Clarence Seedorf

He played a key role in the final before being replaced in the 53rd minute by striker Nwankwo Kanu.

Patrick Kluivert scored a late goal to lift Ajax to a 1–0 victory over the Italian giants, whom Seedorf would later go on to represent for a decade.

While at Ajax, he was part of a trio known as "De kabel", composed of Edgar Davids, Patrick Kluivert and himself.

Clarence Clyde Seedorf (born 1 April 1976) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player.

He is regarded by many as one of the greatest midfielders of all time.

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.

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.

Among his teammates was Frank Rijkaard, the player he used to idolise in his younger days.

The following season, Seedorf helped his team secure consecutive Super Cup and Eredivisie titles, as well as their fourth European Cup trophy, winning the 1994–95 UEFA Champions League after defeating AC Milan in the final.

Seedorf is considered one of the most successful players in UEFA Champions League history, as he is 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 AC Milan, in 2003 and 2007.

At international level, he represented the Netherlands on 87 occasions, and took part in three UEFA European Football Championships (1996, 2000, 2004) and the 1998 FIFA World Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the latter three tournaments.

Later, Winston Bogarde and Michael Reiziger would be added to the group to make it a quintet; what had started as a friendship was then taken over during the UEFA Euro 1996 to describe the group.

Opting not to extend his contract with Ajax following their European success and the Bosman ruling, Seedorf signed a one-year contract with Italian Serie A side Sampdoria instead.

While not able to obtain any silverware in his first season at his new club, Seedorf appeared in 32 matches, scoring three goals helping his side to an eighth-place finish in the league table, all the while maintaining the form he had demonstrated at Ajax in the past.

Seedorf was then able to secure a transfer to Real Madrid, moving to Spain's La Liga by the end of the season.

Seedorf moved to Real Madrid in 1996, where he was virtually ever present for Los Blancos in his first three seasons.

In his first season, he helped the team regain the La Liga title, while in his second season, 1997–98, he played a major role in the team's Champions League success, as Madrid secured a 1–0 victory over Juventus in the final, earning his second Champions League title of his career.

While playing for Real Madrid, Seedorf scored a notable long-range goal against Atlético Madrid in 1997.

At the end of the 1998–99 season, Madrid and Juventus wanted to swap Seedorf for Zinedine Zidane, but the deal did not go through and the French playmaker waited two more years before joining Real Madrid.

Starting from the summer of 1999, Seedorf's role at Real Madrid became less prominent during the tenure of Dutch manager Guus Hiddink at the club.

He was eventually transferred back to Italy during the 1999–2000 season, this time to Inter Milan, for a fee about 44 billion Italian lira (approximately €23 million).

On 24 December 1999, Seedorf moved to Inter in a $24.35 million deal after cementing his place in the Real Madrid midfield for over three years.

Despite helping the team to the Coppa Italia final later that season – a 2–1 aggregate loss to Lazio where Seedorf scored Inter's only goal – Seedorf could not help bring any major silverware to the club.

Nonetheless, he is remembered by many Inter fans for his two goals against Juventus in a 2–2 draw on 9 March 2002, both of which were superb long-range efforts.

After two years with Inter, Seedorf moved to their city rivals AC Milan in 2002, in an exchange with Francesco Coco.

Seedorf won the Coppa Italia with Milan in 2003, the first time they had won the competition in 26 years.

In the same season, Seedorf gained his third Champions League medal, becoming the first player to win the Champions League with three clubs.

The all-Italian final saw Milan beat Juventus on penalties after a 0–0 draw, despite Seedorf failing to convert his own penalty.

The following season, 2003–04, Seedorf played a role in the Milan side that won the Serie A title.

It was Seedorf's fourth national league title of his career, following his two Dutch title wins with Ajax and his one Spanish win with Real Madrid.

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.

Born in Paramaribo, Suriname, Seedorf was raised in Almere, Flevoland, where he moved when he was two years old.

He grew up in a footballing family, with both his younger brothers Jürgen and Chedric Seedorf, and his father, former player and talent agent Johann Seedorf.

Seedorf began his career at the age of six in the youth ranks of his local amateur sides VV AS '80 and Real Almere, before being discovered and recruited to the ranks of nearby Dutch giants Ajax by Urgent Scoutingteam, the talent agency set up by Johan Cruyff, and which was responsible for recruiting the likes of Frank and Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids, Rob Witschge and Patrick Kluivert to the club as well.

Following in their brother's footsteps, under the guidance of their father and talent agent, Seedorf's siblings, as well as cousin Stefano, would later also join the ranks of Ajax.

Seedorf played a major role as Milan reached the Champions League final again in 2005, scoring the only goal of the game in their opening group match against Shakhtar Donetsk on 14 September 2004 and appearing in all 13 competition matches.

He started the match against Liverpool in Istanbul in which Milan lost a 3–0 lead, eventually losing on penalties after a 3–3 draw; Seedorf did not take a penalty-kick.

Milan also finished runners-up in the Serie A, seven points behind champions Juventus, although Juventus were stripped of the title and Milan docked points for match-fixing.