He won once with Real Madrid, once with Ajax, and twice with AC Milan.
Winning the UEFA Champions League is one of the most challenging tasks in the world of club football, and for any player, lifting the trophy is a dream. In the tournament’s history, we have observed that winning the trophy year after year with the same squad is also incredibly difficult, and only Real Madrid has been able to pull off the miracle. However, when it comes to players, only one soul in football’s history has been able to lift the trophy with three different teams.
Can you take a guess? If not, read till the end to learn his identity.
One of the greatest midfielders to ever grace the game, this Dutch football player started his professional career with Ajax in 1992. In the second season, he led the team to the Eredivisie title, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch Super Cup, a domestic title. He was only 17 or 18 then, but he was one of the most feared players in the Ajax line-up.
In 1994–95, he tasted European success by leading Ajax to the European Cup (Champions League). Not to forget, he also helped the team win the Super Cup and Eredivisie that season as well.
At the end of 1995, the midfielder in question refused to extend his contract with Ajax and, therefore, joined Italian side Sampdoria for a year. However, a player of his calibre deserved a better club. At the end of 1995–1996, he switched to Spanish giant Real Madrid.
Three years at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, the Dutch magician helped Real Madrid regain the La Liga title, and in the 1997-98 season, Clyde tasted his second Champions League success when Real Madrid defeated Juventus in the final.
Despite being a supreme player, by 1999, Clyde was no longer in Real Madrid’s plans, and thus, he returned to Italy, this time signing for Inter Milan.
Clyde’s stint at Inter Milan was probably the worst of his career, and therefore, within two years, he moved to AC Milan in 2002—the same club he had defeated with Ajax in the Champions League final of 1994–95. In 2003, in his second season with AC Milan, Clarence Clyde Seedorf led the club to the Coppa Italia for the first time in 26 years.
The same year, he won the Champions League with AC Milan—his third trophy—and he became the first player in history to win the trophy with different clubs. Four years later, in 2007, the formidable duo of Seedorf and Kaka led the AC Milan team to another Champions League trophy, Seedorf’s fourth UCL title.
Ajax: Eredivisie (two), KNVB Cup, Johan Cruyff Shield, Champions League
Real Madrid: Champions League, LaLiga, Supercopa de Espana, Intercontinental Cup
Inter Milan: Coppa Italia
AC Milan: Champions League (two), Super Cup (two), Serie A (two), Super Coppa Italia, Coppa Italia, Club World Cup
Botafogo: Taca Guanabara, Campeonato Carioca
Following his retirement in 2014, Seedorf took charge of AC Milan as the team’s gaffer and also managed Shenzhen, Deportivo La Coruna, and Cameroon. Unfortunately, his managerial career has not been as glittery as his career as a player. Nonetheless, Seedorf is a Dutch legend, and his record is unlikely to be broken anytime soon.
