What happened to legendary AC Milan star Clarence Seedorf?

Exceptional skills
One of the best of his generation
Born in Suriname, but raised in the Netherlands
Started playing at six
Move to Ajax
Professional debut at 16
Louis van Gaal
First trophies
Winning the Champions League
Sampdoria
Real Madrid
Second Champions League
Goal against Atlético
Inter Milan
Exchange deal to Milan
Champions League history
Impressive Milanese trophy cabinet
Racism victim
Botafogo
Retirement
Netherlands career
1996: Missed penalty
Semifinals
Conflict with Van Basten
87 caps
Managerial career
In charge of Milan
Sacked after just a couple of months
Shenzhen F.C. and Deportivo La Coruña
Cameroon
Netherlands: Member of the Supervisory Board
Exceptional skills

Considered one of the best of his generation, Clarence Seedorf conquered the football world with his exceptional skills and impressive physical attributes.

One of the best of his generation

The Dutchman played for several of Europe's top clubs and amassed a list of honours that many envy. This is the story of Clarence Seedorf.

Born in Suriname, but raised in the Netherlands

Seedorf was born on 1 April 1976 in Paramaribo (Suriname), but grew up in the Netherlands.

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Started playing at six

He started playing football at the age of six and quickly demonstrated his enormous talent.

Move to Ajax

At a young age, he moved to Dutch giants Ajax, where he would soon create a furore.

Professional debut at 16

In 1992, Seedorf made his Ajax debut at just 16 against Groningen.

Louis van Gaal

He would soon become a key player in the team of then-Ajax manager Louis van Gaal (pictured).

First trophies

His first trophies would soon follow. Seedorf won the Dutch Cup and the league in his first two seasons, but those triumphs would pale in comparison to Ajax's next success.

Winning the Champions League

In the 1994/95 season, the Amsterdam club went all out in Europe, beating AC Milan in the Champions League final. The young Seedorf was at the top of European and world football.

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Sampdoria

In the summer of 1995, Seedorf ventured abroad for the first time in his career, signing for Italian club Sampdoria.

Real Madrid

Just one year later, he signed for Real Madrid, where he would write the next chapter of his successful career.

Second Champions League

During his time in the Spanish capital, the Dutch midfielder claimed several trophies, including the 1997/98 Champions League.

Goal against Atlético

Seedorf excelled in his first seasons at Madrid, scoring a memorable long-range goal against city rivals Atlético.

Inter Milan

Over time, Seedorf would become less prominent in the Madrid team, leading to a move to Inter Milan in January 2000.

Exchange deal to Milan

He did not win any trophies with the Nerrazzuri and would make the sensitive leap to AC Milan in 2002 as part of an exchange deal with Francesco Coco.

Champions League history

At the San Siro, Seedorf would go on to write history in 2002/03, becoming the first player to win the Champions League with three clubs.

Impressive Milanese trophy cabinet

But that was only a small part of his Milan honours list, which included another Champions League, two Serie A titles and one Italian Cup, among others.

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Racism victim

However, Seedorf's time at Milan was not entirely happy. In a match against Lazio at the end of March 2010, he was the victim of racist chanting by Lazio fans, which earned the Rome club a €15,000 fine.

Botafogo

In 2012, after ten years at Milan, Seedorf decided to embark on a new adventure at Brazilian club Botafogo, where he added a Carioca Campeonato title to his trophy cabinet.

Retirement

It was the last achievement in the impressive club career of Seedorf, who retired in January 2014.

Netherlands career

Besides an outstanding club career, Seedorf also had an excellent international run with the Netherlands, with some disappointments.

1996: Missed penalty

Perhaps the biggest disappointment came at UEFA Euro 1996, when his missed penalty against France in the quarter-finals sent the Netherlands home.

Semifinals

Seedorf failed to win any trophies with his country, but came close at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2000 and UEFA Euro 2004, reaching the semi-finals each time.

Conflict with Van Basten

In 2008, Seedorf made a tough decision and declared he did not want to participate in UEFA Euro 2008 because of a conflict with then-Netherlands manager Marco van Basten (pictured).

87 caps

Seedorf finished his career with 87 caps and 11 goals (Transfermarkt).

Managerial career

Immediately after retiring in 2014, Seedorf tried his luck as a coach.

In charge of Milan

In January of the same year, he was appointed coach of AC Milan, replacing the sacked Massimiliano Allegri.

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Sacked after just a couple of months

However, his first coaching adventure was not a great success, as Seedorf was sacked in June 2014 after just a couple of months in charge of the Rossoneri.

Shenzhen F.C. and Deportivo La Coruña

He then ventured at Chinese Shenzhen F.C. and Spanish Deportivo La Coruña, both with little success.

Cameroon

In August 2018, he was appointed Cameroon coach, where he would be removed after an unimpressive performance at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Netherlands: Member of the Supervisory Board

Seedorf spent a couple of years away from the world of football, but in 2023 he took up a new position as a member of the Supervisory Board of the Royal Dutch Football Association. In that position, he hopes to drive his country's football to new successes.

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