|
|
|
|
Clarence Seedorf: Vintage Clarence
Few players can boast they are having their best season after passing the age of 30, but Susy Campanale notes that Clarence Seedorf has never done things the usual way
|
|
 |
 |
“They say I am like a fine red wine – I get better with age,” smiles Clarence Seedorf. One does not have to be a connoisseur of calcio to appreciate that statement, as over the past year the Dutch master has found a new lease of life at Milan, proving decisive in their Champions League, European Super Cup and Club World Cup triumphs. The former Real Madrid ace has always had some pretty harsh critics even among the Rossoneri supporters, but his goals and assists – most notably against Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals – have won over the doubters.
It is at the Allianz Arena that we can trace back the moment of Seedorf’s career revival. Among injury concerns and with a win needed after their 2-2 home draw with Bayern, Carlo Ancelotti went back to the Christmas Tree formation with Clarence supporting Pippo Inzaghi and Kaka. Although it had been used intermittently since January 2007, the side really clicked into place on German soil. “Seedorf has always wanted to play as a trequartista, but sacrificed himself for the team for many years,” explained the Coach.
He had not really played in this position at club level since his disappointing Inter spell and was mainly used in central midfield. “Playing behind the strikers is my preferred role, I have always said so,” Seedorf revealed. “However, I must think of the interests of the whole team. My presence in another area of the field was necessary and I always acted accordingly. Now I am convinced there will be more space for me as a trequartista.”
Since that night in Munich with a goal and a perfect assist for Inzaghi, Seedorf has gone from strength to strength. “He really enjoys playing in that position and it is obviously a joy for strikers like me to have him there, as you receive some delightful passes,” added Alberto Gilardino. Kaka also agrees there is a very good reason why he became Champions League top scorer. “Seedorf has been essential. He is the kind of player who gives his best when it counts. He played great games against Bayern and Manchester United. You need players like him to win big trophies.”
Andrea Pirlo had always been the heartbeat of the midfield, but the Suriname-born star is taking on this role more and more. “Seedorf was the key to the Champions League victory,” explained Diavolo legend and 1989 winner Pietro Paolo Virdis. “It all stemmed from his form in the decisive moment of the season. He is the one who dictates the tempo and launches Kaka’s runs from deep.”
Some occasional viewers may have been forgiven for wondering why Seedorf was so well respected in football circles, considering the oft-mentioned statistic that he is the only player to have won the Champions League with three different clubs to be a mere fluke rather than a sign of his talent. But those years of misplaced passes, wasted efforts from distance and running around in circles seem like a thing of the past.
“It is essential for me to improve with each passing year, because otherwise there would be no point in playing for a world-class club,” he explains. “Sometimes fate intervenes and that is out of my control, but all I can do is try to earn my place every season in a side that is challenging for the major prizes.”
He arrived at Milan with very little fanfare, in a straight swap for Francesco Coco in June 2002. Inter, it is safe to say, got the raw end of that deal. In the game against Celtic in December Seedorf became only the seventh player to notch up 100 Champions League appearances and has lifted that particular trophy four times. At club level there are few out there who have achieved more. For Milan alone he has won the Scudetto, two European Cups, the European Super Cup, Italian Super Cup, Coppa Italia and Club World Cup.
Yet Seedorf has been criminally ignored by his country, cast out by Guus Hiddink, Frank Rijkaard, Louis Van Gaal and Dick Advocaat before Marco Van Basten finally opened the door for a friendly with England in November 2006 – albeit only after Wesley Sneijder had pulled out with an injury. It had been reported in the Dutch media his exclusion was because, unlike at Milan, Seedorf refused to play in anything except his favoured trequartista position.
“Seedorf never declined to play,” insisted Advocaat, who was in charge at Euro 2004. “I think that a professional has the right to tell me what he thinks, but he did not force me to pick him only in a certain role. If he had, I would have sent him straight home. I am the Coach and if I want to play him on the right-hand side of midfield, then I will.”
With Francesco Totti, Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini and more hanging up their international boots early, Seedorf would be entirely justified in ending his on-off relationship with the Oranje. “Players are stopping because each game means 10 days in a training camp and that can seem like an eternity,” he reasoned. “It can get very tiring after a while. But I was kept away from my national team for almost four years and now I feel the need to recover that, so the pressures and time constraints don’t weigh on me. I want to play in Euro 2008 and the next World Cup.”
With his performances for Milan in Serie A and Europe, it would be a brave man who’d bet against Seedorf running out for the Dutch in those tournaments. After all, he still has to make amends for the moment that haunts his international career – a penalty shoot-out miss in the quarter-finals of Euro ’96 against France. “The desire is even greater now I’m coming towards the end of my career. You want to take as many trophies home as possible. The clock is ticking.” Having extended his contract until 2011, there’s certainly still plenty of time for Clarence at San Siro.
|
|
| Words: Susy Campanale – February 2008 |
|
| <More Calcio Close-Up> |
|
|
