Sport Club Corinthians Paulista announced on Sunday that they have officially contracted Dutch coach Clarence Seedorf to take charge of the first team, under a contract that runs until the end of 2027.
Clarence Seedorf, who is 50 years old, said in his first statement after taking on the role: "Taking on this challenge is a great honor, but it is also a huge responsibility. I am here to give everything I have, and to build a team that fights for every ball, every minute, and every victory."
Osmar Stabile, the club president, expressed his happiness with the signing of Clarence Seedorf, confirming that his choice was based on the nature of the work the club aims to implement. He expressed confidence in the coach and his staff's ability to help the team overcome the difficult phase it is going through in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. Football executive Marcelo Paz also praised Seedorf's experience, his illustrious career as a player, along with his academic background and previous experience in Brazilian football.
Clarence Seedorf is regarded as one of the top midfielders of the late 1990s and early 2000s, having won the UEFA Champions League four times with Ajax, Real Madrid, and AC Milan, making him the player with the most titles in the competition with different clubs. He also represented the Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup 1998, where the team finished in fourth place, and participated in three editions of the European Championship.
After retiring from playing with Botafogo in 2013, Clarence Seedorf began his coaching career with AC Milan in 2014, before taking charge of Shenzhen in China, Deportivo La Coruña in Spain, and the Cameroon national team. He was recently serving as a member of the supervisory board of the Netherlands Football Association, and is expected to arrive in Brazil in the coming days, along with his coaching staff, with the club set to announce the date of his official presentation at a press conference later.
