Seedorf dishes on Milan, Serie A and how to fix soccer

Over his 15-year career, Clarence Seedorf has won numerous trophies, including four European Cups and Italian and Spanish titles. AP

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Il Professore, as AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf is nicknamed in Italy, has earned his professorial moniker.

Over his career, the 31-year-old has played for four of the world's biggest clubs, including Milan, Real Madrid, Juventus and Ajax Amsterdam, where he first appeared as a 16-year-old whiz kid in November 1992. He has won four Champions League trophies, a Serie A Scudetto, a Spanish Liga crown and 81 caps for the Netherlands.

Born in Suriname, Seedorf is a legend who will never achieve the international name recognition of a David Beckham, yet he will go down as one of the most accomplished and successful players in history. Pelé named him one top 125 living players in 2004. And rightly so.

Seedorf doesn't posses the celestial talents of a Ronaldinho or the holy-(bleep) diligence of a Paolo Maldini, but he is a particular alloy of grace and discipline, capable of both wild bursts of brilliance and crunching industry.

So how strange was it when I met up with Seedorf earlier this summer, decked out in a stylish gray suit, signing autographs at the Warner Bros. stand at a consumer-products convention in New York City? It felt so wrong, like seeing a boxing champ greeting retirees in a Reno casino foyer.

But, as he has done throughout his career, Seedorf seemed to glide above the fray, ignoring the salesmen's viperous schmoozing and placating the curious onlookers -- and a few knowledgeable fans -- with smiles and signatures. It turns out he is as graceful off the field as he is on it. I caught up with Seedorf to talk about his career, AC Milan and Champions League.

SI.com: First of all, what is Clarence Seedorf doing in the States?

Seedorf: Promoting AC Milan and myself. But also trying to make it all happen in football, trying to grow the sport here. I think a lot of things have to be changed, a lot of mentality, to become a better football nation.

SI.com: Like what do you think needs to be changed?

Seedorf: Like, for some example, stop bringing in players who are at the end of their career. This is not good.

SI.com: Like Beckham?

Seedorf: Well, he's not really at the end point. He's got another four years. But most of the players who have been here are at the end of their career or are looking for something other than football, branding and that kind of thing.

SI.com: Who should MLS be looking at then?

Seedorf: I think they should bring players who are maybe difficult to find in clubs in Europe but want to showcase themselves and play here in the States, and then eventually go back to the bigger teams in Europe. That, in my opinion, would bring something to the States and it would also bring a lot of nationalities to world football. Because right now everything is very separate.

SI.com: What do you mean by separate?

Seedorf: Well, you see how FIFA and UEFA are ...

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