AZ Alkmaar
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| Full name | Alkmaar Zaanstreek | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Cheese Farmers | ||
| Short name | AZ | ||
| Founded | 10 May 1967) | ||
| Ground | AFAS Stadion Alkmaar (capacity: 17,000) |
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| Chairman | René Neelissen | ||
| Manager | Gertjan Verbeek | ||
| League | Eredivisie | ||
| 2011–12 | Eredivisie, 4th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Current seasonAZ (Dutch pronunciation: ), an initialism for Alkmaar Zaanstreek , is an association football club from the city of Alkmaar, Netherlands.
The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest football league in the Netherlands. AZ was founded in 1967 as AZ '67. The name was changed into AZ in July 1986; internationally, the tautology AZ Alkmaar is often used.
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History []
AZ was founded on 10 May 1967 as AZ '67, the result of a merger of Alkmaar '54 and FC Zaanstreek. FC Zaanstreek was formed in 1964, continuing the professional adventure of the Kooger Football Club (KFC). KFC had been founded in 1910, had nearly become National Champion in 1934 through a narrow loss to Ajax in the finals, and had been professional since 1955.
In 1964, the brothers Jos and Klaas Molenaar, former players for KFC and owners of a growing appliance store chain, sought to create a powerful football team in the Zaanstreek by merging the two local professional teams (KFC and ZFC). After this merger failed, they successfully merged KFC (now "FC Zaanstreek") with Alkmaar '54, though the team would be located in Alkmaar. Partially through the hiring of expensive foreign players, the new club soon acquired large debts. Fortunately in 1972 the brothers Molenaar bailed it out and invested heavily in the club, to the point that AZ '67 were successful in the late seventies and early eighties, playing European football in five of the six seasons from 1977 to 1982 and winning the Dutch Cup three times over that period.
After four near-misses, AZ finally became Dutch champions in 1981. They were the only team other than the "big three" (Ajax, Feyenoord, and PSV) to do so in a period stretching from 1965 to 2009, when AZ repeated as champions. They won the 1980–81 season with overwhelming power, winning 27 of 34 matches while losing only one, and scoring 101 goals while allowing only 30. The same season they reached the final of the UEFA Cup, losing 4:5 on aggregate to Ipswich Town. The next year in the UEFA Champions League they lost in the second round 2:3 on aggregate to Liverpool. Georg Keßler was AZ's manager over most of these years (1978–1982), while star players included Kees Kist, Jan Peters, Hugo Hovenkamp, John Metgod and Kristen Nygaard.
Things went downhill after the Molenaar brothers left the club. In 1988, AZ were even relegated from the Eredivisie.
The involvement of businessman Dirk Scheringa in the mid-'90s marked the revival of the club. AZ returned to the Eredivisie in 1998. In 2004–05, they reappeared in the UEFA Cup tournament, advancing to the semi-finals. They also finished third in the Eredivisie that season, again qualifying for the UEFA Cup, after spending most of the season in the top two spots. A remarkable achievement, since AZ is financially not a big club and it does not have a similar fanbase like their Eredivisie rivals: AZ's home ground in the 2005–06 season, the Alkmaarderhout, had a spectator capacity of 8,390.
AZ were undefeated in all 32 of their home matches in European competitions, a sequence which ran from 1977 until 20 December 2007, when they finally lost to Everton of England by a score of 3–2.
In the summer of 2006, the club moved to a new 17,000 capacity stadium AZ Stadion.[1] Club's chairman Dirk Scheringa stated in 2007 that he wished to expand the stadium capacity to 40,000 by 2010.[2] Ultimately, the club began plans to expand the stadium to at least 30,000 seats by 2011–12.
AZ had a very good 2006–07 season, which ended, however, in disaster. Going into the last game of the 2006–07 season, AZ led PSV and Ajax by goal-differential for the Eredivisie championship, but ended up third after losing this last match against bottom-dweller Excelsior, playing with 10 men for 80 minutes. Further setbacks followed when AZ lost the KNVB Cup finals to Ajax, 8–7 in penalty kicks after a drawn game, and also lost to Ajax over two playoff games for the Champions League. After the season, key players like Tim de Cler, Danny Koevermans, and Shota Arveladze left the team.
In the 2007–08 season, AZ performed so badly (first round loss in the KNVB Cup, elimination from the UEFA Cup before winter break and a final 11th position in the Eredivisie), that team manager Louis van Gaal felt obliged to hand in his resignation in March 2008. However, after protests from the players and direction, van Gaal withdrew his resignation to finish his contractual obligations.
