wall’.
“I like to be considered as the new ‘Wall’. I have been lucky enough to talk to Walter Samuel a couple of times. He’s a good person and a very strong defender,” he explained.
The Dutch national team representative then went on to reveal what has changed for Inter’s defence lately which is a lot more solid than it was at the beginning of the season when it was conceding goals at a very high rate.
“What has changed in defence? We have become compact as a team and this makes the whole defensive phase easier. We are a united and close-knit department. We also feel good off the pitch and this helps.”
de Vrij then went on to admit he sometimes thinks about Inter’s Europa League final defeat to Sevilla.
“Sometimes I think about it, but immediately afterwards I also think that it makes no sense to go back there with my head. What has been has been and from defeats we can only learn.”
The former Lazio player, who has been with Inter for a few years now, then went on to discuss the club’s elimination from the UEFA Champions League this season and admitted that he and his teammates will try to do well in the domestic competitions.
“We did not do enough on the pitch. We left something to be desired, for example not scoring against Shakhtar. Our approach is the same regardless of competitions.
“We would have liked to continue in Europe, but now we will try to do well in the Coppa Italia and league. The fact of being able to concentrate only on this can become an advantage, but it will depend only on us.
“All words are allowed in my vocabulary, even “scudetto” but just as it is useless to look too much at the past, it is also useless to look too far forward.”
de Vrij, who was voted the best defender in all of Serie A for his performances last season, then went on to sing the praises of Inter manager Antonio Conte.
“Hakimi? I have rarely seen a player as fast as him. Vidal? He helps us a lot with his wickedness and strength in tackling, even if off the pitch he is a very good person. Lukaku? The top strikers in the world are worth a lot.”
In conclusion he spoke on AC Milan, who currently lead the way in Serie A, and also touched briefly on Juventus.
“They have a good team and many strong players. They seem very united. I know the coach very well for having worked with him for two years. He is very good, very human, but also very prepared. I’m happy for his professional growth. Juventus? They will do it again.”