The legendary Dutch midfielder was born in South America but his family migrated to Holland, where Clarence spent most of his childhood. Consequently, Seedorf established himself as one of the great footballers and went on to represent
Holland at the national level.
Regardless of some outstanding displays, the Milan midfielder’s international career may not be considered to be a magnificent run. Clarence appeared in 87 matches for Holland where he managed to score 11 goals. The legendary midfielder
was able to play at any position which was given to him, providing a lot of stability to the Dutch national side.
Clarence Seedorf represented The Netherlands in Euro ‘96. However, he missed the crucial penalty against France in the quarter-finals shootout where The Netherland's lost. However, Seedorf wore Oranje in the 1998 FIFA World Cup
once again. Seedorf then went ahead to form part of the Dutch national squad for EURO 2000 and EURO 2004. During all these competitions, he failed to give impressive performances for the Oranje.
Clarence Seedorf’s national team career was full of unusual problems on and off the pitch. Seedorf, who came from a black family, became a victim of racism as he along with his teammates Patrick Kluivert, Winston Bogarde, Michael
Reiziger and Edgar Davids went on to form a ‘strange’ group with the belief that their present coach Guus Hiddink was favouring white players over black ones.
This particular grouping within the Dutch team cost Netherlands the European Cup in 2000. However, Seedorf failed to perform on many occasions in crucial moments for his team. Seedorf was unable to perform well in big competitions
as he missed crucial scoring opportunities, with a long history of underperforming for the Oranje. One of the reasons why Seedorf underperformed was his aggressive behaviour. Many would have suggested that his international career would have been far better
if he was less aggressive and rebellious in nature.
This was why Seedorf was dropped from the national team by former Dutch national team coach Marco van Basten, when he was given the coaching role after EURO 2004. Due to his underperformances, he was eventually not selected for
the national team squad for FIFA World Cup 2006 qualifiers and FIFA World Cup 2006.
However, after the FIFA World Cup, Clarence Seedorf was recalled to the team for the first time since June 2004. The Milan midfielder was recalled as a replacement for the injured Wesley Sneijder. Seedorf started in a friendly
match against England and even played till the end of the match. That match ended in a 1-1 draw. The legendary midfielder won his 87th cap for the Netherlands in 2008.
Seedorf represented the Netherlands in the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Romania at home as well which ended in a 0-0 draw. He then played against Slovenia which ended in a 1-0 away win.
With a career full of awards and laurels, Seedorf is considered to be one of the best midfielders of all times. Beside his problems with The Netherlands national side, Seedorf was named as the Dutch Talent of the Year on two occasions
in 1993 and 1994. Moreover, Seedorf was also included by Pele in the list of 125 greatest living footballers of all times.
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