Clarence Clyde Seedorf; born 1 April 1976) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager
of A.C. Milan regarded by many as one of the best midfielder of his generation. Seedorf
is one of the most decorated Dutch players ever. He is considered the most successful
player in Champions League history as he is the first and the only player to have won
the Champions League four times with three different clubs – Ajax in 1995, Real Madrid
in 1998 and Milan in 2003 and 2007.
Early career Born in Paramaribo, Suriname, Clarence Seedorf
was raised in Almere, Flevoland where he moved to when he was two years old. Growing up in
a footballing family, with both his younger brothers Jürgen and Chedric Seedorf, and
his father former player and talent agent Johann Seedorf, Clarence began his career
at the age of 6 in the youth ranks of his local amateur sides VV AS '80 and Real Almere,
before being discovered and recruited to the ranks of nearby Dutch Giants AFC Ajax, by
"Urgent Scoutingteam"; The talent agency which was set up by Johan Cruyff himself, responsible
for recruiting the likes of Frank and Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids, Robert Witschge and
Patrick Kluivert to the club as well. Following in their brothers footsteps, under the guidance
of their father and talent agent, his siblings and cousin Stefano Seedorf would later equally
join the ranks of Ajax. Club career
Ajax As a product of the famed Ajax Youth Academy,
Clarence Seedorf started his career as a right midfielder for Ajax during the early 1990s.
He made his professional debut on 29 November 1992 against Groningen at the age of 16 years
and 242 days, making him the youngest debutant for Ajax ever. He quickly established himself
as the first choice on his position under manager Louis van Gaal, and in the 1993–94
season, his second with the club, he helped the Amsterdam side to win the treble, securing
the League title, the Dutch Cup and the Dutch Super Cup in the same year. The following
season saw Seedorf help his side secure consecutive Super Cup and League titles, as well as help
his side to their fourth European Cup trophy, winning the 1994–95 UEFA Champions League
defeating Milan in the final. He played a key role in the Champions League final, before
being replaced in the 53rd minute by striker Nwankwo Kanu. Patrick Kluivert scored a late
goal to lift Ajax to a 1–0 victory over the Italian giants, who Seedorf would later
go on to represent for a decade. While at Ajax he was part of a trio known as De kabel,
composed of Edgar Davids, Patrick Kluivert and himself. Later Winston Bogarde and Michael
Reiziger would be added to the group to make it a quintet, What had started as a friendship
was then taken over during the UEFA Euro 1996 to describe the group.
Sampdoria Opting not to extend his contract with Ajax
following their European success and the Bosman ruling, Seedorf signed a one year contract
with Italian Serie A side U.C. Sampdoria instead. While not able to obtain any silverware in
his first season at his new club, Seedorf appeared in 32 matches, while scoring three
goals helping his side to an 8th place finish in the table, all the while maintaining the
form he had demonstrated at Ajax in the past. Clarence Seedorf was then able to secure a
transfer to Real Madrid C.F., moving to the Spanish Primera división by the end of the
season. Real Madrid
Seedorf moved to Real Madrid in 1996, where he was "virtually ever present in the Blancos
team for the first three seasons." In his first season, he helped that team regain the
La Liga title; in his second season, he played a major role in the team's Champions League
success, as Real Madrid secured a 1–0 victory over Juventus in the final, earning his second
Champions League title of his career.
While playing for Real Madrid, Seedorf scored a notable long-range goal against Atlético
Madrid in 1997. At the end of the 1998–99 season, Real Madrid and Juventus wanted to
swap Seedorf for Zinedine Zidane, but the deal didn't go through and the French playmaker
waited two more years before joining Real Madrid. Starting from the summer of 1999,
Seedorf's role at Real Madrid became less prominent during the short term of Dutch coach
Guus Hiddink at the club, and he was eventually transferred back to Italy during the 1999–00
season, this time to Internazionale, for a fee about 44 billion Italian lira.
Internazionale On 24 December 1999, Seedorf moved to Internazionale
in a $24.35 million deal after cementing his place in the Real Madrid midfield for over
three years. Despite helping the team to the Coppa Italia final later that season, a 2–1
aggregate loss to Lazio where Seedorf scored Inter's only goal, Seedorf could not help
bring any major silverware to the club. However, he is remembered by many Inter fans for his
two goals against Juventus in a 2–2 draw on 9 March 2002, both of which were superb
long-range efforts. Milan
After 2 years with Internazionale, Seedorf moved to their city rival Milan in 2002, exchanged
with Francesco Coco. He won the Coppa Italia with Milan in 2003, which was the first time
they had won the competition in 26 years. In the same season, Seedorf gained his third
Champions League medal, to become the first player to win the Champions League with three
different clubs. The all Italian final saw Milan beat Juventus on penalties after a 0–0
draw, despite Seedorf failing to convert his own penalty. The following season, 2003–04,
Seedorf played a role in the Milan side that won Serie A. It was also Seedorf's fourth
national league title win of his career, after his two Dutch title wins with Ajax and his
one Spanish win with Real Madrid. Seedorf played a major role as Milan reached
the Champions League final again in 2005, scoring the only goal of the game in their
opening group match against Shakhtar Donetsk on 14 September 2004 and appearing in all
13 matches. He started the Istanbul tie against Liverpool in which Milan contrived to lose
a 3–0 lead, eventually losing on penalties after a 3–3 draw; Seedorf did not take a
spot-kick. Milan also finished runners-up in the Serie A, seven points behind champions
Juventus, although Juventus were stripped of the title and Milan docked points for match-fixing.
