Inter Milan Defender Stefan De Vrij: ‘Wearing The Captain’s Armband Always A Beautiful Feeling, Can’t Afford Mistakes At This Level’

Inter Milan defender Stefan de Vrij is happy to have had the chance to wear the captain’s armband against Benfica.

The Dutchman spoke to InterTV after the 3-3 Champions League thriller, via FCInterNews.

Inter made a raft of changes to the starting eleven for this evening’s match against Benfica.

That reflected the fact that a result was not strictly necessary. Inter have already reached the Champions League round of sixteen with their win away to Red Bull Salzburg.

With many regular starters out of the eleven, de Vrij was the most senior player in the lineup.

The 31-year-old has been an Inter player since 2018, when he joined from Lazio.

It was not an easy match in which to show his leadership for de Vrij.

Inter were overrun in the first half against a rampant Benfica team. This led to the Nerazzurri backline coming under constant and intense pressure.

But in the end, de Vrij and his teammates turned it around in the second half.

It was a highly memorable comeback, and it puts the Nerazzurri right back in position to claim top spot in the group if they are to get the right result against Real Sociedad in the last match of the group.

Inter Defender Stefan De Vrij Happy To Wear Captain’s Armband Vs Benfica

“Wearing the armband is always a beautiful feeling,” de Vrij said after the match.

“Even if this wasn’t the first time for me.”

As far as the difficult first half, de Vrij said “They caused us problems because we started the match in the wrong way.”

“They punished us with every dangerous chance that they had,” the Dutchman reflected.

“Unfortunately at this level, you can’t afford certain mistakes.”