Thieves rob AC Milan's Seedorf at knife point
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-11-16 11:00

MILAN, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf was robbed at knife point at his home near Milan last week and had about 110,000 euros ($129,000) worth of jewellery and other valuables stolen, police said on Tuesday.

They said four masked men broke into Seedorf's villa late on Thursday while the AC Milan player, his wife, three-year-old daughter and maid were in the house.

They grabbed a knife from the kitchen and forced Seedorf to open his safe. The thieves, who spoke with a Slavic accent, then ran off without hurting anybody.

"They didn't know it was my house, possibly because we only moved in a few months ago. But then they recognised me," Seedorf told reporters, saying his fame may have stopped the thieves getting violent.

"These things leave you feeling powerless. In those minutes all I could think of was my family. Luckily the baby was asleep and didn't see anything," news agency ANSA quoted him as saying.

Bands of burglars have broken into dozens of villas across the wealthy north of Italy over the last year.

Earlier this year, police arrested a group of Albanians linked to some of the robberies, including an attack on industrialist Gianni Marangoni, whose family was held hostage and beaten in their house in the north-east town of Rovereto.

"The people who came in to our house behaved well, they left calmly. As far as it is possible to say this, once we were face-to-face, the atmosphere was quite calm," Seedorf said.