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Wikipedia

AZ Alkmaar

Alkmaar Zaanstreek (Dutch: [ˈɑl(ə)kmaːr ˈzaːnstreːk]), better known internationally as AZ Alkmaar, or simply and most commonly as AZ (pronounced [aːˈzɛt]) in the Netherlands, is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands.

AZ
Full nameAlkmaar Zaanstreek
Nickname(s)
De Kaasboeren (The Cheese Farmers)
Short nameAZ
Founded10 May 1967; 57 years ago (1967-05-10)
GroundAFAS Stadion
Capacity19,478
Executive director
Technical director
Robert Eenhoorn
Max Huiberts
ChairmanRené Neelissen
Head coachMaarten Martens
LeagueEredivisie
2022–23Eredivisie, 4th of 18
WebsiteClub website
Current season

AZ won the Eredivisie in 1980–81 and 2008–09. In the same season as their first league title, they also reached the UEFA Cup Final, which they lost to Ipswich Town. The team has won the KNVB Cup on four occasions, and one Johan Cruyff Shield.

History edit

1910–1972: Foundation and first years edit

AZ was founded on 10 May 1967 as AZ '67, the result of a merger of Alkmaar '54 and FC Zaanstreek.[1] Alkmaar '54 was founded as a professional team in April 1954 to play in the 10-team NBVB league, created because the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) refused to organize a professional league (the KNVB took over in 1955). Alkmaar '54, and by extension AZ, played the first professional match in the Netherlands: on 14 August 1954, they won 3–0 at home against Venlo '54, with Klaas Smit scoring the first and third goal.[2] After winning the Eerste Divisie in 1960–61, it played one year in the Eredivisie.

FC Zaanstreek had been playing since 1910 as the Kooger Football Club (KFC). KFC had nearly become national champion in 1934 through a narrow loss to Ajax in the finals.[note 1] The team became professional in 1955. In 1964 the professional part of KFC was renamed FC Zaanstreek, while the amateurs played on as KFC.

Also in 1964, the brothers Cees and Klaas Molenaar, former players and trainers for KFC and owners of a growing appliance store chain, sought to create a powerful football team in Zaanstreek by merging the two local professional teams: KFC and Zaanlandsche Football Club. After the ZFC leadership thwarted this attempt, the Molenaars successfully merged FC Zaanstreek with Alkmaar '54 in 1967. FC Zaanstreek had finished 7th and Alkmaar '54 12th in 1966–67 Eerste Divisie. The team would be based in Alkmaar, though the second team originally trained and played in Koog aan de Zaan.[1][4]

1972–1985: Molenaar years edit

Partially through the hiring of expensive foreign players, the new club soon acquired large debts. In 1972, the Molenaar brothers bailed it out and invested heavily in the club, to the point that AZ '67 were successful in the late 1970s and early '80s, regularly playing European football from 1977 to 1982 while also winning three KNVB Cups over that period.

After four close league campaigns, AZ finally became Dutch champions in 1981, becoming the only team other than the "big three" of Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV to do so in a 44-year period spanning from 1965 to 2009 (when AZ once again won the league title). They won the title with overwhelming power, winning 27 of 34 matches and only losing once, while scoring a club record 101 goals and conceding just 30. That same season, AZ reached the final of the UEFA Cup, losing 5–4 on aggregate to Ipswich Town. The next year, in the European Cup, they lost in the second round 3–2 on aggregate to Liverpool.

Georg Keßler was AZ's manager over most of these years (1978–82), while star players included: Kees Kist, the club's highest ever goalscorer with 212 goals and the first ever Dutchman to win the European Golden Boot in 1979 when he scored 34 goals in a season; Jan Peters, who played 120 matches for AZ during this period scoring 30 goals from midfield; and Hugo Hovenkamp, who played 239 matches in defence for AZ from 1975 to 1983, as well as receiving 31 caps for the Netherlands national team from 1977 to 1983 and playing each match in UEFA Euro 1980 while an AZ player. Additional stars included John Metgod, who spent six years at AZ playing 195 matches as a defender, scoring 26 goals including a goal against Ipswich Town in the final of the UEFA Cup. Like Hovenkamp, Metgod was also included in the Dutch squad for Euro 1980. Meanwhile, Danish forward Kristen Nygaard spent ten years at AZ, scoring 104 goals in 363 matches between 1972 and 1982.

1985–1993: Interim years edit

Co-owner Cees Molenaar died in 1979. AZ's fortunes deteriorated after his brother, Klaas Molenaar, left the club in 1985. After several mid-table finishes in previous seasons, AZ was relegated in 1988 from the Eredivisie, ending the season on 28 points from 34 matches and falling to the Eerste Divisie due to the superior goal difference of Roda JC. This relegation was significant since it occurred just seven years after the club's historic domestic double and marked the end of AZ's first period of success in Dutch football. Following this, AZ spent much of the next decade in the second tier, struggling to find a return to the top flight.

1993–2009: Scheringa years edit

The involvement of businessman Dirk Scheringa in the mid-1990s marked the revival of the club as AZ returned to the Eredivisie, winning the 1997-98 Eerste Divisie title. The club achieved consecutive finishes around the middle positions in the league until ending up in third place in the 2004-05 Eredivisie season, AZ's highest position for 23 years. In the summer of 2006, the club moved to a new 17,000 capacity stadium, AZ Stadion.

Despite playing strongly for the majority of the 2006–07 season, AZ's season ended in disappointment. First, entering the last matchday of the 2006–07 Eredivisie season, AZ led PSV and Ajax on goal difference at the top of the league table, but ended up third after losing their last match against 16th placed team Excelsior, AZ played with ten men for 80 minutes. Additionally, AZ then lost the KNVB Cup final to Ajax 8–7 after a penalty shoot-out, while also falling to Ajax over two play-off matches for participation in the Champions League. After the season, key players like Tim de Cler, Danny Koevermans and Shota Arveladze left the team.

 
AZ versus Larissa in a 2007–08 UEFA Cup match

A remarkable run ended in the 2007–08 season: after AZ lost a group stage match against Everton (3–2) in the UEFA Cup, the club's unbeaten run of 32 home matches in European competitions – lasting from 1977 to 2007 – ended. AZ had a poor season, suffering elimination in the first round of the KNVB Cup and the group stage of the UEFA Cup, as well as finishing the 2007–08 Eredivisie in a disappointing 11th place. Towards the latter stages of the season, in March 2008, AZ manager Louis van Gaal had initially tendered his resignation, but after protests the players and directors, he rescinded his resignation.

The 2008–09 season had an unpromising start after two opening defeats against NAC Breda and ADO Den Haag. However, starting with a 1–0 victory over defending league champions PSV, AZ did not lose a match in its next 28 matches, including a run of 11-straight matches where AZ did not concede an opposition goal. Three weeks before the end of the season, AZ became Eredivisie champions, edging nearest title rivals Twente and Ajax comfortably. This was a historic achievement for the club as this was the first title-winning season for 28 years, and it also meant a return to the UEFA Champions League.

Being league champions, AZ qualified for the Champions League for only the second time. It was drawn into a group alongside Arsenal FC, Standard Liège and Olympiacos but only took four points from six matches and finished bottom of their group.

2009–2014: Advocaat–Verbeek years edit

For the 2009–10 season, Ronald Koeman succeeded Louis van Gaal, who had departed to manage Bayern Munich after leading AZ to the championship. Koeman was officially hired on 17 May 2009, but on 5 December, AZ announced he was no longer in charge of the club after losing 7 of his first 16 matches. Former Rangers and Zenit Saint Petersburg manager Dick Advocaat took over for the remainder of the season. Under Advocaat, AZ achieved solid results and secured European football for the next season.

For the 2010–11 season, AZ appointed Gertjan Verbeek as its new manager. They finished the 2010–11 Eredivisie in fourth place, thus securing Europa League football for the next season, while in the KNVB Cup, AZ reached the last eight, where they were beaten by rivals Ajax by a 1–0 scoreline. AZ also finished third in their Europa League group, thus failing to qualifying for the competition's knockout round.

In the 2011–12 season, AZ finished fourth in the Eredivisie, though performed significantly better in cup competitions, reaching the semi-finals in the KNVB Cup (losing to Heracles after extra time) and the quarter-finals in the Europa League. In the latter, the club ultimately lost to Valencia after having defeated Udinese, Anderlecht, Malmö FF, Austria Wien, Metalist Kharkiv, Aalesund and Baumit Jablonec to reach that stage.

On 21 December 2011, during the quarter-finals of the 2011–12 KNVB Cup, a 19-year-old Ajax fan invaded the Amsterdam Arena pitch in the 36th minute with Ajax winning 1–0, attacking AZ goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado. The fan slipped and Alvarado kicked the fan twice, prompting the referee to issue the goalkeeper a red card. Following this, AZ manager Gertjan Verbeek ordered his players to leave the pitch for the dressing room in protest. The match was later played on 19 January 2012, with Alvarado's red card rescinded; AZ won 3–2.

