Former Inter winger Andy van der Meyde has predicted that his countryman Denzel Dumfries will be a success at the Giuseppe Meazza.
Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published in today’s print edition, the 41-year-old gave his views on the 25-year-old playing for his former club and on the type of player who can emerge for the club.
Van der Meyde joined Inter from Dutch giants Ajax in the summer of 2003 and spent two seasons with the Nerazzurri before departing for Everton.
The Dutchman believes that Dumfries has special attributes and that rather than just stepping into the shoes of departed wing-back Achraf Hakimi, the former PSV man can lend an entirely new profile to the team which will make Simone Inzaghi’s team a much more serious attacking threat.
Van der Meyde believes that Dumfries can make an impact, stating, “Another Dutchman playing for Inter and that is already enough to make me happy. And then I can tell you that he is a born fighter – he does not give up and is willing to struggle.”
“Indeed, if you challenge him in anything, you can be sure that he will work hard to beat you. He never stops running on the pitch, from one zone to another, and he has great endurance and physical strength,” he went on.
“One of the Italian words I remember applies to him: grinta [grit],” he explained. “When I met him while driving him in my car, he came across as a very simple and mature guy. Someone who kills you on the pitch and then off of it is the nicest guy.”
He predicted that “He’s a classic example of a signing that fans look at with skepticism at first, but then he wins everyone over.”
Van der Weyde believes that Dumfries will not struggle to adapt or find form, stating that “Training is Denzel’s bread and butter, he doesn’t waste time. He is the type to put his head down and work.”
He went on, “He must not live in the shadow of Hakimi, someone who could make the 100m final at the Olympics. Denzel has to be himself, with his strengths and weaknesses. He can hold his own – as I said, he doesn’t like to lose a duel, ever.”
“Let’s start from his personal history,” the former winger explained, “he turned professional late, around the age of eighteen. When he told Aruba that he would one day play for Holland, everyone laughed. He eventually became PSV captain and was the best Dutchman in the European Championship. And he will grow even more. Now, after the break, his real season begins.”
On Dumfries’s qualities, van der Meyde stated that “Denzel crosses well, assists and scores – everything that is asked of him, even if he is not the prototype of the Dutch talente.”
“We are very different,” he compared Dumfries to his own playing career, “I was more offensive, a contributor to the attack and I didn’t like to track back.”
Dumfries, by comparison “runs for the whole length of the pitch, defends and starts up again. But in a team today I would definitely take him more than myself we need players who go the distance.”
On his communication with Dumfries, ven der Mayde said that “We are always in touch, I will tell him something importantabout the city and the club. Even when it’s not full, San Siro gives you chills.”
He went on, “For a player who comes from Holland, arriving in Italy is like entering another world – pressure, passion, a different language.”
“It is difficult to defend the title, but an interesting team was vreated,” he said of the Nerazzurri’s summer transfer window, “I would like them to win the Scudetto again because I am an Interista. There are nights with that shirt that I can’t forget, like the 3-0 win at Arsenal. I am still in contact with [Francesco] Toldo and [Marco] Materazzi.”
On how his personal life is going, the former Inter man said, “I’m back in my village – it’s quiet here, life is good. I also have my own TV program that I really care about – while I used to take players in my car, now I go directly to their home to speak to them in private. I think I’ll have to go to Milan, not just for Denzel, but also for De Vrij.”
