I’ve got to imagine that being a retired legend is a frustrating thing. As soon as you leave the game people probably think you are washed up. Your legacy immediately starts to diminish. People forget just how great you were, and it has got to be incredibly tempting to come back to the game just to shut all those idiots up. That’s what I am imagining was going through Clarence Seedorf’s head when he lit up a charity match with a hat trick bad in 2014.
Seedorf retired as a player back in 2012, and had an extremely frustrating managing stint with AC Milan in 2014. He was announced as manager on January 16th 2014 with Milan sitting 11th in Serie A. Despite going 11-2-6 under Seedorf, Milan finished 8th having lost important matches to Napoli, Juventus, Parma, and Roma. Seedorf was sacked on June 9th, 2014.
Now, I don’t know how far in advance Seedorf was notified of his dismissal, but I’m going to go ahead and guess that he knew about it ahead of a charity match he would play on June 8th, because in it he played like a man with something to prove.
The then 38-year-old scored a hat trick, and each goal had a bit of “f*** you” in it.
(I know the videos read 2016 in the intro, but they were recycled to promote this year’s tournament. You’ll notice in the bottom corner they read 2014.)
His first was a rocket to the near post.
His second was solo run ending in a shot from deep (and a slight deflection).
And his third was a diving header that showed he just wanted it more than anyone else.
Clarence Seedorf is a bit of a legend around these parts. The midfielder renowned for his power and technique scored one of the most powerful goals of all time back when he played for Real Madrid, and suited up for some legendary AC Milan and Inter Milan sides as well.
He was always going to have a hard time topping his career as a player with his career as a manager, especially considering he hasn’t managed a team since Milan dismissed him in 2014. But I find myself rooting for him, I think he has a chip on his shoulder.
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