The 2012–13 season started in the Europa League with a qualifying play-off round against Guus Hiddink's Anzhi Makhachkala. AZ was hammered 6–0 on aggregate. Disappointingly, AZ finished tenth in the 2012–13 Eredivisie, although the club won the 2012–13 KNVB Cup after defeating PSV 2–1 in the final. As cup winners, AZ automatically qualified for the 2013–14 Europa League.

In September 2013, just one day after emphatically beating PSV, at the time the league leaders, Verbeek was dismissed as first team manager by the club due to "a lack of chemistry" between management and players.[5] He was replaced by Dick Advocaat for the remainder of the season until a permanent replacement could be found. Advocaat took AZ to the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup, the quarter-finals of the Europa League and eighth in the league, ultimately losing to Groningen in the Europa League play-off final round (their 58th match of the season, a club record).

2014–2019: Van den Brom years edit

The 2014–15 season began with a new manager, former Heerenveen manager and Ajax great Marco van Basten. However, after just three matches into the season, Van Basten resigned as manager to become assistant manager under Alex Pastoor, citing heavy stress as the main reason.[6] Pastoor was the interim manager during two matches under Van Basten's absence and received the official title on 16 September, but contract negotiations failed and he left the club just two days later. A week later, John van den Brom was appointed manager. Under Van den Brom, AZ quickly rose up to the sub-top, eventually finished the season in third place, surpassing Feyenoord on the final season's matchday and qualifying for the 2015–16 Europa League.

The 2015–16 Eredivisie started with AZ selling most of its first-team players from the previous season during the summer transfer period. As a response, AZ bought players from other Dutch clubs, notably Vincent Janssen from Almere City, Alireza Jahanbakhsh from NEC and Ben Rienstra from PEC Zwolle. In December, it was announced free agent Ron Vlaar signed a contract until the end of the season after training with the club for a few weeks prior.[7] Vlaar quickly became team captain and helped lift AZ from tenth place to a fourth-place finish in the league. Along this rise, new signing Vincent Janssen scored 27 goals for the club, earning him the Eredivisie top goalscorer title. In the 2015–16 KNVB Cup, AZ made it to the semi-finals, losing 3–1 to Feyenoord. AZ won the first two qualification rounds to qualify for the 2015–16 Europa League group stage, but finished last in their group.

At the start of the 2016–17 Eredivisie, AZ sold last season's performer Vincent Janssen to Tottenham Hotspur and long-time midfielder Markus Henriksen to Hull City. In the 2016–17 Europa League, AZ finished second in Group D, surviving the group stage for the third time in five seasons.

Since 2019: Slot–Jansen years edit

After an excellent 2019/20 season in which AZ beat league leaders Ajax home and away, aided by consistent performances from youth academy talents such as Teun Koopmeiners, Myron Boadu, Calvin Stengs and Owen Wijndal, the season was forced to end early due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Joint on points with Ajax at the top of the table, AZ were given second place on goal difference, and subsequently earned Qualification to the Champions League second qualifying round.

A poor start to their 2020/21 Eredivisie campaign saw AZ draw five games in a row, before eventually picking up a victory against RKC Waalwijk on the 1st of November 2020.

AZ also struggled in European competitions this season. Despite a strong start, with a 3–1 extra time come back against Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League qualifiers, the club lost 2–0 to Dynamo Kiev several weeks later, seeing them fall back into the Europa League. After victory against Napoli and Rijeka early in the pool stages, AZ was on track to advance, though lost to Real Sociedad away, obtained a 0–0 draw in the reverse fixture, and also drew 1–1 with Napoli. Following these results, AZ needed to defeat Rijeka away to advance. However, the departure the week before the game of manager Arne Slot saw an unorganised team lose 2–1 to Rijeka, ending their European dream.

In 2022-2023, AZ stepped up their performance in Europa Conference League play, winning five out of six Group E matches against SC Dnipro-1, Apollon Limassol and Vaduz, then beating Lazio 4-2 on aggregate. However, their run was ended by defeats to West Ham United, with AZ's home leg marred by supporter violence.[8]

Coaching staff edit

Position Staff
Head coach   Maarten Martens
Assistant coach   Robert Franssen
  Kenneth Goudmijn
Goalkeeper coach   Nick van Aart
Fitness coach   Niels Kok
Chief Scout   Carlos Aalbers
Scout   Arthur Numan
  Koen Veenstra
  Lars Engel
  Hugo Hovenkamp
Head of Medical   Rob Tamminga
Club doctor   Ingrid Paul
Physiotherapist   Martin Cruijff
  Frank Renzenbrink
Team Manager   Ari Menmi
Technical director   Max Huiberts

Players edit

Current squad edit

As of 1 February 2024[9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Out on loan edit

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   NED Zico Buurmeester (at PEC Zwolle until 30 June 2024)
MF   NED Kenzo Goudmijn (at Excelsior until 30 June 2025)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   NED Peer Koopmeiners (at Almere City until 30 June 2024)
FW   NED Mexx Meerdink (at Vitesse until 30 June 2025)
FW   DEN Jens Odgaard (at Bologna until 30 June 2024)

Jong AZ edit

Participating in the Eerste Divisie, the reserve squad of AZ trains and plays their home games in Zaanstad.

Former players edit

Notable players edit

The following players were called-up to represent their national teams in international football and received caps during their tenure with AZ Alkmaar:

  • Players in bold actively play for AZ Alkmaar and for their respective national teams. Years in brackets indicate careerspan with AZ.

National team players by Confederation edit

Member associations are listed in order of most to least amount of current and former AZ players represented Internationally

Total national team players by confederation
Confederation Total (Nation) Association
AFC 5   Australia (3),   Iran (1),   Japan (1)
CAF 10   Morocco (8),   Cameroon (1),   Ghana (1)
CONCACAF 7   United States (3),   Costa Rica (1),   Mexico (1),   Suriname (1),   Trinidad & Tobago (1)
CONMEBOL 2   Argentina (1),   Paraguay (1)
OFC 0  
UEFA 71   Netherlands (40),   Norway (6),   Iceland (5),   Sweden (5),   Belgium (4),   Denmark (4),   Finland (3),   Greece (2),   Austria (1),   Estonia (1),   Georgia (1),  Hungary (1),   Romania (1),   Serbia (1)

Players in international tournaments edit

The following is a list of AZ players who have competed in international tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship, AFC Asian Cup, Africa Cup of Nations, CONCACAF Gold Cup and the Copa América. To this date no AZ players have participated in the FIFA Confederations Cup or the OFC Nations Cup while playing for AZ Alkmaar.

Cup Players
  UEFA Euro 1976   Hugo Hovenkamp
  Kees Kist
  John Metgod
  1978 FIFA World Cup   Hugo Hovenkamp
  UEFA Euro 1980   Hugo Hovenkamp
  Kees Kist
   2000 Africa Cup of Nations   Abdelkarim El Hadrioui
  UEFA Euro 2004   Kenneth Perez
  2006 FIFA World Cup   Tim de Cler
  Kew Jaliens
  Denny Landzaat
  Joris Mathijsen
  Henk Timmer
   UEFA Euro 2008   Demy de Zeeuw
  2010 FIFA World Cup   Brett Holman
  Héctor Moreno
  Simon Poulsen
  Sergio Romero
  Stijn Schaars
  2011 AFC Asian Cup   Brett Holman
  2011 Copa América   Sergio Romero
  2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup   Héctor Moreno
   UEFA Euro 2012   Rasmus Elm
  Simon Poulsen
   2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup   Esteban Alvarado
  Aron Jóhannsson
  2018 FIFA World Cup   Alireza Jahanbakhsh
  2019 Africa Cup of Nations   Oussama Idrissi
  UEFA Euro 2020   Marco Bizot
  Teun Koopmeiners
  Owen Wijndal
  2021 Africa Cup of Nations   Zakaria Aboukhlal
  2023 AFC Asian Cup   Mathew Ryan
  Yukinari Sugawara
   2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup   Djordje Mihailovic

Stadium and sponsor edit

Stadium edit

 
AFAS Stadion, AZ's home venue in Alkmaar. Photo includes the old roof and the old name, 'DSB Stadion'.

AZ play its home matches at the AFAS Stadion, located in the southern part of the city of Alkmaar. The stadium, which is directly owned by the club, was opened in 2006 and replaced the old Alkmaarderhout venue as the DSB Stadion. The stadium currently has a capacity of 17,023. During its design stages, the name Victorie Stadion was frequently used, referring to the Dutch War of Independence, the phrase "In Alkmaar begint de victorie" (Victory begins in Alkmaar) in particular. Until now, this name has not been officially in use, the board instead opting for sponsorship deals because of financial motives. However, to this day, the name maintains a good share of support among the fans.

To further increase revenue, AZ's board of directors decided to expand the capacity of the new stadium to at least 30,000 somewhere in the future. The extension will be realised by constructing a second tier to three of the four stands. The main stand with all technical areas, VIP and sponsor and media facilities will remain in place. These plans, however, were put on hold after the DSB bankruptcy and there are no current plans to increase the capacity.

