Clarence Seedorf: The only player to win the UEFA Champions League with three clubs

Without question one of the outstanding footballers of his generation, there is one statistic related to Clarence Seedorf which has become synonymous with his legacy in the game.

Winning the UEFA Champions League even on just a single occasion marks the pinnacle of many footballers' careers.

Indeed, some of the very best to have laced up a pair of boots have never lifted the trophy - Ronaldo Nazario, Gianluigi Buffon and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to name just a few.

That Seedorf, born in the former Dutch colony of Suriname, was able to win the biggest prize in European club football with three different clubs - Ajax, Real Madrid and Milan - sets him apart from every player to have played the game.

We dig into how Seedorf was able to pull off this remarkable feat and cement his status as a bonafide legend of the sport.

Ajax (1995)

Born in the capital city of Suriname, Paramaribo, Seedorf's family resettled in Almere in the Netherlands when he was two years old.

Part of a football-daft family raised by his father Johann, a former player and agent, Seedorf's precocious talent was quickly discovered by the scouts of Ajax who he joined at the age of 10.

Spotted by a scouting agency set up by legendary former Ajax player and manager Johan Cruyff, Seedorf was part of a crop of gifted academy graduates coming through the ranks at the Amsterdam club alongside the likes of the De Boer brothers, Edgar Davids and Patrick Kluivert.

Handed an opportunity in the first team at a young age under Louis van Gaal, whose fusion of a Cruyffian emphasis on Total Football and his own emphasis on a defined tactical structure brought the club unprecedented success, Seedorf would quickly develop into an important player for Ajax.

The midfielder formed one-third of a trio who became known as "de kabel", which translates as 'the cable', alongside fellow dual Surinamese-Dutch players Davids and Kluivert.

Boasting remarkable athleticism which would go on to define his career at the elite level, Seedorf occupied a similar role to Davids in Ajax's Total Football 3-3-1-3 formation - flanking their idol Rijkaard in the engine room.

Aged 32, the experienced Rijkaard acted as the team's deep-lying playmaker, a leader who would dictate the tempo of matches for Ajax and maintain the team's tactical discipline.

On either side he was backed up by youth, two players who shared his Surinamese heritage in Seedorf and Davids who were handed the exhaustive task of helping progress the play forward in possession whilst also providing defensive cover without the ball.

Underdogs heading into the 1995 UEFA Champions League final against holders Milan, Ajax were able to defy the odds and win the competition for the fourth time in the club's history with a team packed full of academy graduates - including Seedorf in midfield and Kluivert up front who scored the game's only goal in the 85th minute.

A team which has been described as a "volcano which exploded", Ajax also won the Eredivisie title without losing a single match in this famous season of 1994/95.

Ajax starting XI v Milan in 1995 UEFA Champions League final:

(3-3-1-3): Van der Sar, Reiziger, Blind (c), F. De Boer, Rijkaard, Seedorf, Davids, Litmanen, George, Overmars, R. De Boer.

Real Madrid (1998)

After leaving Ajax via the Bosman ruling to join Serie A side Sampdoria on a free transfer in the summer of 1995, Seedorf would spend just one season in Italy before being captured by Spanish giants Real Madrid for €8.6m.

The Dutchman was an instant hit at Los Blancos, winning the La Liga title in his debut season in Madrid under the management of Italian Fabio Capello.

Seedorf's second UEFA Champions League success would arrive in his second season at Real Madrid in 1997/98, a campaign which begun with an opening day 40-yard screamer against rivals Atletico in La Liga.

Just like in his maiden UEFA Champions League final three years previous, Seedorf entered the showpiece as part of an unfancied Real Madrid team, with Juup Heynckes' side having finished fourth in La Liga and their opponents Juventus recently crowned Italian champions.

Part of a similar midfield unit as at Ajax, Seedorf and Christian Karembeu provided the team with legs and drive in the engine room with Argentine Fernando Redondo acting as the primary deep-lying playmaker.

This triad was faced with arguably the strongest midfield in European football at the time, with this Juventus juggernaut featuring French duo Didier Deschamps and Zinedine Zidane as well as Seedorf's old Ajax teammate Edgar Davids.

However, just as in 1995, it was to be Seedorf's team who would come out on top in another cagey UEFA Champions League final, which just so happened to be hosted at the Amsterdam Arena.