A match-fixing scandal tarnished Serie A and Milan were weakened by the scandal but were
allowed to continue in Europe the following season, which led to their best players staying
at the club. Seedorf's role as foil to Kaká became increasingly impressive as the pair
combined in style to score and supply the goals which drove Milan past Bayern Munich
and Manchester United to another Champions League final, again against Liverpool, beating
them 2–1 in Athens, with Seedorf collecting his fourth UEFA Champions League medal. In
that same year, Seedorf was a part of a Milan squad which won the FIFA Club World Cup, becoming
the first European player to win the trophy with three different clubs. He ended up winning
the Silver Ball for the competition.
At the end of the 2006–07 season, Seedorf was voted best midfielder of the Champions
League. He played his 100th game in the Champions League on 4 December against Celtic. In Milan,
Seedorf formed a formidable midfield partnership with Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo, which
began since the 2002–03 season. This midfield trio was still used in the starting line-up
until the 2011–12 season, although their form had been declining. Under the guidance
of coach Carlo Ancelotti, their role was to support an attacking midfielder, whether it
be Rivaldo, Rui Costa, Kaká, or Ronaldinho. Seedorf became the foreigner with the most
appearances for Milan following a game against his former club, Sampdoria, which he scored
in. At 395 appearances, he passed Nils Liedholm for this historic milestone. During the Sampdoria
game, he also became the ninth-highest scoring foreigner for Milan with 58 goals. On 29 March
2010, Seedorf was the target of racist chants from Lazio fans in a 1–1 draw, which led
to the Rome club being given a €15,000 fine by the Italian Football Federation. This led
the Italy's players' union want racism stamped out in Serie A.
He won his second Scudetto with Milan in the 2010-11 Serie A season, where he once again
played a vital role. He scored four goals and made 36 appearances in the 2010–11 season.
Seedorf added yet another medal to his trophy cabinet in the first official game of the
2011–12 season, where he played the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 comeback win over rivals
Internazionale in the Supercoppa Italiana. He scored the winning goal of Milan's first
win of the 2011–12 Serie A campaign, a 1–0 defeat of Cesena on 24 September.
Seedorf was ranked seventh of the 20 best players of the Champions League, a list which
was compiled in 2012 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the competition. Many say that
he should be ranked much higher than that because he is the player with the most Champions
League titles. The ranking was done by Champions, the official magazine of UEFA. On 14 May,
he revealed that he was playing his last match with Milan against Novara that day. He also
confirmed that he would continue to play football for another club. On 21 June, Seedorf held
a press conference announcing his departure from Milan, stating "I am leaving after 10
wonderful years...I leave a family" after playing for the Rossoneri for a decade and
winning two Champions League, two Scudettos and a Coppa Italia. Club CEO Adriano Galliani
spoke of Seedorf following the player's departure in the highest regard, stating "When Milan
played well, which happened often, each and every time it occurred Seedorf played an amazing
match. He is a world class player." Botafogo
On 30 June 2012, Seedorf signed a two-year contract with Botafogo. The veteran midfielder
made his debut with the Brazilian side on 22 July against Grêmio. On 5 August, Seedorf
scored his first goal for Botafogo, curling in a free kick against Atlético-GO. On 5
September Seedorf scored two goals and made an assist against Cruzeiro, helping Botafogo
to a 3–1 victory. On 3 February 2013, for the first time on his career, Seedorf scored
a hat-trick against Macaé Esporte Clube, in his first game as a starter player in this
year. Before that game, Seedorf played the second half against Fluminense and made a
good assist to Bolivar, who tied the match. On 10 March 2013, Seedorf won his first title
with the club: the first round of 2013 Campeonato Carioca, 2013 Taça Guanabara, 2013 Taça
Rio. On 5 May, Seedorf won the second round of 2013 Campeonato Carioca, 2013 Taça Rio,
against Fluminense. That is also the day of his first official title for Botafogo, the
2013 Campeonato Carioca, as the team won both rounds and no final match was needed. On 6
June, he scored his 100th goal in National Leagues, 11 with Ajax, 3 with Sampdoria, 15
with Real Madrid, 8 with Internazionale, 47 with Milan and 16 with Botafogo. On 14 January
2014, Seedorf announced his retirement from playing football. Seedorf announced that he
is ending his playing career to take up the manager position at AC Milan following the
sacking of Massimiliano Allegri. International career
Due to Surinamese rules against dual citizenship, players who take Dutch citizenship are no
longer eligible to represent the Netherlands' former colony. Because of this Seedorf, then
of Ajax, played international football for the Netherlands national football team. He
received his first call up on 14 December 1994, at the age of 18, against Luxembourg.