The 2008–09 season had an unpromising start with two defeats against NAC Breda and ADO Den Haag. However, starting with a 1–0 victory over defending league champions PSV, the team didn't lose in the next 28 matches, including a stretch of 11 matches in which the opposing teams did not score a single goal. Three weeks before the end of the season, despite their second home defeat of the season (against Vitesse), AZ became Eredivisie champions when nearest rivals Twente and Ajax both lost their matches.[3][4] AZ qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the second time, but only took four points from six matches and finished bottom of their group.
Ronald Koeman, succeeded Louis van Gaal after the 2008–09 season. Van Gaal had already left for Bayern Munich after becoming league champions with AZ. Koeman became the manager for AZ on 17 May 2009.[5] On 5 December 2009 AZ announced that Koeman no longer was in charge of AZ, after losing 7 of the first 16 games in the Dutch competition.[6] Former Zenit St. Petersburg manager Dick Advocaat took over for the rest of the season. Under his lead, some good results were achieved and European football was secured. For the 2010–2011 season, Gertjan Verbeek, coming from Heracles Almelo, will be the new manager.
Satellite clubs []
On 22 May 2009, Dirk Scheringa announced a cooperation with Bayern Munich;[7] the club has first-option rights for the AZ contracted players.[8]
Dutch First Division club Telstar is an official satellite club of AZ. Youth players are stalled at Telstar to gain experience.
Current squad []
- As of 5 June 2012[9]
For recent transfers, see List of Dutch football transfers summer 2012
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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On loan []
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve squad []
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Stadium and sponsor []
AZ play their home games at the AFAS Stadion, located in the southern part of the city of Alkmaar. The stadium, which is owned directly by the club, was inaugurated 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 "n Alkmaar begint de victorie" (Victory begins in Alkmaar) in particular. Until now, this name hasn't 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.
In order to further grow the club's budget, the AZ board of directors has decided to extend the capacity of the new stadium to a minimum of 30,000 seated spectators somewhere in the near future. The extension will be realised to construct 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.
In October 2009 sponsor DSB Bank was declared bankrupt.[10][11][12] 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: construction works service provider BUKO from Beverwijk.[13]
A year later, in the season 2010–11, AFAS Erp Software took over as official shirt sponsor, also taking over duties as stadium sponsor. The current external name of the ground is AFAS Stadion.
Trivia []
As of 2012, AZ is the only club to have beaten Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV away from home in a single Eredivisie season. sc Heerenveen managed to do the same in 2008–09, though their away victory at Feyenoord was a KNVB Cup match (Heerenveen had drawn 2–2 at De Kuip in the Eredivisie match).
Honours []
National []
- Eredivisie
- Eerste Divisie
- Tweede Divisie
- Runners-up (1): 19641
- KNVB Cup
- Johan Cruijff Shield
- Winners (1): 2009
International []
1 As Alkmaar '54
AZ in Europe []
Below is a table with AZ's international results in the past seasons.
| AZ in Europe | ||||
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| Year(s) | Tournament | Result | Opponents (home result, away result) | |
| 1977–78 | UEFA Cup | Second Round |  Red Boys Differdange (11–1, 5–0);  Barcelona (1–1, 1–1p) |
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| 1978–79 | Cup Winners' Cup | First Round |  Ipswich Town (0–0, 0–2) |
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| 1980–81 | UEFA Cup | Final | Red Boys Differdange (6–0, 4–0);  Levski Sofia (5–0, 1–1);  Radnički Niš (5–0, 2–2);  Lokeren (2–0, 0–1);  Sochaux (3–2, 1–1); Ipswich Town (4–2, 0–3) |
