Planet Swans ArchivesThe Swansea City goalkeeper will come face to face with Davids – one of the legends of the game – when they face Crystal Palace this afternoon after the midfielder came out of retirement to join the Eagles back in August.
And De Vries is looking forward to the encounter as he explained to the Western Mail “He is a legend
“He’s been one of the greatest midfielders Holland has ever had.
“He was such a great player, especially at Ajax when he won the Champions League.
“He had so many international caps and was a great tackler and dynamic midfielder. He gave the team something extra.
“It’s good to see those players playing in the Championship, even if it’s in the later stages of their career.
“It’s a hard league and he knows it. It’s great for us to play against him as well.
“I never thought I would, but he came back from retirement and it’s an extra bonus.
“He was a hero of mine because he never gave up.
“He just wanted to do anything to win the game, but in a good way.
“He wasn’t a really dirty player, he was a tough tackler and had great vision.
“I have every respect for him, but I’m not a shirt collector, so one of the other Dutch guys will probably ask him for it.
“The main target for us is not keeping clean sheets, but winning games,” he added. “That’s the first thought. We want to get the three points and to do that we need to score goals.
“We’ve shown this season we are capable of doing that.
“I think we’re more and more together and more sure of what we’re capable of, especially away from home.
“At critical times when we are under pressure we can soak it up and deal with it, there is always someone who will do the job.
“It’s a cliche, but it’s true that defending starts up front and attacking starts from the back.
“Last season’s clean sheet record was amazing.
“I definitely think we can get close to it.
“In this league anything is possible and the main focus for us is winning games and not drawing them.
“We have the belief to keep on going and try to keep the unbeaten run going in the league.
“You need to have players in the right shape to get you through difficult moments and we’ve got that.
“We have got great confidence and we want to keep on progressing. Last season we looked at the league table and for a long, long period we were fourth, but in the end got nothing.
“We must take it step by step, that’s all you can do.”
