[Warchant]

MONTCLAIR, New Jersey (AP) - Less than a month after winning the European Champions League title with AC Milan, Clarence Seedorf is back at work.

But instead of prowling the midfield for his Serie A club, the 31-year-old Dutchman is gathering information about soccer's world game.

Having already toured the Middle East and Djibouti in the horn of Africa, Seedorf is getting a firsthand account of Major League Soccer in the United States, educating himself about the landscape for his sports and entertainment management company: ON International.

"I'm here to meet the people, talk a little about the reality of football in the States, and the club, myself. Get to know a little more about the situation," Seedorf said Thursday while watching a New York Red Bulls training session at their Montclair State University training center. "Watching games from Europe is one thing, but being here and really understanding is another way of understanding."

Seedorf set up ON International within the past year under the directorship of Geoffrey Schuhkraft, an Australian with a lifetime of experience managing entertainers and athletes such as swimmer Grant Hackett and cricketer Matthew Hayden. So far it has only one client: Seedorf.

Unlike David Beckham, Cuauhtemoc Blanco or Juan Pablo Angel, Seedorf doesn't see himself playing in MLS. He's committed to AC Milan for four more years, by which time he'll be 35.

But getting involved in the United States in some other capacity is a possibility.

"When I see the World Cup I see there is a lot of potential out there," Seedorf said. "I think it's only a matter of time before the U.S. can compete at the highest level. But something for sure needs to change.

"It's been about 10 years that we've heard this and it must improve. I think they want it," he said. "But I'm not here to judge. I'm here to listen and get a better picture."

Seedorf already has set up a charitable foundation, Champions for Children, and is promoting that on his travels as well.

With former Ajax teammate Dave van den Bergh now making his living with the Red Bulls, Seedorf was able to find a welcome host club in New York.

His whirlwind trip to the U.S. will include meetings with MLS officials, then out to Los Angeles, back to Milan, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and finally to his native Suriname, the former Dutch colony in South America.

"A lot of people talk about starting a foundation, but never do it," Schuhkraft said. "(Seedorf) genuinely wants to make a change. The fact that he wants to come here and understand American football, and check the support it has is admirable."