If nothing else, Stefan De Vrij’s arrival in Greece and at Panathinaikos is one of the biggest transfers of this summer. The veteran center back left behind a distinguished career, highlighted by his six years at Inter, and chose Panathinaikos because, as he revealed, he was excited by the project presented to him by Kotsolis and Nistrup and wants to be a part of it.

In fact, in his first statements, he revealed that he conducted… thorough research on Panathinaikos before accepting the team’s offer, speaking with four different players who either currently wear or have worn the jersey with the shamrock on the chest.

Specifically, he revealed that he had spoken with Davide Calabria, Cyril Desers, Tony Vilena, and Bart Schenkfeld, who spoke highly of the club and encouraged him to accept the offer and join Panathinaikos.

Here is the excerpt in full: “I spoke with Davide, whom I knew—not personally, but because we had faced each other as opponents several times. He told me very positive things about his experience with the team so far. He’s very happy.

He helped me a lot. I also spoke with Desers, whom I didn’t know personally either, but we had played against each other several times, and he had also played for Feyenoord, where I took my first steps in soccer. I also spoke with Tony Vilena, with whom I was a teammate both at Feyenoord and on the national team. I also spoke with Bart Schenkfeld, with whom I grew up. He may have left the team, but he was here for quite a few years.

When you’re called upon to make decisions like this, you do your research to make sure you’re making the right one. Everyone spoke very highly of the team.”

*photo source: pao.gr