Seedorf named head coach of Chinese second tier side Shenzhen

Football legend Diego Maradona (R) and former Netherlands national soccer player Clarence Seedorf (L) attend an advertising event on the eve of the opening of the UEFA 2016 European Championship in Paris, France, June 9, 2016 . REUTERS/Charles Platiau/Files

REUTERS - Former Netherlands midfielder Clarence Seedorf has been appointed head coach of Shenzhen Kaisa, the Chinese second division club announced on Thursday.

Seedorf, 40, who won the European Champions League three times as a player, started his managerial career at Italian club AC Milan in 2014, but was sacked after just five months despite winning 11 of his 19 league matches in his charge.

"We believe the arrival of Seedorf could promote the image of football in Shenzhen and China," the club said in an announcement.

Shenzhen sit eighth in the table, but will hope to gain promotion to the top flight, being just six points behind second-placed Guizhou with 14 games to play.

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Lovell)