Clarence Seedorf profile (Part 2)
During the summer of 1999, Seedorf moved back to Italy, but this time to one of the Italian Giants ‘Internazionale’. Inter Milan and Real Madrid agreed transfer fee of $24.35 million. Seedorf’s stay at Inter Milan was not as impressive as compared to the last experience at two different clubs. But he managed to make his name in that club.
The Dutch midfielder helped the Inter Milan to the Coppa Italia final in 2000. Inter Milan eventually failed to win that Final. During his two year stint with Itnernazionale, he was unable to bring any silverware to the club. He found the net 8 times in 64 appearances for the Italian Side.
In 2002 after two years with Internazionale, Seedorf made yet another move and this time to the bitterest rivals AC Milan, where he is currently playing as the left midfielder. This was really the golden era for the club and even for the legendary midfielder. In 2003 Seedorf managed to win Coppa Italia with Milan. The Italian club had not won this competition for the last twenty-six years and they were delighted to win this cup. In the same season, Seedorf won his third Champions League tittle with the third different club.
Seedorf claimed his third title when Milan defeated arch rivals Juventus in penalty shoot-outs after a 0-0 draw. In the next season Seedorf played a vital role that helped A C Milan to clinch the Serie A trophy after five years. This was also Seedorf’s fourth national league title win of his illustrious career. The dutch midfielder won two league titles with Ajax, and one was with Spanish side Real Madrid.
At that time Milan had some really big names in their side, with the likes of Kaka, Pirlo, Gattuso; Seedorf played a crucial role in the campaign of 2005 as Milan reached the Champions League final again. The 2005 final was played in Istanbul against English Premier League side Liverpool. Seedorf started the Istanbul tie in which Milan managed to score three times in the first half but eventually lost the final on penalties after a 3-3 draw. Seedorf did not take any of those penalties. Milan also finished runners-up in the Serie A to Juventus in 2005.
There was the match-fixing scandal against A C Milan and several other Italian Clubs. Juventus was thrown out of Serie A and was relegated to Serie b while Milan also had to face difficult times. Meanwhile, Milan was also allowed to play in Europe the following season, which led to their best players including Seedorf to stay at the club. Seedorf and Kaka , both, came out in flying colors for Milan. Their partnershio became increasingly impressive as the pair combined in style to score and supply the goals.
This helped Milan to defeat Bayern Munich and Manchester United to reach another Champions League Final. This time Milan again faced Liverpool in the Champions League final which held in Athens. Milan defeated Liverpool easily by 2-1, making this Seedorf’s fourth Champions League title. Seedorf is the only European player to win Champions League four times. In this winning campaign, Seedorf played a vital role in the Club’s midfield and helped Milan to win FIFA Club World Cup. He also won the Silver Ball for the competition in that season. In the same season Seedorf was named the best midfielder, adding credits to his out-of-the-world skills on the pitch. Seedorf played his 100th Champions league match against Scottish club Celtics on 4th Decemeber 2006.
In Milan, a formidable midfield partnership has been formed between Seedorf, Gennarro Gatusso and Andrea Pirlo, which began since the 2002–03 season. This midfield partnership is still used until now in the starting line-up. Their role was to support an attacking midfielder. Uptil now he has appeared for the total of 246 for the Italian Giants and has scored 52 times.
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