Brazil bids farewell to Clarence Seedorf, King of Rio

In the October issue of Brazilian football magazine Placar, 28 prominent journalists were asked which player – of all those plying their trade in the Campeonato Brasileiro – they would bring to their team if they could.

One chose Alexandre Pato. One plumped for Andrés D’Alessandro. Two picked Zé Roberto; ditto Elias. Four went for Alex.

14 chose Clarence Seedorf.

“He brings something to a club as a whole, not just the team,” purred commentator Paulo Vinícius Coelho. Erich Beting, another member of the panel, was more explicit: “He is a leader and has a wealth of experience that no one else in Brazil can match.”

Such giddy plaudits have been de rigueur since the Dutchman stunned the world by joining Botafogo in 2012. But they ultimately proved insufficient to bind him to his new home. On Tuesday, Seedorf announced that he was hanging up his boots – six months before the end of his contract – in order to manage Milan.

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