In October 2009, sponsor DSB Bank was declared bankrupt. The stadium name temporarily changed from DSB Stadion to AZ Stadion, as it was considered undesirable that the stadium was linked with a non-existent bank. In February 2010, a new main sponsor was found in construction works service provider BUKO, based in Beverwijk.

A year later, in the 2010–11 season, AFAS Software [nl] took over as official stadium sponsor. The current external name of the ground is the AFAS Stadion.

On 10 August 2019, the roof of the stadium partially collapsed. No people were injured during the incident.[10] As the result AZ spent the rest of the year playing home matches at the Cars Jeans Stadion in The Hague whilst the damaged roof was being removed, before returning to the stadium on 15 December 2019, beating Ajax 1–0 in their first match back.[11] AZ played the rest of the 2019/20 season, until the COVID-19 pandemic cut it short, without a roof. During the 2020/21 season, a new roof was installed, held up by 20 crane-like arms on three sides and a so-called mega truss on the main stand.[12] The renewed stadium, which also included a capacity upgrade of nearly 2,500 seats for a new total capacity of 19,500, was officially opened on September 11, 2021, before the home game against PSV.[13]

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors edit

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
1977–1982 Adidas
1982–1986 Sony
1986–1988 Lotto Electrolux
1988–1989 Swingbo
1989–1990 Reebok Reebok
1990–1993 Hi-Tec Frisia
1993–1998 Hummel
1998–1999 Kappa
1999–2001 none
2001–2002 Umbro
2002–2004 Actus Notarissen
2004–2005 Frisia
2005–2006 DSB
2006–2008 Quick
2008–2009 Canterbury
2009–2010 Quick BUKO
2010–2011 AFAS Software
2011–2015 Macron
2015–2019 Under Armour
2020– Nike

Honours edit

Domestic edit

 
Historical chart of league performance

International edit

Youth Team edit

European record edit

Matches edit

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
1977–78 UEFA Cup First round   Red Boys Differdange 11–1 5–0 16–1
Second round   Barcelona 1–1 1–1 1–1 (4–5 p)
1978–79 European Cup Winners' Cup First round   Ipswich Town 0–0 0–2 0–2
1980–81 UEFA Cup First round   Red Boys Differdange 6–0 4–0 10–0
Second round   Levski Sofia 5–0 1–1 6–1
Third round   Radnički Niš 5–0 2–2 7–2
Quarter-finals   Lokeren 2–0 0–1 2–1
Semi-finals   Sochaux 3–2 1–1 4–3
Final   Ipswich Town 4–2 0–3 4–5
1981–82 European Cup First round   Start 3–1 1–0 4–1
Round of 16   Liverpool 2–2 2–3 4–5
1982–83 European Cup Winners' Cup First round   Limerick 1–0 1–1 2–1
Second round   Inter Milan 1–0 0–2 1–2
2004–05 UEFA Cup Group F   Auxerre 2–0 N/A 1st
  Amica Wronki N/A 3–1
  Rangers 1–0 N/A
  Grazer AK N/A 0–2
Round of 32   Alemannia Aachen 2–1 0–0 2–1
Round of 16   Shakhtar Donetsk 2–1 3–1 5–2
Quarter-finals   Villarreal 1–1 2–1 3–2
Semi-finals   Sporting CP 3–2 1–2 4–4 (a)
2005–06 UEFA Cup Group D   Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk N/A 2–1 2nd
  Middlesbrough 0–0 N/A
  Litex Lovech N/A 2–0
  Grasshoppers 1–0 N/A
Round of 32   Real Betis 2–1 0–2 2–3
2006–07 UEFA Cup Group C   Braga 3–0 N/A 1st
  Grasshoppers N/A 5–2
  Slovan Liberec 2–2 N/A
  Sevilla N/A 2–1
Round of 32   Fenerbahçe 2–2 3–3 5–5 (a)
Round of 16   Newcastle United 2–0 2–4 4–4 (a)
Quarter-finals   Werder Bremen 0–0 1–4 1–4
2007–08 UEFA Cup Group A   Zenit Saint Petersburg N/A 1–1 4th
  Larissa 1–0 N/A
  1. FC Nürnberg N/A 1–2
  Everton 2–3 N/A
2009–10 UEFA Champions League Group H   Olympiacos 0–0 0–1 4th
  Standard Liège 1–1 1–1
  Arsenal 1–1 1–4
2010–11 UEFA Europa League Group E   Sheriff Tiraspol 2–1 1–1 3rd
  BATE Borisov 3–0 1–4
  Dynamo Kyiv 1–2 0–2
2011–12 UEFA Europa League Group G   Malmö FF 4–1 0–0 2nd
  Metalist Kharkiv 1–1 1–1
  Austria Wien 2–2 2–2
Round of 32   Anderlecht 1–0 1–0 2–0
Round of 16   Udinese 2–0 1–2 3–2
Quarter-finals   Valencia 2–1 0–4 2–5
2012–13 UEFA Europa League Play-off round   Anzhi Makhachkala 0–5 0–1 0–6
2013–14 UEFA Europa League Play-off round   Atromitos 2–0 3–1 5–1
Group L   Maccabi Haifa 2–0 1–0 1st
  PAOK 1–1 2–2
  Shakhter Karagandy 1–0 1–1
Round of 32   Slovan Liberec 1–1 1–0 2–1
Round of 16   Anzhi Makhachkala 1–0 0–0 1–0
Quarter-finals   Benfica 0–1 0–2 0–3
2015–16 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round   İstanbul Başakşehir 2–0 2–1 4–1
Play-off round   Astra Giurgiu 2–0 2–3 4–3
Group L   Partizan 1–2 2–3 4th
  Athletic Bilbao 2–1 2–2
  FC Augsburg 0–1 1–4
2016–17 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round   PAS Giannina 1–0 2–1 3–1
Play-off round   Vojvodina 0–0 3–0 3–0
Group D   Dundalk 1–1 1–0 2nd
  Zenit Saint Petersburg 3–2 0–5
  Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–2 0–0
Round of 32   Lyon 1–4 1–7 2–11
2018–19 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round   Kairat 2–1 0–2 2–3
2019–20 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round   BK Häcken 0–0 3–0 3–0
Third qualifying round   Mariupol 4–0 0–0 4–0
Play-off round   Antwerp 1–1 4–1 5–2
Group L   Partizan 2–2 2–2 2nd
  Manchester United 0–0 0–4
  Astana 6–0 5–0
Round of 32   LASK 1–1 0–2 1–3
2020–21 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round   FC Viktoria Plzeň 3–1 N/A 3–1
Third qualifying round   FC Dynamo Kyiv N/A 0-2 0-2
2020–21 UEFA Europa League Group F   Napoli 1–1 1–0 3rd
  Rijeka 4–1 1–2
  Real Sociedad 0–0 0–1
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League Group D   Randers 1–0 2–2 1st
  Jablonec 1–0 1–1
  CFR Cluj 2–0 1–0
Round of 16   Bodø/Glimt 2–2 1–2 3–4
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League Second qualifying round   Tuzla City 1–0 4–0 5–0
Third qualifying round   Dundee United 7–0 0–1 7–1
Play-off round   Gil Vicente 4–0 2–1 6–1
Group E   Dnipro-1 2–1 1–0 1st
  Vaduz 4–1 2–1
  Apollon Limassol 3–2 0–1
Round of 16   Lazio 2–1 2–1 4–2
Quarter-finals   Anderlecht 2–0 0–2 2–2 (4–1 p.)
Semi-finals   West Ham United 0–1 1–2 1–3
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League Third qualifying round   FC Santa Coloma 2–0 1–0 3–0
Play-off round   Brann 1–1 3–3 4–4 (6–5 p.)
Group E   Zrinjski Mostar 1–0 3–4 3rd
  Legia Warsaw 1–0 0–2
  Aston Villa 1–4 1–2

UEFA coefficient ranking edit

As of 24 August 2023[14]
Rank Team Points
36   West Ham United 50.000
37   Milan 50.000
38   AZ 47.500
39   Rennes 44.000
40   Braga 44.000

Domestic results edit

Below is a table with AZ's domestic results since the introduction of professional football in 1956.

