SEEDORF: DUTCH NATIONAL TEAM CAREER REVEALED

Clarence Seedorf was an important player during the golden generation at Ajax Amsterdam in the 90s under the guidance of Dutch tactician Louis Van Gaal. He was called up to the Dutch national team ahead of the game with Luxembourg. The Luxembourg clash was a qualifier ahead of the 1996 European Championship on English soil. Clarence Seedorf scored one of the goals as the Netherlands thrashed Luxembourg 5-0.

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Seedorf and the Dutch team qualified for the Euro ’96 tournament in England. The Netherlands qualified for the quarterfinals before Clarence Seedorf missed the decisive penalty during the shootout against France. The French team moved to the semi-finalsof the tournament ahead of the Dutch team.

France got the better of Clarence Seedorf and the Netherlands team in the quarters before they came unstuck against Czech Republic in the semi-finals. Germany won the European Championship in 1996 after a 2-1 win over the Czechs in the final of the tournament.

Apart from the 1996 European Championship in England, Clarence Seedorf also represented the Dutch team at the 2000 European Championship and 2004 European Championship in addition to the 1998 FIFA World Cup tournament in France. Seedorf and the Netherlands reached the semi-finals in all the three tournaments.

Seedorf returned to the national team setup in November 2006 after a two-year absence. He was recalled to the Dutch team as a replacement for the injured Wesley Sneijder and he went on to start the 1-1 draw with England in what was an international friendly. The former AC Milan, Real Madrid and Inter Milan midfielder was on for the entire duration of the game against the Three Lions. In total, he scored 11 goals in 97 games for the Netherlands over a 14-year period between 1994 and 2008. He exited the national team setup in 2008 largely due to his conflict with then manager Marco Van Basten.