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| 1981–82 | European Cup | Round of 16 |  Start (1–0, 3–1); Liverpool (2–2, 2–3) |
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| 1982–83 | Cup Winners' Cup | Round of 16 |  Limerick (1–0, 1–1);  Internazionale (1–0, 0–2) |
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| 2004–05 | UEFA Cup | Semi-final |  PAOK (2–1, 3–2); Group F with Auxerre (home: 2–0),  Amica Wronki (away: 3–1),  Rangers (home: 1–0),  Grazer (away: 0–2), result: group winner;  Alemannia Aachen (2–1, 0–0);  Shakhtar Donetsk (2–1, 3–1); Villarreal (1–1, 2–1);  Sporting CP (3–2aet/a, 1–2) |
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| 2005–06 | UEFA Cup | Round of 32 |  Krylya Sovetov Samara (a3–1, 3–5); Group D with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (away: 2–1), Middlesbrough (home: 0–0), Litex Lovech (away: 2–0),  Grasshopper (home: 1–0), result: group runners-up; Real Betis (2–1aet, 0–2) |
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| 2006–07 | UEFA Cup | Quarter-final |  Kayserispor (3–2, 1–1); Group C with Braga (home: 3–0), Grasshopper (away: 5–2),  Slovan Liberec (home: 2–2), Sevilla (away: 2–1), result: group winner; Fenerbahçe (a2–2, 3–3); Newcastle United (a2–0, 2–4); Werder Bremen (0–0, 1–4) |
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| 2007–08 | UEFA Cup | Group Stage | Paços de Ferreira (0–0, 1–0); Group A with Zenit St. Petersburg (away: 1–1), Larissa (home: 1–0), Nuremberg (away: 1–2), Everton (home: 2–3), result: 4th place in group |
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| 2009–10 | Champions League | Group Stage | Group H with Olympiacos (0–0, 0–1), Standard Liège (1–1, 1–1), Arsenal (1–1, 1–4), result: 4th place in group |
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| 2010–11 | Europa League | Group Stage |  IFK Göteborg (2–0, 0–1);  FC Aktobe (2–0, 1–2); Group E with  BATE (3–0, 1–4),  FC Sheriff (2–1, 1–1), Dynamo Kyiv (1–2, 0–2), result: 3rd place in group |
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| 2011–12 | Europa League | Quarter-final | Jablonec (2–0, 1–1); Aalesunds FK (6–0, 1–2); Group G with Metalist Kharkiv (1–1, 1–1), Austria Wien (2–2, 2–2), Malmö FF (4–1, 0–0), result: group runners-up; Anderlecht (1–0, 1–0); Udinese (2–0, 1–2); Valencia (2–1, 0–4) |
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Domestic results []
Below 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 |
| 2012–13 Eredivisie | Europa League | 2012–13 | winner | |
| 2011–12 Eredivisie | 4th | Europa League (Q4) | 2011–12 | semi-finals |
| 2010–11 Eredivisie | 4th | Europa League (Q3) | 2010–11 | round of 16 |
| 2009–10 Eredivisie | 5th | Europa League (Q3) | 2009–10 | round of 16 |
| 2008–09 Eredivisie | 1st | Champions League | 2008–09 | quarter finals |
| 2007–08 Eredivisie | 11th | – | 2007–08 | second round |
| 2006–07 Eredivisie | 3rd | UEFA Cup (after losing CL play-offs) | 2006–07 | final |
| 2005–06 Eredivisie | 2nd | UEFA Cup (after losing CL play-offs) | 2005–06 | semi-finals |
| 2004–05 Eredivisie | 3rd | UEFA Cup | 2004–05 | round of 16 |
| 2003–04 Eredivisie | 5th | UEFA Cup | 2003–04 | second round |
| 2002–03 Eredivisie | 10th | – | 2002–03 | second round (knock-out stage) |
| 2001–02 Eredivisie | 10th | – | 2001–02 | second round (knock-out stage) |
| 2000–01 Eredivisie | 13th | – | 2000–01 | quarter finals |
| 1999–2000 Eredivisie | 7th | – | 1999–2000 | semi-finals |
| 1998–99 Eredivisie | 9th | – | 1998–99 | round of 16 |
| 1997–98 Eerste Divisie | 1st | Eredivisie (promotion) | 1997–98 | first round (knock-out stage) |
| 1996–97 Eredivisie | 18th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 1996–97 | quarter finals |
| 1995–96 Eerste Divisie | 1st | Eredivisie (promotion) | 1995–96 | round of 16 |
| 1994–95 Eerste Divisie | 5th | promotion/relegation play-off: no promotion | 1994–95 | round of 16 |
| 1993–94 Eerste Divisie | 3rd | promotion/relegation play-off: no promotion | 1993–94 | round of 16 |
