Stefan de Vrij

On 21 September, he was sent off in the 85th minute of a game away to Genoa which Lazio had been dominating, and two minutes later Mauricio Pinilla scored the only goal to give Genoa victory.

Stefan de Vrij (born 5 February 1992) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Inter Milan and the Netherlands national team.

De Vrij began his career at his local club VV Spirit, and debuted as a professional for Feyenoord at age 17.

On 17 July 2009, De Vrij signed his first professional contract with Feyenoord until summer 2012.

De Vrij made his official debut for Feyenoord's first team on 24 September 2009, when he replaced Kelvin Leerdam in the 58th minute in the KNVB Cup away match against Harkemase Boys (0–5).

On 6 December 2009, De Vrij made his Eredivisie debut in the home match against FC Groningen (3–1), when he replaced Denny Landzaat in the 89th minute.

Aged 18 by its end, his first professional season saw him make 21 appearances, 17 of which were in the league.

A full international since 2012, De Vrij has earned over 60 caps for the Netherlands.

During the 2012–13 season, De Vrij replaced Ron Vlaar as team captain.

However, after a poor run of form in the following campaign, De Vrij was stripped of his armband as it was given first to star striker Graziano Pellè and then to vice-captain Jordy Clasie after the former struggled with disciplinary issues.

He spent five seasons at the Eredivisie club, serving briefly as captain, before joining Lazio in July 2014.

He was part of the Dutch team that finished third at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and was selected for the Castrol Performance Index Team of the Tournament.

On 30 July 2014, De Vrij joined Serie A club Lazio for an undisclosed fee.

He said "Lazio really proved that they wanted me and I am very happy I have made this move. I hope to become a more complete defender in Italy."

De Vrij had been widely expected to follow his international manager Louis van Gaal to Manchester United.

He made his debut on 24 August in the third round of the Coppa Italia, and scored the third goal of a 7–0 home win over third-tier Bassano Virtus.

A week later, he played his first Serie A match as Lazio began the season with a 3–1 defeat at A.C. Milan.

De Vrij featured in the 2015 Coppa Italia Final on 20 May against Juventus, being substituted for Keita at half time in extra time in an eventual 2–1 defeat.

His second season began with the 2015 Supercoppa Italiana, playing the full 90 minutes of a 2–0 loss to Juventus in Shanghai.

In September, he picked up a knee injury on international duty but was passed fit to play a further match for the Netherlands, infuriating Lazio's medical staff.

He did not make a sufficient recovery, and was subjected to an operation the following month.

In November, it was confirmed that he would miss the next six months due to the injury.

He scored his first goal for the club in Serie A on 11 September 2016 in a 1–1 away draw to Chievo.

In March 2018, Lazio's sporting director Igli Tare announced that De Vrij would be leaving the club on a free transfer in the summer.

Following months of speculation, on 28 May 2018, De Vrij announced that he was going to join Inter Milan starting on 1 July.

On 11 July, he was officially presented as an Inter player, signing a contract until June 2023.

De Vrij received squad number 6, and made his competitive debut on 19 August in the opening championship week against Sassuolo.

He scored his first goal for Nerazzurri one week later, putting his side two goals up against Torino at home, in an eventual 2–2 draw.

In September 2018, De Vrij played his 100th match in Serie A in the 2–1 home win over Fiorentina.

He also made his first UEFA Champions League appearance in season opener against Tottenham Hotspur, assisting Matías Vecino's injury-time winner for a 2–1 home win.

He also played at UEFA Euro 2020.

De Vrij grew up in Ouderkerk aan den IJssel.

He is the youngest son of Jan de Vrij, who played for local club VV Spirit, where Stefan de Vrij started his career.

His older brothers Niels and Eric played football in their youth and continued to different career paths.

De Vrij played for local Ouderkerk aan den IJssel club VV Spirit for five seasons.

At the age of 10, he attended a Feyenoord talent day.

After various training sessions and a friendly match against ARC, De Vrij was officially asked to join Feyenoord's youth division.

At VV Spirit, De Vrij often played as a central midfielder, but at Feyenoord he got turned into a defender.

The youngster developed himself rapidly.

After playing for Feyenoord U15, De Vrij was one of the players to skip the U16 team to play in the U17 immediately.