Coaches edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Klaas en Cees Molenaar had been at this match and blamed Ajax' late equalizer on a mistake by the referee; they claimed they then swore to once become national champion with their team, with which they succeeded 47 years later.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ a b (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
  2. ^ Alkmaar '54 en Venlo spelen allereerst profduel 26 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch), Algemeen Dagblad, 25 June 2008.
  3. ^ Rob Bruins Slot and Dirk Jan Roeleven, AZ, of: hoe maak je een topclub 26 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, VPRO, Andere Tijden (in Dutch)
  4. ^ Martin Rep, Hoe het profvoetbal verdween uit de Zaanstreek 26 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch), De Orkaan, 10 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Eredivisie: AZ Alkmaar announce surprise sacking of coach Gertjan Verbeek". from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
alkmaar, this, article, about, association, football, team, women, team, women, alkmaar, zaanstreek, dutch, ˈɑl, kmaːr, ˈzaːnstreːk, better, known, internationally, simply, most, commonly, pronounced, aːˈzɛt, netherlands, dutch, professional, football, club, f. This article is about the men s association football team For the women s team see AZ Alkmaar women Alkmaar Zaanstreek Dutch ˈɑl e kmaːr ˈzaːnstreːk better known internationally as AZ Alkmaar or simply and most commonly as AZ pronounced aːˈzɛt in the Netherlands is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district The club plays in the Eredivisie the highest professional football league in the Netherlands AZFull nameAlkmaar ZaanstreekNickname s De Kaasboeren The Cheese Farmers Short nameAZFounded10 May 1967 57 years ago 1967 05 10 GroundAFAS StadionCapacity19 478Executive director Technical directorRobert Eenhoorn Max HuibertsChairmanRene NeelissenHead coachMaarten MartensLeagueEredivisie2022 23Eredivisie 4th of 18WebsiteClub websiteHome coloursAway coloursThird coloursCurrent season AZ won the Eredivisie in 1980 81 and 2008 09 In the same season as their first league title they also reached the UEFA Cup Final which they lost to Ipswich Town The team has won the KNVB Cup on four occasions and one Johan Cruyff Shield Contents 1 History 1 1 1910 1972 Foundation and first years 1 2 1972 1985 Molenaar years 1 3 1985 1993 Interim years 1 4 1993 2009 Scheringa years 1 5 2009 2014 Advocaat Verbeek years 1 6 2014 2019 Van den Brom years 1 7 Since 2019 Slot Jansen years 2 Coaching staff 3 Players 3 1 Current squad 3 2 Out on loan 3 3 Jong AZ 4 Former players 4 1 Notable players 4 2 National team players by Confederation 5 Players in international tournaments 6 Stadium and sponsor 6 1 Stadium 6 2 Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors 7 Honours 7 1 Domestic 7 2 International 7 2 1 Youth Team 8 European record 8 1 Matches 8 2 UEFA coefficient ranking 9 Domestic results 10 Coaches 10 1 Alkmaar 54 10 2 KFC FC Zaanstreek 10 3 AZ 67 10 4 AZ 11 Notes 12 References 13 External linksHistory edit1910 1972 Foundation and first years edit AZ was founded on 10 May 1967 as AZ 67 the result of a merger of Alkmaar 54 and FC Zaanstreek 1 Alkmaar 54 was founded as a professional team in April 1954 to play in the 10 team NBVB league created because the Royal Dutch Football Association KNVB refused to organize a professional league the KNVB took over in 1955 Alkmaar 54 and by extension AZ played the first professional match in the Netherlands on 14 August 1954 they won 3 0 at home against Venlo 54 with Klaas Smit scoring the first and third goal 2 After winning the Eerste Divisie in 1960 61 it played one year in the Eredivisie FC Zaanstreek had been playing since 1910 as the Kooger Football Club KFC KFC had nearly become national champion in 1934 through a narrow loss to Ajax in the finals note 1 The team became professional in 1955 In 1964 the professional part of KFC was renamed FC Zaanstreek while the amateurs played on as KFC Also in 1964 the brothers Cees and Klaas Molenaar former players and trainers for KFC and owners of a growing appliance store chain sought to create a powerful football team in Zaanstreek by merging the two local professional teams KFC and Zaanlandsche Football Club After the ZFC leadership thwarted this attempt the Molenaars successfully merged FC Zaanstreek with Alkmaar 54 in 1967 FC Zaanstreek had finished 7th and Alkmaar 54 12th in 1966 67 Eerste Divisie The team would be based in Alkmaar though the second team originally trained and played in Koog aan de Zaan 1 4 1972 1985 Molenaar years edit Partially through the hiring of expensive foreign players the new club soon acquired large debts In 1972 the Molenaar brothers bailed it out and invested heavily in the club to the point that AZ 67 were successful in the late 1970s and early 80s regularly playing European football from 1977 to 1982 while also winning three KNVB Cups over that period After four close league campaigns AZ finally became Dutch champions in 1981 becoming the only team other than the big three of Ajax Feyenoord and PSV to do so in a 44 year period spanning from 1965 to 2009 when AZ once again won the league title They won the title with overwhelming power winning 27 of 34 matches and only losing once while scoring a club record 101 goals and conceding just 30 That same season AZ reached the final of the UEFA Cup losing 5 4 on aggregate to Ipswich Town The next year in the European Cup they lost in the second round 3 2 on aggregate to Liverpool Georg Kessler was AZ s manager over most of these years 1978 82 while star players included Kees Kist the club s highest ever goalscorer with 212 goals and the first ever Dutchman to win the European Golden Boot in 1979 when he scored 34 goals in a season Jan Peters who played 120 matches for AZ during this period scoring 30 goals from midfield and Hugo Hovenkamp who played 239 matches in defence for AZ from 1975 to 1983 as well as receiving 31 caps for the Netherlands national team from 1977 to 1983 and playing each match in UEFA Euro 1980 while an AZ player Additional stars included John Metgod who spent six years at AZ playing 195 matches as a defender scoring 26 goals including a goal against Ipswich Town in the final of the UEFA Cup Like Hovenkamp Metgod was also included in the Dutch squad for Euro 1980 Meanwhile Danish forward Kristen Nygaard spent ten years at AZ scoring 104 goals in 363 matches between 1972 and 1982 1985 1993 Interim years edit Co owner Cees Molenaar died in 1979 AZ s fortunes deteriorated after his brother Klaas Molenaar left the club in 1985 After several mid table finishes in previous seasons AZ was relegated in 1988 from the Eredivisie ending the season on 28 points from 34 matches and falling to the Eerste Divisie due to the superior goal difference of Roda JC This relegation was significant since it occurred just seven years after the club s historic domestic double and marked the end of AZ s first period of success in Dutch football Following this AZ spent much of the next decade in the second tier struggling to find a return to the top flight 1993 2009 Scheringa years edit The involvement of businessman Dirk Scheringa in the mid 1990s marked the revival of the club as AZ returned to the Eredivisie winning the 1997 98 Eerste Divisie title The club achieved consecutive finishes around the middle positions in the league until ending up in third place in the 2004 05 Eredivisie season AZ s highest position for 23 years In the summer of 2006 the club moved to a new 17 000 capacity stadium AZ Stadion Despite playing strongly for the majority of the 2006 07 season AZ s season ended in disappointment First entering the last matchday of the 2006 07 Eredivisie season AZ led PSV and Ajax on goal difference at the top of the league table but ended up third after losing their last match against 16th placed team Excelsior AZ played with ten men for 80 minutes Additionally AZ then lost the KNVB Cup final to Ajax 8 7 after a penalty shoot out while also falling to Ajax over two play