Seedorf scored on his debut, helping his team to a 5–0 victory in a Euro 1996 qualifying
match. Seedorf was in the Netherlands' squad for
the UEFA European Championships in 1996,, 2000 and 2004, as well as the 1998 FIFA World
Cup. On 12 November 2006, Seedorf was recalled
for the first time since June 2004 as a replacement for the injured Wesley Sneijder. He started
and played the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 friendly draw against England. Seedorf won
the last of his 87 caps for the Netherlands in 2008. In the Euro 2008 qualifiers against
Romania and Slovenia, Seedorf played 4 and 6 minutes respectively. There were doubts
on his position within the national team, as Marco van Basten favoured younger players
such as Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder and Robin van Persie. On 13 May 2008, Seedorf
announced that he would not take part in Euro 2008, due to his ongoing conflict with Van
Basten. Managerial career
Seedorf was appointed the new head coach of A.C. Milan on 16 January 2014. On 19 January,
Seedorf won his first managerial match against Hellas Verona, with Mario Balotelli scoring
the lone goal of the game. Seedorf was dismissed by AC Milan on 9 June
2014 after just four months on the job. Filippo Inzaghi was named his successor.
Other work
Seedorf has dabbled in media-related work during recent years. He joined the BBC's team
covering the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, working as a television pundit He
also presented a number of features for the BBC coverage, including one about Robben Island.
He also joined the BBC for their Match of the Day Live coverage of the 2012 UEFA European
Championship in Poland and Ukraine. Seedorf was widely praised for his contribution to
the BBC's coverage, with a Daily Mail article praising his "classy, informed stints in the
BBC studio". He has also made appearances on Match of the Day 2 during the English football
league season. Because of his strong connection with the
country Suriname where Seedorf was born, he is involved in many social development projects
there. He built his own "Clarence Seedorf Stadium" in the district of Para in Suriname.
In this stadium the Para Juniors League of Suriname is being held and the teams of the
Suri Profs & Brothers play there regularly. With his Champions for Children Foundation
he supports projects for good causes in Suriname. For this, Suriname has honoured him to Commandor
of the High-Order of the Yellow Star and recently in 2011 the Netherlands also honoured him
to Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau. On 5 June 2009 Clarence Seedorf announced
at a press conference after a meeting with Nelson Mandela that he had become the Nelson
Mandela Foundation's latest Legacy Champion. He joins Patrice Motsepe, Tokyo Sexwale, David
Rockefeller, Peggy Dulany and Bill Clinton, who are also members of a select group of
philanthropists who are helping to ensure that Mr. Mandela's legacy lives on.
In 2012 and 2014, Seedorf took part in Soccer Aid. A charity match at Old Trafford with
former professional players and celebrities. He played for "The Rest of the World" team
against England. In 2014, he scored a hat-trick and The Rest of the World won 4–2 and they
raised over £4Million. Career statistics
Club As of 9 June 2014
Statistics accurate as of last match played on 8 December 2013.
1 Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches.
2 Includes the Johan Cruijff Shield and Eredivisie playoffs matches.
International
International goals Scores and results list Netherlands' goal
tally first. Managerial statistics
As of 4 May 2014 Honours
Club Ajax
Eredivisie: 1993–94, 1994–95 KNVB Cup: 1992–93
Johan Cruijff-schaal: 1993, 1994 UEFA Champions League: 1994–95
Real Madrid La Liga: 1996–97
Supercopa de España: 1997 UEFA Champions League: 1997–98
Intercontinental Cup: 1998 Milan
Serie A: 2003–04, 2010–11 Coppa Italia: 2002–03
Supercoppa Italiana: 2004, 2011 UEFA Champions League: 2002–03, 2006–07
UEFA Super Cup: 2003, 2007 FIFA Club World Cup: 2007
Botafogo Campeonato Carioca: 2013
Individual Dutch Football Talent of the Year: 1993, 1994
ESM Team of the Year: 1996–97 UEFA Team of the Year: 2002, 2007
UEFA Best Midfielder Award: 2006–07 FIFA Club World Cup Silver Ball: 2007
Real Madrid Team of the Century: 2008 Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau
Commander of the Honorary Order of the Yellow Star
Nelson Mandela Legacy Champion FIFA 100
References
External links Clarence Seedorf official website
Clarence Seedorf profile and stats at Wereld van Oranje