The forecast in Doha this weekend is for sun and highs of 30C (86F), but England’s players should not feel tempted to come dressed for a holiday.

Tales of Fabio Capello’s strict codes of conduct are legion since he became England manager, but the Italian is only being consistent, as Clarence Seedorf could confirm.

One of Capello’s first signings as Real Madrid coach in the summer of 1996, Seedorf turned up for a flight in a sports shirt and Bermuda shorts rather than club blazer. The midfield player was sent to the duty-free shops and told not to come back until he was wearing a jacket and tie.

Capello’s regimented style did not win him many friends in Madrid. He lasted only a season at Real, even though he won the Spanish league. Seedorf moved to Inter Milan in 2000. In 2002, Carlo Ancelotti, now the Chelsea manager, took him to AC Milan, where he has been an integral part of the team since. The two Italians at present making a profound impact on English football take different routes to success.

“Capello’s like a bulldozer,” Seedorf said. “He comes in and does it his way. Ancelotti comes in and will just look around a bit, bit by bit put things together. The risk that things will take off later is normally bigger than with Capello’s way of working, but Ancelotti has grown over the years and got more experience so has probably got more effective, and, of course, Chelsea were already very competitive.

“Ancelotti has a softer approach, but Capello’s a guarantee to get you results, especially short-term. I think he was the right man for the job for England, not just because he’s a strong hand but also to make sure that all that talent together will really play for each other. Because that was the thing I didn’t see before. I actually think that England is now one of the favourites with Brazil and Spain — I think they could be really dangerous at this World Cup.”

Especially, Seedorf thinks, if David Beckham is in the squad. They will be team-mates again in January, when the former England captain joins Milan on loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy for the second successive season.

“He’s still an added value for any team he plays in with his professionalism and his quality, as a person and as a player, so I’m very excited,” Seedorf said. “Knowing what he’s done in his career, for what he can mean for the team off the pitch alone, I would take him [to the World Cup next year].”

Now 33, the former Holland player may have the most crowded CV of any present footballer. There are the four Champions League titles and four domestic championships with Ajax, Real and Milan, among other trophies. Then there are the companies, the charity projects, the university courses in business management, finance and economics. He runs an Italian third division club, Monza, through his sports management company.

Seedorf was in London this week to promote the Time for Climate Justice campaign, which aims to highlight next month’s United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen.

Climate change advice from a footballer? Aren’t the emissions from their fleets of luxury cars part of the problem? “It’s all about everybody doing something and then we’re already better,” he said. “You cannot change your lifestyle from one day to the other and I don’t think that’s needed. We just need to be more responsible, especially the countries that have created the situation. It’s time to start acting.”

His future plans include more humanitarian work, especially with children; studying human rights and using Monza as a prototype club that will give young players the support and educational help he believes is often absent elsewhere. He is even pictured in a suit and tie on his official website. Capello would be impressed.

Champion of good causes

• Clarence Seedorf was born in Surinam in 1976. The small former Dutch colony, which borders Brazil, has also produced Edgar Davids and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Patrick Kluivert are of Surinamese descent.

• Seedorf’s three brothers and a cousin also became professional footballers.

• The attacking midfield player began his career with Ajax, making his debut in 1992 and his first appearance for Holland in 1994. He later moved to Sampdoria, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and AC Milan.

• He is the only player to have won the Champions League with three clubs: Ajax, Real and Milan (twice).

• He was named Europe’s best midfield player in 2007 by Uefa. Three years earlier, Pelé included him on the Fifa 100.

• He won 87 caps for Holland, scoring 11 goals.

• In 2007, Seedorf formed ON International, a sports management company. He also created Champions for Children, a charitable foundation. He is studying for a master’s degree in business at Bocconi University in Milan. ON runs Monza, the Italian third division club.