off matches for participation in the Champions League After the season key players like Tim de Cler Danny Koevermans and Shota Arveladze left the team nbsp AZ versus Larissa in a 2007 08 UEFA Cup match A remarkable run ended in the 2007 08 season after AZ lost a group stage match against Everton 3 2 in the UEFA Cup the club s unbeaten run of 32 home matches in European competitions lasting from 1977 to 2007 ended AZ had a poor season suffering elimination in the first round of the KNVB Cup and the group stage of the UEFA Cup as well as finishing the 2007 08 Eredivisie in a disappointing 11th place Towards the latter stages of the season in March 2008 AZ manager Louis van Gaal had initially tendered his resignation but after protests the players and directors he rescinded his resignation The 2008 09 season had an unpromising start after two opening defeats against NAC Breda and ADO Den Haag However starting with a 1 0 victory over defending league champions PSV AZ did not lose a match in its next 28 matches including a run of 11 straight matches where AZ did not concede an opposition goal Three weeks before the end of the season AZ became Eredivisie champions edging nearest title rivals Twente and Ajax comfortably This was a historic achievement for the club as this was the first title winning season for 28 years and it also meant a return to the UEFA Champions League Being league champions AZ qualified for the Champions League for only the second time It was drawn into a group alongside Arsenal FC Standard Liege and Olympiacos but only took four points from six matches and finished bottom of their group 2009 2014 Advocaat Verbeek years edit For the 2009 10 season Ronald Koeman succeeded Louis van Gaal who had departed to manage Bayern Munich after leading AZ to the championship Koeman was officially hired on 17 May 2009 but on 5 December AZ announced he was no longer in charge of the club after losing 7 of his first 16 matches Former Rangers and Zenit Saint Petersburg manager Dick Advocaat took over for the remainder of the season Under Advocaat AZ achieved solid results and secured European football for the next season For the 2010 11 season AZ appointed Gertjan Verbeek as its new manager They finished the 2010 11 Eredivisie in fourth place thus securing Europa League football for the next season while in the KNVB Cup AZ reached the last eight where they were beaten by rivals Ajax by a 1 0 scoreline AZ also finished third in their Europa League group thus failing to qualifying for the competition s knockout round In the 2011 12 season AZ finished fourth in the Eredivisie though performed significantly better in cup competitions reaching the semi finals in the KNVB Cup losing to Heracles after extra time and the quarter finals in the Europa League In the latter the club ultimately lost to Valencia after having defeated Udinese Anderlecht Malmo FF Austria Wien Metalist Kharkiv Aalesund and Baumit Jablonec to reach that stage On 21 December 2011 during the quarter finals of the 2011 12 KNVB Cup a 19 year old Ajax fan invaded the Amsterdam Arena pitch in the 36th minute with Ajax winning 1 0 attacking AZ goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado The fan slipped and Alvarado kicked the fan twice prompting the referee to issue the goalkeeper a red card Following this AZ manager Gertjan Verbeek ordered his players to leave the pitch for the dressing room in protest The match was later played on 19 January 2012 with Alvarado s red card rescinded AZ won 3 2 The 2012 13 season started in the Europa League with a qualifying play off round against Guus Hiddink s Anzhi Makhachkala AZ was hammered 6 0 on aggregate Disappointingly AZ finished tenth in the 2012 13 Eredivisie although the club won the 2012 13 KNVB Cup after defeating PSV 2 1 in the final As cup winners AZ automatically qualified for the 2013 14 Europa League In September 2013 just one day after emphatically beating PSV at the time the league leaders Verbeek was dismissed as first team manager by the club due to a lack of chemistry between management and players 5 He was replaced by Dick Advocaat for the remainder of the season until a permanent replacement could be found Advocaat took AZ to the semi finals of the KNVB Cup the quarter finals of the Europa League and eighth in the league ultimately losing to Groningen in the Europa League play off final round their 58th match of the season a club record 2014 2019 Van den Brom years edit The 2014 15 season began with a new manager former Heerenveen manager and Ajax great Marco van Basten However after just three matches into the season Van Basten resigned as manager to become assistant manager under Alex Pastoor citing heavy stress as the main reason 6 Pastoor was the interim manager during two matches under Van Basten s absence and received the official title on 16 September but contract negotiations failed and he left the club just two days later A week later John van den Brom was appointed manager Under Van den Brom AZ quickly rose up to the sub top eventually finished the season in third place surpassing Feyenoord on the final season s matchday and qualifying for the 2015 16 Europa League The 2015 16 Eredivisie started with AZ selling most of its first team players from the previous season during the summer transfer period As a response AZ bought players from other Dutch clubs notably Vincent Janssen from Almere City Alireza Jahanbakhsh from NEC and Ben Rienstra from PEC Zwolle In December it was announced free agent Ron Vlaar signed a contract until the end of the season after training with the club for a few weeks prior 7 Vlaar quickly became team captain and helped lift AZ from tenth place to a fourth place finish in the league Along this rise new signing Vincent Janssen scored 27 goals for the club earning him the Eredivisie top goalscorer title In the 2015 16 KNVB Cup AZ made it to the semi finals losing 3 1 to Feyenoord AZ won the first two qualification rounds to qualify for the 2015 16 Europa League group stage but finished last in their group At the start of the 2016 17 Eredivisie AZ sold last season s performer Vincent Janssen to Tottenham Hotspur and long time midfielder Markus Henriksen to Hull City In the 2016 17 Europa League AZ finished second in Group D surviving the group stage for the third time in five seasons Since 2019 Slot Jansen years edit After an excellent 2019 20 season in which AZ beat league leaders Ajax home and away aided by consistent performances from youth academy talents such as Teun Koopmeiners Myron Boadu Calvin Stengs and Owen Wijndal the season was forced to end early due to the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic Joint on points with Ajax at the top of the table AZ were given second place on goal difference and subsequently earned Qualification to the Champions League second qualifying round A poor start to their 2020 21 Eredivisie campaign saw AZ draw five games in a row before eventually picking up a victory against RKC Waalwijk on the 1st of November 2020 AZ also struggled in European competitions this season Despite a strong start with a 3 1 extra time come back against Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League qualifiers the club lost 2 0 to Dynamo Kiev several weeks later seeing them fall back into the Europa League After victory against Napoli and Rijeka early in the pool stages AZ was on track to advance though lost to Real Sociedad away obtained a 0 0 draw in the reverse fixture and also drew 1 1 with Napoli Following these results AZ needed to defeat Rijeka away to advance However the departure the week before the game of manager Arne Slot saw an unorganised team lose 2 1 to Rijeka ending their European dream In 2022 2023 AZ stepped up their performance in Europa Conference League play winning five out of six Group E matches against SC Dnipro 1 Apollon Limassol and Vaduz then beating Lazio 4 2 on aggregate However their run was ended by defeats to West Ham United with AZ s home leg marred by supporter violence 8 Coaching staff editPosition Staff Head coach nbsp Maarten Martens Assistant coach nbsp Robert Franssen nbsp