MADRID (AP) Spanish club Deportivo La Coruna hired former Dutch player Clarence Seedorf as its coach on Monday for the rest of the season.
''I'm happy to have this opportunity to work in football again, in a club with so much history and in a league that gave me so much,'' said Seedorf, who played for Real Madrid in the late 1990s.
The former defensive midfielder replaced Cristobal Parralo, who was fired on Sunday, two days after a 5-0 loss at Real Sociedad extended Deportivo's winless streak to seven matches. The club is 18th in the 20-team Spanish league, in the relegation zone.
''It's a difficult situation,'' Seedorf said. ''I like to take on these challenges. It would be easy to go to a place where everything is working well. I can help the club.''
After a long playing career at several top clubs, Seedorf made his coaching debut with AC Milan in 2014, staying on the job for a few months. He also had a brief coaching stint in Chinese football in 2016.
''We did a good job at Milan but it was a complicated moment for the club,'' Seedorf said.
He said his lack of coaching experience shouldn't be a problem, noting Zinedine Zidane had even less experience when he took over Real Madrid's helm.
Seedorf played for Milan, Inter Milan, Sampdoria, Ajax, and Brazil's Botafogo. He won the Champions League five times, two with Madrid, two with Milan, and one with Ajax.
Seedorf starts working on Tuesday, and his first match in command of Deportivo will be on Monday at home against Real Betis.
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