International Career
Due to Surinamese rules against dual citizenship, players who take Dutch citizenship are no longer eligible to represent the Netherlands' former colony. Because of this Seedorf, then of Ajax, played international football for the Netherlands national football team. He received his first call up on 14 December 1994, at the age of 18, against Luxembourg. Seedorf scored on his debut, helping his team to a 5-0 victory in a Euro 1996 qualifying match.
Seedorf was in the Netherlands' squad for the UEFA European Championships in 1996, (where his penalty miss proved decisive in the quarter final shootout defeat to France), 2000 and 2004, as well as the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
On 12 November 2006, Seedorf was recalled for the first time since June 2004 as a replacement for the injured Wesley Sneijder. He started and played the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 friendly draw against England. Seedorf won the last of his 87 caps for the Netherlands in 2008. In the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Romania (0–0 at home) and Slovenia (1–0 away win), Seedorf played 4 and 6 minutes respectively. There were doubts on his position within the national team, as Marco van Basten favoured younger players such as Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder and Robin van Persie. On 13 May 2008, Seedorf announced that he would not take part in Euro 2008, due to his ongoing conflict with Van Basten.
Read more about this topic: Clarence Seedorf
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