Kenneth Goudmijn Goalkeeper coach nbsp Nick van Aart Fitness coach nbsp Niels Kok Chief Scout nbsp Carlos Aalbers Scout nbsp Arthur Numan nbsp Koen Veenstra nbsp Lars Engel nbsp Hugo Hovenkamp Head of Medical nbsp Rob Tamminga Club doctor nbsp Ingrid Paul Physiotherapist nbsp Martin Cruijff nbsp Frank Renzenbrink Team Manager nbsp Ari Menmi Technical director nbsp Max HuibertsPlayers editCurrent squad edit As of 1 February 2024 9 Note Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules Players may hold more than one non FIFA nationality No Pos Nation Player 1 GK nbsp AUS Mathew Ryan 2 DF nbsp JPN Yukinari Sugawara 3 DF nbsp NED Wouter Goes 4 DF nbsp NED Bruno Martins Indi captain 5 DF nbsp POR Alexandre Penetra 6 MF nbsp POR Tiago Dantas on loan from Benfica 8 MF nbsp NED Jordy Clasie vice captain 9 FW nbsp GRE Vangelis Pavlidis 10 MF nbsp NED Dani de Wit 11 FW nbsp GHA Ibrahim Sadiq 12 GK nbsp NED Hobie Verhulst 13 GK nbsp NED Sem Westerveld 14 MF nbsp SRB Kristijan Belic 15 FW nbsp NED Ruben van Bommel No Pos Nation Player 16 MF nbsp NED Sven Mijnans 18 DF nbsp NOR David Moller Wolfe 19 FW nbsp NED Myron van Brederode 20 GK nbsp NED Rome Jayden Owusu Oduro 21 FW nbsp NED Ernest Poku 22 DF nbsp NED Maxim Dekker 23 FW nbsp SWE Mayckel Lahdo 24 MF nbsp NED Lewis Schouten 25 DF nbsp NED Riechedly Bazoer 27 DF nbsp POR Goncalo Esteves on loan from Sporting 28 FW nbsp NED Lequincio Zeefuik 30 DF nbsp NED Denso Kasius 34 DF nbsp NED Mees de Wit Out on loan edit Note Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules Players may hold more than one non FIFA nationality No Pos Nation Player MF nbsp NED Zico Buurmeester at PEC Zwolle until 30 June 2024 MF nbsp NED Kenzo Goudmijn at Excelsior until 30 June 2025 No Pos Nation Player MF nbsp NED Peer Koopmeiners at Almere City until 30 June 2024 FW nbsp NED Mexx Meerdink at Vitesse until 30 June 2025 FW nbsp DEN Jens Odgaard at Bologna until 30 June 2024 Jong AZ edit For the reserve squad of AZ see Jong AZ Participating in the Eerste Divisie the reserve squad of AZ trains and plays their home games in Zaanstad Former players editFurther information Category AZ Alkmaar players Notable players edit The following players were called up to represent their national teams in international football and received caps during their tenure with AZ Alkmaar Argentina nbsp Sergio Romero 2007 2011 Australia nbsp James Holland 2009 2012 nbsp Brett Holman 2008 2012 nbsp Mathew Ryan 2023 present Austria nbsp Kurt Welzl 1978 1981 Belgium nbsp Stein Huysegems 2003 2006 nbsp Maarten Martens 2006 2014 nbsp Sebastien Pocognoli 2007 2010 nbsp Gill Swerts 2008 2011 Cameroon nbsp Willie Overtoom 2013 2014 Costa Rica nbsp Esteban Alvarado 2010 2015 Denmark nbsp Henrik Eigenbrod 1982 1984 nbsp Kristen Nygaard 1972 1982 nbsp Kenneth Perez 2000 2006 nbsp Simon Poulsen 2008 2012 2014 2015 Estonia nbsp Ragnar Klavan 2009 2012 Finland nbsp Niki Maenpaa 2011 2012 nbsp Niklas Moisander 2008 2012 nbsp Juha Reini 2002 2006 Georgia nbsp Shota Arveladze 2005 2007 Ghana nbsp Kamal Sowah 2022 Greece nbsp Pantelis Chatzidiakos 2015 2023 nbsp Vangelis Pavlidis 2021 present Hungary nbsp Milos Kerkez 2022 2023 Iceland nbsp Joey Gudjonsson 2006 2007 nbsp Albert Gudmundsson 2018 2022 nbsp Johann Berg Gudmundsson 2009 2014 nbsp Kolbeinn Sigthorsson 2010 2011 nbsp Gretar Steinsson 2006 2008 Iran nbsp Alireza Jahanbakhsh 2015 2018 Japan nbsp Yukinari Sugawara 2020 present Mexico nbsp Hector Moreno 2008 2011 Morocco nbsp Zakaria Aboukhlal 2019 2022 nbsp Nourdin Boukhari 2007 nbsp Ali Elkhattabi 2001 2006 nbsp Abdelkrim El Hadrioui 1998 2002 nbsp Mounir El Hamdaoui 2007 2010 2015 2016 nbsp Oussama Idrissi 2018 2020 nbsp Adil Ramzi 2004 2006 nbsp Tarik Sektioui 2004 2006 Netherlands nbsp Peter Arntz 1976 1985 nbsp Roy Beerens 2011 2014 nbsp Marco Bizot 2017 2021 nbsp Myron Boadu 2017 2021 nbsp Dries Boussatta 1998 2002 nbsp Tim de Cler 2002 2007 nbsp Barry van Galen 1997 2006 nbsp Willem van Hanegem 1976 1979 nbsp Hugo Hovenkamp 1975 1983 nbsp Kew Jaliens 2004 2011 nbsp Vincent Janssen 2015 2016 nbsp Jos Jonker 1980 1983 nbsp Danny Koevermans 2005 2007 nbsp Kees Kist 1972 1982 1984 1985 nbsp Teun Koopmeiners 2017 2021 nbsp Jan Kromkamp 2000 2005 nbsp Denny Landzaat 2003 2006 nbsp Adam Maher 2010 2013 2018 2019 nbsp Dirk Marcellis 2010 2015 nbsp Bruno Martins Indi 2020 present nbsp Joris Mathijsen 2004 2006 nbsp Martijn Meerdink 2002 2007 nbsp David Mendes da Silva 2006 2010 nbsp John Metgod 1976 1982 nbsp Oscar Moens 1996 2003 nbsp Barry Opdam 1996 2008 nbsp Jan Peters 1977 1982 nbsp Henk van Rijnsoever 1974 1982 nbsp Stijn Schaars 2005 2011 nbsp Ronald Spelbos 1974 1982 nbsp Calvin Stengs 2017 2021 nbsp Guus Til 2016 2019 nbsp Henk Timmer 2000 2006 nbsp Pier Tol 1978 1988 Netherlands continued nbsp Nick Viergever 2010 2014 nbsp Ron Vlaar 2004 2006 2015 2021 nbsp Bobby Vosmaer 1974 1978 nbsp Wout Weghorst 2016 2018 nbsp Owen Wijndal 2017 2022 nbsp Demy de Zeeuw 2005 2009 Norway nbsp Hakon Evjen 2020 2023 nbsp Markus Henriksen 2012 2017 nbsp Bjorn Maars Johnsen 2018 2020 nbsp Fredrik Midtsjo 2017 2022 nbsp Jonas Svensson 2017 2021 nbsp David Moller Wolfe 2023 present Paraguay nbsp Celso Ortiz 2010 2016 Romania nbsp Dorin Rotariu 2018 2019 Serbia nbsp Nemanja Gudelj 2013 2015 Suriname nbsp Ramon Leeuwin 2020 2021 Sweden nbsp Rasmus Elm 2009 2012 nbsp Mattias Johansson 2012 2017 nbsp Jesper Karlsson 2020 2023 nbsp Muamer Tankovic 2014 2017 nbsp Pontus Wernbloom 2009 2012 Trinidad amp Tobago nbsp Levi Garcia 2015 2018 United States nbsp Jozy Altidore 2011 2013 nbsp Aron Johannsson 2013 2015 nbsp Djordje Mihailovic 2023 2024 Players in bold actively play for AZ Alkmaar and for their respective national teams Years in brackets indicate careerspan with AZ National team players by Confederation edit Member associations are listed in order of most to least amount of current and former AZ players represented Internationally Total national team players by confederation Confederation Total Nation Association AFC 5 nbsp Australia 3 nbsp Iran 1 nbsp Japan 1 CAF 10 nbsp Morocco 8 nbsp Cameroon 1 nbsp Ghana 1 CONCACAF 7 nbsp United States 3 nbsp Costa Rica 1 nbsp Mexico 1 nbsp Suriname 1 nbsp Trinidad amp Tobago 1 CONMEBOL 2 nbsp Argentina 1 nbsp Paraguay 1 OFC 0 UEFA 71 nbsp Netherlands 40 nbsp Norway 6 nbsp Iceland 5 nbsp Sweden 5 nbsp Belgium 4 nbsp Denmark 4 nbsp Finland 3 nbsp Greece 2 nbsp Austria 1 nbsp Estonia 1 nbsp Georgia 1 nbsp Hungary 1 nbsp Romania 1 nbsp Serbia 1 Players in international tournaments editThe following is a list of AZ players who have competed in international tournaments including the FIFA World Cup UEFA European Championship AFC Asian Cup Africa Cup of Nations CONCACAF Gold Cup and the Copa America To this date no AZ players have participated in the FIFA Confederations Cup or the OFC Nations Cup while playing for AZ Alkmaar Cup Players nbsp UEFA Euro 1976 nbsp Hugo Hovenkamp nbsp Kees Kist nbsp John Metgod nbsp 1978 FIFA World Cup nbsp Hugo Hovenkamp nbsp UEFA Euro 1980 nbsp Hugo Hovenkamp nbsp Kees Kist nbsp nbsp 2000 Africa Cup of Nations nbsp Abdelkarim El Hadrioui nbsp UEFA Euro 2004 nbsp Kenneth Perez nbsp 2006 FIFA World Cup nbsp Tim de Cler nbsp Kew Jaliens nbsp Denny Landzaat nbsp Joris Mathijsen nbsp Henk Timmer nbsp nbsp UEFA Euro 2008 nbsp Demy de Zeeuw nbsp 2010 FIFA World Cup nbsp Brett Holman nbsp Hector Moreno nbsp Simon Poulsen nbsp Sergio Romero nbsp Stijn Schaars nbsp 2011 AFC Asian Cup nbsp Brett Holman nbsp 2011 Copa America nbsp Sergio Romero nbsp 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup nbsp Hector Moreno nbsp nbsp UEFA Euro 2012 nbsp Rasmus Elm nbsp Simon Poulsen nbsp nbsp 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup nbsp Esteban Alvarado nbsp Aron Johannsson nbsp 2018 FIFA World Cup nbsp Alireza Jahanbakhsh nbsp 2019 Africa Cup of Nations nbsp Oussama Idrissi nbsp UEFA Euro 2020 nbsp Marco Bizot nbsp Teun Koopmeiners nbsp Owen Wijndal nbsp 2021 Africa Cup of Nations nbsp Zakaria Aboukhlal nbsp 2023 AFC Asian Cup nbsp Mathew Ryan nbsp Yukinari Sugawara nbsp nbsp 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup nbsp Djordje MihailovicStadium and sponsor