Dutch legend, Clarence Seedorf, says winning the 1994/95 UEFA Champions League trophy with Nigerian duo Nwankwo Kanu and Finidi George at Ajax was a special moment for him in his career, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Seedorf made this known on Tuesday in Lagos during the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour presented by Heineken.
The Dutch legend, who won the UCL title four times with Ajax in 1995, Real Madrid in 1997 and twice with AC Milan in 2003 and in 2007, said lifting the prestigious trophy as a 19-year-old was an amazing feeling for him.
“It’s an honour to be an ambassador of this trophy,” Seedorf said.
“It’s good to be home, I’m an African, Surinam was where I was born and we are not different because we are all blacks.
“Kudos to those who ensured we enjoyed our careers. I had the opportunity to win the UCL title four times but I worked hard to get to this level.
“Winning the title with Kanu and George was special because we were all young at that time and were brothers.
“I don’t believe one can describe the feeling of winning the UEFA Champions League, not to talk of how I feel winning it four times in my career.
“There were great moments of entertainment, great football, unforgettable evenings. I think that’s what makes the Champions League different. These experiences and emotions is what the competition brings on and off the field and that’s part of why I’m here.
“Kanu and George used to come to my house while we were at Ajax to eat with my family. Then we were just teenagers and imagined winning it (the UCL title).
“Kanu will always ask for his rice every time he came. ‘Seedorf, I want my rice,’” the former Cameroon coach said.
“That is how close we are, there is no difference. That is why Africans in the Diaspora need to be more connected because we are really one. It is good to spend some time with these Nigerian legends (Austin Okocha, Daniel Amokachi and Taribo West) because we don’t often see ourselves like that.
“But it’s amazing and as you know, nothing comes for free and nothing comes easy, it’s always a journey before winning the trophy. You have to work hard for it. The moment of lifting the trophy after victory is so short compared to the hard work and dedication put into it through the years with ups and downs.”
He also starred in a five-a-side novelty match against other Nigerian football legends like Daniel Amokachi, Austin Okocha and Taribo West at the Landmark Events Centre turf and was part of a live-viewing match experience in Lagos as well.
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