Former Real Madrid Player Takes Up Surprise Managerial Position

Back in the summer of 1996, Real Madrid made the signing of Dutch national team midfielder Clarence Seedford from Serie A side Sampdoria. 

His time in the Spanish capital proved to be very fruitful, quickly endearing himself as a fans favourite to the Bernabeu faithful and winning La Liga, the Supercopa de Espana, Intercontinental Cup and UEFA Champions League before moving back to Italy with Inter Milan in the summer of 2000. 

After that, he then moved across town to join AC Milan two years later, where he ended up staying for ten years, before winding down his career with two years over in Brazil with top flight side Botafogo, where he again made himself very popular and a fans favourite. 

The move to South America and Brazil seemed a bit of a surprise, with not many European players playing over there. Well, it looks like history is repeating itself (well, nearly). 

Indeed so, as today (Sunday, the 11th of October 2026), it has been confirmed that Seedforf is the new manager of Brazilian Serie A side Corinthians, signing a contract until the end of 2027 (they use a calendar year system over there). 

So, if the move to Botafogo as a player was a surprise, the move to Corinthians as a manager is a shock. This is not Seedorf's first role in the dugout, having managed Milan in 2014, Shenzhen FC in 2016, Deportivo La Coruna in 2018, and the Cameroon national team between 2018 and 2019. 

But that role with Cameroon, which finished seven years ago, was his last in management until now. He has never won any silverware as a manager. He has done a lot of punditry since then, including Amazon Prime's coverage of the Champions League. 

The former Real Madrid man has his work cut out keeping the Sao Paulo outfit in the top flight, with the team currently just one point above the bottom four with nine games remaining. That said, they are also five points off qualifying for the Copa Sudamericana (the South American equivalent of the UEFA Europa League), so who knows what may end up happening. 

He played for Carlo Ancelotti during his time at AC Milan, so perhaps the former Los Blancos gaffer will pay a visit to watch his Corinthians side play, in between the international breaks with the Brazil national team. 

No doubt all Real Madrid fans wish Seedorf the best of luck in this very interesting new role for him.