editStadium edit See also AFAS Stadion nbsp AFAS Stadion AZ s home venue in Alkmaar Photo includes the old roof and the old name DSB Stadion AZ play its home matches at the AFAS Stadion located in the southern part of the city of Alkmaar The stadium which is directly owned by the club was opened in 2006 and replaced the old Alkmaarderhout venue as the DSB Stadion The stadium currently has a capacity of 17 023 During its design stages the name Victorie Stadion was frequently used referring to the Dutch War of Independence the phrase In Alkmaar begint de victorie Victory begins in Alkmaar in particular Until now this name has not been officially in use the board instead opting for sponsorship deals because of financial motives However to this day the name maintains a good share of support among the fans To further increase revenue AZ s board of directors decided to expand the capacity of the new stadium to at least 30 000 somewhere in the future The extension will be realised by constructing a second tier to three of the four stands The main stand with all technical areas VIP and sponsor and media facilities will remain in place These plans however were put on hold after the DSB bankruptcy and there are no current plans to increase the capacity In October 2009 sponsor DSB Bank was declared bankrupt The stadium name temporarily changed from DSB Stadion to AZ Stadion as it was considered undesirable that the stadium was linked with a non existent bank In February 2010 a new main sponsor was found in construction works service provider BUKO based in Beverwijk A year later in the 2010 11 season AFAS Software nl took over as official stadium sponsor The current external name of the ground is the AFAS Stadion On 10 August 2019 the roof of the stadium partially collapsed No people were injured during the incident 10 As the result AZ spent the rest of the year playing home matches at the Cars Jeans Stadion in The Hague whilst the damaged roof was being removed before returning to the stadium on 15 December 2019 beating Ajax 1 0 in their first match back 11 AZ played the rest of the 2019 20 season until the COVID 19 pandemic cut it short without a roof During the 2020 21 season a new roof was installed held up by 20 crane like arms on three sides and a so called mega truss on the main stand 12 The renewed stadium which also included a capacity upgrade of nearly 2 500 seats for a new total capacity of 19 500 was officially opened on September 11 2021 before the home game against PSV 13 Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors edit Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor 1977 1982 Adidas 1982 1986 Sony 1986 1988 Lotto Electrolux 1988 1989 Swingbo 1989 1990 Reebok Reebok 1990 1993 Hi Tec Frisia 1993 1998 Hummel 1998 1999 Kappa 1999 2001 none 2001 2002 Umbro 2002 2004 Actus Notarissen 2004 2005 Frisia 2005 2006 DSB 2006 2008 Quick 2008 2009 Canterbury 2009 2010 Quick BUKO 2010 2011 AFAS Software 2011 2015 Macron 2015 2019 Under Armour 2020 NikeHonours editDomestic edit nbsp Historical chart of league performance Eredivisie Winners 2 1980 81 2008 09 Runners up 3 1979 80 2005 06 2019 20 Eerste Divisie Winners 3 1959 601 1995 96 1997 98 Runners up 3 1956 571 1967 68 1971 72 Tweede Divisie Winners 1 1955 562 Runners up 1 1963 641 KNVB Cup Winners 4 1977 78 1980 81 1981 82 2012 13 Runners up 3 2006 07 2016 17 2017 18 Johan Cruyff Shield Winners 1 2009 Runners up 1 2013 International edit UEFA Cup Runners up 1 1980 81 Youth Team edit UEFA Youth League Winners 1 2022 23European record editMain article AZ Alkmaar in European football Matches edit Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate 1977 78 UEFA Cup First round nbsp Red Boys Differdange 11 1 5 0 16 1 Second round nbsp Barcelona 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 5 p 1978 79 European Cup Winners Cup First round nbsp Ipswich Town 0 0 0 2 0 2 1980 81 UEFA Cup First round nbsp Red Boys Differdange 6 0 4 0 10 0 Second round nbsp Levski Sofia 5 0 1 1 6 1 Third round nbsp Radnicki Nis 5 0 2 2 7 2 Quarter finals nbsp Lokeren 2 0 0 1 2 1 Semi finals nbsp Sochaux 3 2 1 1 4 3 Final nbsp Ipswich Town 4 2 0 3 4 5 1981 82 European Cup First round nbsp Start 3 1 1 0 4 1 Round of 16 nbsp Liverpool 2 2 2 3 4 5 1982 83 European Cup Winners Cup First round nbsp Limerick 1 0 1 1 2 1 Second round nbsp Inter Milan 1 0 0 2 1 2 2004 05 UEFA Cup Group F nbsp Auxerre 2 0 N A 1st nbsp Amica Wronki N A 3 1 nbsp Rangers 1 0 N A nbsp Grazer AK N A 0 2 Round of 32 nbsp Alemannia Aachen 2 1 0 0 2 1 Round of 16 nbsp Shakhtar Donetsk 2 1 3 1 5 2 Quarter finals nbsp Villarreal 1 1 2 1 3 2 Semi finals nbsp Sporting CP 3 2 1 2 4 4 a 2005 06 UEFA Cup Group D nbsp Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk N A 2 1 2nd nbsp Middlesbrough 0 0 N A nbsp Litex Lovech N A 2 0 nbsp Grasshoppers 1 0 N A Round of 32 nbsp Real Betis 2 1 0 2 2 3 2006 07 UEFA Cup Group C nbsp Braga 3 0 N A 1st nbsp Grasshoppers N A 5 2 nbsp Slovan Liberec 2 2 N A nbsp Sevilla N A 2 1 Round of 32 nbsp Fenerbahce 2 2 3 3 5 5 a Round of 16 nbsp Newcastle United 2 0 2 4 4 4 a Quarter finals nbsp Werder Bremen 0 0 1 4 1 4 2007 08 UEFA Cup Group A nbsp Zenit Saint Petersburg N A 1 1 4th nbsp Larissa 1 0 N A nbsp 1 FC Nurnberg N A 1 2 nbsp Everton 2 3 N A 2009 10 UEFA Champions League Group H nbsp Olympiacos 0 0 0 1 4th nbsp Standard Liege 1 1 1 1 nbsp Arsenal 1 1 1 4 2010 11 UEFA Europa League Group E nbsp Sheriff Tiraspol 2 1 1 1 3rd nbsp BATE Borisov 3 0 1 4 nbsp Dynamo Kyiv 1 2 0 2 2011 12 UEFA Europa League Group G nbsp Malmo FF 4 1 0 0 2nd nbsp Metalist Kharkiv 1 1 1 1 nbsp Austria Wien 2 2 2 2 Round of 32 nbsp Anderlecht 1 0 1 0 2 0 Round of 16 nbsp Udinese 2 0 1 2 3 2 Quarter finals nbsp Valencia 2 1 0 4 2 5 2012 13 UEFA Europa League Play off round nbsp Anzhi Makhachkala 0 5 0 1 0 6 2013 14 UEFA Europa League Play off round nbsp Atromitos 2 0 3 1 5 1 Group L nbsp Maccabi Haifa 2 0 1 0 1st nbsp PAOK 1 1 2 2 nbsp Shakhter Karagandy 1 0 1 1 Round of 32 nbsp Slovan Liberec 1 1 1 0 2 1 Round of 16 nbsp Anzhi Makhachkala 1 0 0 0 1 0 Quarter finals nbsp Benfica 0 1 0 2 0 3 2015 16 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round nbsp Istanbul Basaksehir 2 0 2 1 4 1 Play off round nbsp Astra Giurgiu 2 0 2 3 4 3 Group L nbsp Partizan 1 2 2 3 4th nbsp Athletic Bilbao 2 1 2 2 nbsp FC Augsburg 0 1 1 4 2016 17 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round nbsp PAS Giannina 1 0 2 1 3 1 Play off round nbsp Vojvodina 0 0 3 0 3 0 Group D nbsp Dundalk 1 1 1 0 2nd nbsp Zenit Saint Petersburg 3 2 0 5 nbsp Maccabi Tel Aviv 1 2 0 0 Round of 32 nbsp Lyon 1 4 1 7 2 11 2018 19 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round nbsp Kairat 2 1 0 2 2 3 2019 20 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round nbsp BK Hacken 0 0 3 0 3 0 Third qualifying round nbsp Mariupol 4 0 0 0 4 0 Play off round nbsp Antwerp 1 1 4 1 5 2 Group L nbsp Partizan 2 2 2 2 2nd nbsp Manchester United 0 0 0 4 nbsp Astana 6 0 5 0 Round of 32 nbsp LASK 1 1 0 2 1 3 2020 21 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round nbsp FC Viktoria Plzen 3 1 N A 3 1 Third qualifying round nbsp FC Dynamo Kyiv N A 0 2 0 2 2020 21 UEFA Europa League Group F nbsp Napoli 1 1 1 0 3rd nbsp Rijeka 4 1 1 2 nbsp Real Sociedad 0 0 0 1 2021 22 UEFA Europa Conference League Group D nbsp Randers 1 0 2 2 1st nbsp Jablonec 1 0 1 1 nbsp CFR Cluj 2 0 1 0 Round of 16 nbsp Bodo Glimt 2 2 1 2 3 4 2022 23 UEFA Europa Conference League Second qualifying round nbsp Tuzla City 1 0 4 0 5 0 Third qualifying round nbsp Dundee United 7 0 0 1 7 1 Play off round nbsp Gil Vicente 4 0 2 1 6 1 Group E nbsp Dnipro 1 2 1 1 0 1st nbsp Vaduz 4 1 2 1 nbsp Apollon Limassol 3 2 0 1 Round of 16 nbsp Lazio 2 1 2 1 4 2 Quarter finals nbsp Anderlecht 2 0 0 2 2 2 4 1 p Semi finals nbsp West Ham United 0 1 1 2 1 3 2023 24 UEFA Europa Conference League Third qualifying round nbsp FC Santa Coloma 2 0 1 0 3 0 Play off round nbsp Brann 1 1 3 3 4 4 6 5 p Group E nbsp Zrinjski Mostar 1 0 3 4 3rd nbsp Legia Warsaw 1 0 0 2 nbsp Aston Villa 1 4 1 2 UEFA coefficient ranking edit As of 24 August 2023 14 Rank Team Points 36 nbsp West Ham United 