Predrag Mijatovic was the matchwinner, with the 1997 Ballon d'Or runner-up rounding Juve skipper Angelo Peruzzi in goal before delicately lifting the ball into the roof of the net in the 66th minute.

Seedorf was crowned a two-time UEFA Champions League winner at the age of just 22 in Amsterdam, with yet more history-making in store for the Dutchman in the years ahead.

Real Madrid starting XI v Juventus in 1998 UEFA Champions League final:

(4-3-1-2): Illgner, Panucci, Sanchis (c), Hierro, Carlos, Redondo, Karembeu, Seedorf, Raul, Mijatovic, Morientes.

Milan (2003 and 2007)

The third leg of Seedorf's record-breaking UEFA Champions League conquest would arrive at another of Europe's most famous clubs in the form of Milan.

Representing Inter between 2000 and 2002, Seedorf was involved in a famous swap deal between the two Milan giants which saw him sign for the Rossoneri and Italian defender Francesco Coco moving in the opposite direction.

Seedorf's first season as a Milan player would be a glorious one, as despite Carlo Ancelotti's side finishing third in the Serie A behind rivals Juventus and Inter, the Rossoneri won their first Coppa Italia title in 26 years as well as their sixth UEFA Champions League crown.

Milan would face Juve in an all-Italian 2003 UEFA Champions League final at Old Trafford, with the Old Lady's status as Serie A winners making Seedorf once again an underdog heading into a major European final.

As was typical during his esteemed career, Seedorf would line up as part of a midfield three in the Manchester final, this time with Andrea Pirlo pulling the strings and himself and the tigerish Gennaro Gattuso providing the industry and thrust.

The 2003 final between Milan and Juve would remain goalless in a typically cautious all-Italian affair, with the winners to be decided by a penalty shootout.

Seedorf would step up second for the Rossoneri, but his forceful right-footed effort was superbly stopped by Gianluigi Buffon.

The Dutchman's blushes were to be spared as his teammates got the job done, with Ukrainian icon Andriy Shevchenko coolly slotting away the pivotal penalty.

Delivering a characteristically versatile performance in a final in which he was deployed in various midfield roles across the 120 minutes, Seedorf became the first player of all time to win the famous UEFA Champions League trophy with three clubs.

Eventually becoming known as 'Mister Champions League', Seedorf's remarkable relationship with the competition would not end there as he was crowned a king of Europe once again in 2007.

This time his success was not to arrive with a different club, but once more in the colours of Milan, the team he forged the longest connection with during his playing career.

Still under the guidance of Ancelotti as manager, the Milan team of 2007 had a different feel to it in comparison to four years previous despite a number of the same squad remaining.

Seedorf was one of seven players to start in both finals alongside Dida, Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo and Filippo Inzaghi.

The most conspicuous difference in 2007 was the emergence of Brazilian Kaka, a phenomenal talent who at the peak of his powers represented the undoubted cornerstone of this Rossoneri side.

Aged 31, the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League saw a mature Seedorf showcase some of the best football of his career, with the Dutchman enjoying a terrific understanding with Kaka in the Milan midfield.

Impressively navigating their way past European heavyweights Bayern Munich and Manchester United in the quarter-finals and semis respectively, Milan set up an opportunity to avenge their bitter 2005 final defeat against Liverpool.

No doubt scarred by the Istanbul final two years previous, in which Ancelotti's charges threw away a three-goal lead to end up losing on penalties, Milan were not prepared to pass up another opportunity to win their seventh UEFA Champions League title.

Ancelotti's side, set up with a disciplined midfield base including Seedorf, Gattuso, Pirlo and Massimo Ambrosini to free up Kaka in a free role behind Inzaghi in attack, proved too much for Rafa Benitez's Liverpool in Athens.

Two goals from Inzaghi ultimately proved enough, with a consolation from Dirk Kuyt unable to thwart Milan in their pursuit of fresh European glory.

Arguably one of the most complete footballers of all time, Seedorf was named the best midfielder of the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League following his fourth taste of success in the competition.

Milan starting XI v Juventus in 2003 UEFA Champions League final:

(4-3-1-2): Dida, Costacurta, Nesta, Maldini (c), Kaladze, Pirlo, Gattuso, Seedorf, Rui Costa, Shevchenko, Inzaghi.

Milan starting XI v Liverpool in 2007 UEFA Champions League final:

(4-4-1-1): Dida, Oddo, Nesta, Maldini (c), Jankulovski, Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf, Kaka, Inzaghi.

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