[custom_adv] Clarence Clyde Seedorf ( born 1 April 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He was most recently the manager of the Cameroon national team. [custom_adv] Regarded by many as one of the best midfielders of his generation, in 2004, he was chosen by Pelé as part of the FIFA 100. Seedorf is one of the most decorated Dutch players ever, and has won domestic and continental titles while playing for clubs in the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Brazil. [custom_adv] He is considered one of the most successful players in UEFA Champions League history, as he is the first, and currently the only, player to have won the Champions League with three clubs – once with Ajax, in 1995, once with Real Madrid, in 1998 and twice with Milan, in 2003 and 2007. [custom_adv] At international level, he represented the Netherlands on 87 occasions, and took part at three UEFA European Football Championships (1996, 2000, 2004) and the 1998 FIFA World Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the latter three tournaments. [custom_adv] As a product of the famed Ajax Youth Academy, 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-ever debutant for Ajax, at the time. [custom_adv] 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-based side win the treble, securing the Eredivisie title, the KNVB Cup and the Dutch Super Cup in the same year. [custom_adv] Seedorf was a well-rounded, hardworking and versatile player, who was gifted with strength, pace, stamina and notable physical attributes, which allowed him to play anywhere in midfield and contribute both offensively and defensively, due to his significant tactical intelligence; although he primarily served as a playmaker in the centre, throughout his career he was also deployed as an attacking midfielder, on the wing, or in a holding or box-to-box role. [custom_adv] A world class midfielder, in addition to his fitness and athletic characteristics, as well as his ability to break down opposing plays and win back possession, he was an elegant, creative player and an excellent dribbler, possessing outstanding technique, ball skills and vision, which enabled him to retain possession when under pressure and subsequently lay the ball off to an on-rushing teammate; he was also an accurate passer and crosser of the ball. [custom_adv] Seedorf was also capable of scoring goals due to his powerful, accurate striking ability from distance with either foot; furthermore, he was an effective free kick taker. Despite his physical, energetic, and tenacious style of play, Seedorf was regarded as a correct player, and was sent off only two times in his entire career.
