When it comes to stars of the Champions League, few have had such distinguished careers in the competition as Clarence Seedorf.
By Declan Whooley
The silky-smooth midfielder simply oozes skill and became the first ever player to win the Champions League three times with three different clubs, with success in 2007 bringing him his fourth winner’s medal.
The Dutch play-maker first shot to prominence in the star-studded Ajax side of 1995. That team was one of the most talented group of Dutch players ever assembled, though was quickly broken up when bigger teams came calling.
For Seedorf that was Sampdoria, but after just one season in Serie A, Real Madrid purchased the Dutch international and he was perfectly at home surrounded by much bigger names at the Bernabeu. He was a prominent member of the side that defeated Juventus in 1998 and that midfield battle was one of the best the competition has ever seen. Deschamps, Davids and Zidane were pitted against Karembeu, Redondo and Seedorf himself, with the Spanish side winning by a single goal.
Going Dutch in the 1998 decider
Inter Milan parted with €23 million to bring him back to Italy and despite not winning any silverware at the club, is fondly remembered by the club’s supporters, mainly due to the fact that he scored some long-range belters in his time at the San Siro.
He joined the long list of players to jump ship to their close neighbours in Italy when he joined AC Milan in a swap deal that saw Francesco Coco move the other way, and would go on to have ten wonderful years with the Milanese club.
Flawless in possession and always a danger in the middle third, Seedorf was the most consistent performer in the Champions League, earning high praise from none other than Alex Ferguson for his ruthless display when defeating Man. Utd in the semi-finals of the 2007 competition, before going on to exact revenge on Liverpool in the final to claim a record fourth medal.
Celebrating the 2007 triumph with a shorts-less Ambrosini and Kaka
His departure from Milan last year was met with widespread disappointment by all football fans and will be remembered as one of the outstanding midfielders over the past 20 years.
He’s not finished yet though, he’s still getting the job done with Botafogo in Brazl, the club of the legendary player Garrincha, where he has become an instant fan favourite.
“When Milan played well, which happened often, each and every time it occurred Seedorf played an amazing match. He is a world class player,” was how AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani summed him up when he left to return to Brazil.
We couldn’t put it any better ourselves.
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