On Christmas Day 1999, Dutch international Seedorf, who lost his main position at Real Madrid, joined Inter Milan for a transfer fee of $24.5 million. Why Seedorf will join Inter Milan, in fact, is mainly because the manager of Inter at that time was The Silver Fox Lippi, which can be described as a good person. In the early years of the Champions League, Lippi had long recognized Seedorf's ability. During the winter break of the 99-00 season, Seedorf was on holiday in Rio de Janeiro, Real Madrid needed money and there were many clubs that wanted Seedorf. But Lippi was the first to strike, and he called Seedorf and said he hoped he would come to Inter and play behind Ronaldo and Vieri. It is said that after receiving the call, Seedorf immediately ended his vacation and flew to Milan to join Inter.
Lippi's trust soon paid off, with Seedorf scoring a goal in the first league match against Perugia in the winter break to help Inter milan win 5-0. At that time, Inter was sponsored by Nike, and the 24 million-dollar Seedorf naturally got Nike's sponsorship contract immediately, and the black and blue water planet shoes he used also revealed Nike's logo. In the 30th round of the league, Inter lost 1-2 at home to Juventus, Seedorf scored with a long-range shot to the ground, and after scoring, he rolled up his shirt and revealed the head of the alien Ronaldo, hoping that Ronaldo would recover soon. That season, Inter were fourth in the league.
In the first leg of the Coppa Italia quarter-final in 99-00, Milan played at home against Inter, which was played in fog, with Vieri and Mutu scoring for Inter, and Milan nuclear warhead Shevchenko scoring twice, twice equalizing. In the end, Seedorf scored with a free kick to beat Milan and Inter won 3-2. That season, Seedorf scored two goals in the Coppa Italia to help Inter reach the final, but unfortunately lost 2-1 to Lazio in the final two legs, and all four were empty.
In the Dutch national team at that time, after Hiddink was dismissed, Surinamese descendant Rijkaard became the manager of the national team, and Surinamese descendants players were also reused, but the attitude of the Black Swan to Seedorf was elusive. In the first match of euro 2000 against the Czech Republic, Seedorf won 1-0, and rijkaard seemed to have won the game, putting Seedorf on the bench and letting his contemporary Surinamese veteran Winter play the main force. In the final round of the group stage, the Netherlands defeated France 3-2 and won all three matches. After qualifying with France, Seedorf also greeted former Real Madrid teammate Anelka.
I don't know whether to kill pigs without a knife or intentionally hide, Seedorf did not appear in the Dutch victory over Yugoslavia, until the semi-final with Italy did not appear again, did not expect this game to become a classic battle related to penalties again, although the Netherlands team has a clear advantage on the field, and twice won penalties, but both were missed. After 120 minutes of battle, the Netherlands once again suffered a penalty shootout that could not be looked back, but this time their opponents were also difficult brothers italy, did not expect that this time the Italian goalkeeper Tordo was a god, and once again saved two goals, plus Stam's penalty hit the crossbar, the Netherlands lost 1-3, and the penalty in the whole game was 6 penalties and 1. Seedorf, as the sinner who lost the penalty four years ago, could only comfort Bosvelt, the last to lose the penalty. The boots used by Seedorf at the time were Nike's Match Mercury black and blue, and this shoe was also a favorite shoe of Seedorf's endorsement nike period.
After the European Championship, the 2002 World Cup qualifiers began, the Netherlands and Portugal, Ireland in the same group, in early September they were forced to draw 2-2 against Ireland, the road to qualifying does not seem to be smooth. After the start of the new season, Inter Milan can be described as a tiger in the sun, back to the luck, in the Champions League play-offs rely on Baggio's play to defeat Parma, the result in the Champions League qualification, two legs actually lost to the Swedish team Helsingborg, so that Inter with a luxurious lineup how to feel bad. In the first round of Serie A, Inter actually lost 1-2 to the weak team Regiana, which became the last straw that overwhelmed Lippi's class.
The new Inter manager is Italian football star Tardelli, who was once an assistant coach of the Italian national team and the coach of Italy u21, so it is clear that he pays more attention to Italian domestic players, foreign aid seems to have been treated coldly, Seedorf has played a sharp decline in playing time, becoming a substitute reincarnated player, and even Zanetti was having a bad time at that time. But after Tardelli took office, the team's performance did not improve at all, the third round of the league Inter lost 0-3 to Udinese, of course, the most embarrassing defeat was the Milan derby on May 11, 2001, Inter lost 0-6, creating the biggest score difference in the Milan derby. At the end of the season, Inter only finished fifth in Serie A, and it turned out that Tardelli was not as good as Lippi.
So at the end of the season, Tardelli was dismissed, Argentine Cooper took office, conservative he carried out stricter management of the club, the intensity of training also increased, and many players with lazy style lost their main positions. At the beginning of the league, he returned to the main force and Inter also made a good start, basically Perugia 4-1, and scored in the third round against Venice Seedorf. But in the World Cup qualifiers, the Netherlands lost to Ireland and basically lost the opportunity to participate in the World Cup in South Korea and Japan. Inter had the advantage in the League Cup against Premier League side Ipswich In November, inter had the full-court advantage, but were scored by the opponent's only chance to score, resulting in a loss. The depressed Seedorf made a big fuss about the team's loss, and conservatives like Cooper naturally did not like such player reviews, so Seedorf once again sat on the Inter bench.
But that season, Seedorf still showed his superhuman strength, in the national derby on March 10, 2002, Seedorf started, this game can be said to be Seedorf's battle of the gods, he volleyed in the first half to help Inter take the lead, after which Juventus by Trezeguet and Tudor countered the score, but Seedorf in the injury time stage to turn the tide, a 35-meter long-range shot again, helped Inter to draw the Bianconeri, but also retained the league top spot. But inter lost in the final round to Lazio, finishing third in the league. Alien Ronaldo burst into tears, and his strained relationship with Cooper led him to decide to leave Inter in the summer of 2002.
In the summer of 2002, Ronaldo, who was indulging in various scandals, won the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, and after the end of the world, he joined Real Madrid. Another playboy, Milan's Italian left-back Koko, performed well at the World Cup and was hailed as Maldini's successor. Inter, who has not had a reliable left-back, is considering bringing in Koko, milan offered $20 million, at this time Inter actually considered exchanging Koko with the 26-year-old Seedorf and Milan. The negotiations between the two sides were very smooth, although the deal felt that Seedorf was a bit of a bargain, but Seedorf was also willing to stay in Milan, because it is said that Ronaldo left his wife Milani in Milan after joining Real Madrid, and Seedorf, as a good friend, decided to take care of Milani.