50 000 37 nbsp Milan 50 000 38 nbsp AZ 47 500 39 nbsp Rennes 44 000 40 nbsp Braga 44 000Domestic results editBelow is a table with AZ s domestic results since the introduction of professional football in 1956 Domestic Results since 1956 Domestic league League result Qualification to KNVB Cup season Cup result 1956 57 Eerste Divisie as Alkmaar 54 2nd group A 1956 57 Third round citation needed 1957 58 Eerste Divisie as Alkmaar 54 9th group A 1957 58 Third round citation needed 1958 59 Eerste Divisie as Alkmaar 54 4th group A 1958 59 Third round citation needed 1959 60 Eerste Divisie as Alkmaar 54 1st group B Eredivisie promotion not held not held 1960 61 Eredivisie as Alkmaar 54 17th Eerste Divisie relegation 1960 61 First round citation needed 1961 62 Eerste Divisie as Alkmaar 54 12th group A Tweede Divisie relegation 1961 62 Second round citation needed 1962 63 Tweede Divisie as Alkmaar 54 4th group A 1962 63 Semi finals citation needed 1963 64 Tweede Divisie as Alkmaar 54 1st group A 2nd overall losing play off Eerste Divisie winning promotion tournament 1963 64 First round citation needed 1964 65 Eerste Divisie as Alkmaar 54 1964 65 Tweede Divisie as FC Zaanstreek 11th 6th group A 1964 65 First round citation needed First round citation needed 1965 66 Eerste Divisie as Alkmaar 54 1965 66 Tweede Divisie as FC Zaanstreek 4th 3rd group A Eerste Divisie promotion 1965 66 Group stage citation needed Group stage citation needed 1966 67 Eerste Divisie as Alkmaar 54 and FC Zaanstreek 12th 7th 1966 67 First round citation needed First round citation needed 1967 68 Eerste Divisie 2nd Eredivisie promotion 1967 68 Group stage citation needed 1968 69 Eredivisie 16th after surviving relegation play offs 1968 69 Second round citation needed 1969 70 Eredivisie 12th 1969 70 Quarter finals citation needed 1970 71 Eredivisie 17th Eerste Divisie relegation 1970 71 Second round 1971 72 Eerste Divisie 2nd Eredivisie promotion 1971 72 First round 1972 73 Eredivisie 15th 1972 73 Semi finals 1973 74 Eredivisie 7th 1973 74 Quarter finals 1974 75 Eredivisie 5th 1974 75 Quarter finals 1975 76 Eredivisie 5th 1975 76 Quarter finals 1976 77 Eredivisie 3rd UEFA Cup 1976 77 Semi finals 1977 78 Eredivisie 3rd Cup Winners Cup 1977 78 Winner 1978 79 Eredivisie 4th 1978 79 Quarter finals 1979 80 Eredivisie 2nd UEFA Cup 1979 80 Quarter finals 1980 81 Eredivisie 1st European Cup 1980 81 Winner 1981 82 Eredivisie 3rd Cup Winners Cup 1981 82 Winner 1982 83 Eredivisie 11th 1982 83 Second round 1983 84 Eredivisie 6th 1983 84 Quarter finals 1984 85 Eredivisie 13th 1984 85 First round 1985 86 Eredivisie 9th 1985 86 Second round 1986 87 Eredivisie 15th 1986 87 Second round 1987 88 Eredivisie 16th Eerste Divisie relegation 1987 88 First round 1988 89 Eerste Divisie 5th 1988 89 Quarter finals 1989 90 Eerste Divisie 12th 1989 90 First round 1990 91 Eerste Divisie 4th promotion relegation play off no promotion 1990 91 First round 1991 92 Eerste Divisie 13th 1991 92 Second round 1992 93 Eerste Divisie 10th 1992 93 Third round 1993 94 Eerste Divisie 3rd promotion relegation play off no promotion 1993 94 Round of 16 1994 95 Eerste Divisie 5th promotion relegation play off no promotion 1994 95 Round of 16 1995 96 Eerste Divisie 1st Eredivisie promotion 1995 96 Round of 16 1996 97 Eredivisie 18th Eerste Divisie relegation 1996 97 Quarter finals 1997 98 Eerste Divisie 1st Eredivisie promotion 1997 98 First round knock out stage 1998 99 Eredivisie 9th 1998 99 Round of 16 1999 2000 Eredivisie 7th 1999 00 Semi finals 2000 01 Eredivisie 13th 2000 01 Quarter finals 2001 02 Eredivisie 10th 2001 02 Second round knock out stage 2002 03 Eredivisie 10th 2002 03 Second round knock out stage 2003 04 Eredivisie 5th UEFA Cup 2003 04 Second round 2004 05 Eredivisie 3rd UEFA Cup 2004 05 Round of 16 2005 06 Eredivisie 2nd UEFA Cup after losing Champions League play offs 2005 06 Semi finals 2006 07 Eredivisie 3rd UEFA Cup after losing Champions League play offs 2006 07 Final 2007 08 Eredivisie 11th 2007 08 Second round 2008 09 Eredivisie 1st Champions League 2008 09 Quarter finals 2009 10 Eredivisie 5th Europa League Q3 2009 10 Round of 16 2010 11 Eredivisie 4th Europa League Q3 2010 11 Round of 16 2011 12 Eredivisie 4th Europa League Q4 2011 12 Semi finals 2012 13 Eredivisie 10th Europa League 2012 13 Winner 2013 14 Eredivisie 8th 2013 14 Semi finals 2014 15 Eredivisie 3rd Europa League Q3 2014 15 Quarter finals 2015 16 Eredivisie 4th Europa League Q3 2015 16 Semi finals 2016 17 Eredivisie 6th 2016 17 Final 2017 18 Eredivisie 3rd Europa League Q3 2017 18 Final 2018 19 Eredivisie 4th Europa League Q2 2018 19 Semi finals 2019 20 Eredivisie 2nd Champions League Q2 2019 20 Quarter finals 2020 21 Eredivisie 3rd Europa League Q4 2020 21 Round of 16 2021 22 Eredivisie 5th Europa Conference League Q2 2021 22 Semi finals 2022 23 Eredivisie 4th Europa Conference League Q3 2022 23 Round of 16Coaches editAlkmaar 54 edit nbsp Gerrit van Wijhe nl 1954 1956 nbsp Kick Smit 1956 1958 nbsp Ludwig Veg nl 1 July 1958 30 June 1960 nbsp Piet de Wolf 1960 1961 nbsp Bonnie Bult nl 1961 1962 nbsp Arie Rentenaar 1962 1963 nbsp Ludwig Veg nl 1 July 1963 30 June 1965 nbsp Barry Hughes 1 July 1965 30 June 1967 KFC FC Zaanstreek edit nbsp Bob Kelly 1955 1956 nbsp Wim Blokland nl 1956 1958 nbsp Klaas Molenaar nl 1958 1960 nbsp Toon Bruins Slot nl 1960 1963 nbsp Joop de Kubber nl 1963 1964 nbsp Piet de Wolf 1964 1965 nbsp Toon van den Enden nl 1965 1966 AZ 67 edit nbsp Lesley Talbot 1 July 1967 30 June 1968 nbsp Wim Blokland nl 1968 1969 nbsp Robert Heinz 1969 1971 nbsp Cor van der Hart 1 July 1971 30 June 1973 nbsp Joop Brand 1 July 1973 30 June 1976 nbsp Hans Kraay Sr 1 July 1976 30 June 1977 nbsp Jan Notermans 1977 nbsp Cor van der Hart 1 July 1977 30 June 1978 nbsp Georg Kessler 1 July 1978 30 June 1982 nbsp Hans Eijkenbroek 1 July 1982 30 June 1983 nbsp Piet de Visser 1 July 1983 30 June 1985 nbsp Joop Brand 1 July 1985 30 June 1986 nbsp Han Berger 1 July 1986 31 December 1986 AZ edit nbsp Hans Eijkenbroek 1987 30 June 1989 nbsp Hans van Doorneveld 1 July 1989 30 June 1990 nbsp Henk Wullems 1 July 1990 30 June 1993 nbsp Piet Schrijvers 1 July 1993 30 June 1994 nbsp Theo Vonk 1 July 1994 28 February 1997 nbsp Hans de Koning interim 28 February 1997 30 June 1997 nbsp Willem van Hanegem 1 July 1997 30 June 1999 nbsp Gerard van der Lem 1 July 1999 30 March 2000 nbsp Henk van Stee 31 March 2000 30 October 2002 nbsp Co Adriaanse 30 October 2002 30 June 2005 nbsp Louis van Gaal 1 July 2005 30 June 2009 nbsp Ronald Koeman 1 July 2009 5 December 2009 nbsp Martin Haar interim 5 December 2009 10 December 2009 nbsp Dick Advocaat 10 December 2009 30 June 2010 nbsp Gertjan Verbeek 1 July 2010 29 September 2013 nbsp Martin Haar interim 29 September 2013 15 October 2013 nbsp Dick Advocaat 15 October 2013 30 June 2014 nbsp Marco van Basten 30 June 2014 16 September 2014 nbsp John van den Brom 29 September 2014 30 June 2019 nbsp Arne Slot 1 July 2019 5 December 2020 nbsp Pascal Jansen 5 December 2020 17 January 2024 nbsp Maarten Martens 17 January 2024 present Notes edit Klaas en Cees Molenaar had been at this match and blamed Ajax late equalizer on a mistake by the referee they claimed they then swore to once become national champion with their team with which they succeeded 47 years later 3 References edit a b AZ Historie De fusie van Alkmaar Zaanstreek in Dutch Archived from the original on 11 December 2021 Alkmaar 54 en Venlo spelen allereerst profduel Archived 26 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine in Dutch Algemeen Dagblad 25 June 2008 Rob Bruins Slot and Dirk Jan Roeleven AZ of hoe maak je een topclub Archived 26 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine VPRO Andere Tijden in Dutch Martin Rep Hoe het profvoetbal verdween uit de Zaanstreek Archived 26 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine in Dutch De Orkaan 10 August 2018 Eredivisie AZ Alkmaar announce surprise sacking of coach Gertjan Verbeek Archived from the original on 22 December 2014 Retrieved 3 August 2014 span, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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