| 1992–93 Eerste Divisie | 10th | – | 1992–93 | third round |
| 1991–92 Eerste Divisie | 13th | – | 1991–92 | second round |
| 1990–91 Eerste Divisie | 4th | promotion/relegation play-off: no promotion | 1990–91 | first round |
| 1989–90 Eerste Divisie | 12th | – | 1989–90 | first round |
| 1988–89 Eerste Divisie | 5th | – | 1988–89 | quarter finals |
| 1987–88 Eredivisie | 16th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 1987–88 | first round |
| 1986–87 Eredivisie | 15th | – | 1986–87 | second round |
| 1985–86 Eredivisie | 9th | – | 1985–86 | second round |
| 1984–85 Eredivisie | 13th | – | 1984–85 | first round |
| 1983–84 Eredivisie | 6th | – | 1983–84 | quarter finals |
| 1982–83 Eredivisie | 11th | – | 1982–83 | second round |
| 1981–82 Eredivisie | 3rd | Cup Winners' Cup | 1981–82 | winner |
| 1980–81 Eredivisie | 1st | European Cup | 1980–81 | winner |
| 1979–80 Eredivisie | 2nd | UEFA Cup | 1979–80 | quarter finals |
| 1978–79 Eredivisie | 4th | – | 1978–79 | quarter finals |
| 1977–78 Eredivisie | 3rd | Cup Winners' Cup | 1977–78 | winner |
| 1976–77 Eredivisie | 3rd | UEFA Cup | 1976–77 | semi-finals |
| 1975–76 Eredivisie | 5th | – | 1975–76 | quarter finals |
| 1974–75 Eredivisie | 5th | – | 1974–75 | quarter finals |
| 1973–74 Eredivisie | 7th | – | 1973–74 | quarter finals |
| 1972–73 Eredivisie | 15th | – | 1972–73 | semi-finals |
| 1971–72 Eerste Divisie | 2nd | Eredivisie (promotion) | 1971–72 | first round |
| 1970–71 Eredivisie | 17th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 1970–71 | second round |
| 1969–70 Eredivisie | 12th | – | 1969–70 | quarter finals |
| 1968–69 Eredivisie | 16th | – (after surviving relegation play-offs) | 1968–69 | second round |
| 1967–68 Eerste Divisie | 2nd | Eredivisie (promotion) | 1967–68 | group stage |
| 1966–67 Eerste Divisie (as Alkmaar '54 and FC Zaanstreek) |
12th 7th |
– | 1966–67 | first round first round |
| 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 group stage |
| 1964–65 Eerste Divisie (as Alkmaar '54) 1964–65 Tweede Divisie (as FC Zaanstreek) |
11th 6th (group A) |
– | 1964–65 | first round first round |
| 1963–64 Tweede Divisie (as Alkmaar '54) | 1st (group A); 2nd overall losing play-off | Eerste Divisie (winning promotion tournament) | 1963–64 | first round |
| 1962–63 Tweede Divisie (as Alkmaar '54) | 4th (group A) | – | 1962–63 | semi-finals |
| 1961–62 Eerste Divisie (as Alkmaar '54) | 12th (group A) | Tweede Divisie (relegation) | 1961–62 | ? |
| 1960–61 Eredivisie (as Alkmaar '54) | 17th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 1960–61 | ? |
| 1959–60 Eerste Divisie (as Alkmaar '54) | 1st (group B) | Eredivisie (promotion) | not held | not held |
| 1958–59 Eerste Divisie (as Alkmaar '54) | 4th (group A) | – | 1958–59 | ? |
| 1957–58 Eerste Divisie (as Alkmaar '54) | 9th (group A) | – | 1957–58 | ? |
| 1956–57 Eerste Divisie (as Alkmaar '54) | 2nd (group A) | – | 1956–57 | ? |
Notable players []
- See also Category:AZ Alkmaar players.
Willem van Hanegem, (1976–1979)- Kees Kist, (1972–1982) (1986–1987)
Managers []
Alkmaar '54 []
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AZ '67 []
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AZ []
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See also []
Notes and references []
- ^ http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/StatDoc/competitions/-Publications/01/67/58/96/1675896_DOWNLOAD.pdf
- ^ "We want to win trophies". AZ. 9 August 2007. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 11 September 2007.
- ^ "AZ Alkmaar loses 2–1 to Vitesse in Dutch soccer league Saturday". The Canadian Press. 18 April 2009. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- ^ "AZ Alkmaar wins Dutch First Division soccer title after PSV downs Ajax". The Canadian Press. 19 April 2009. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- ^ "Koeman takes over from Van Gaal at AZ Alkmaar". Reuters. 17 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
- ^ Alkmaar entlässt Koeman
- ^ Bayern mit Vorkaufsrecht auf Alkmaar-Spieler
- ^ FC Bayern hat "Vorkaufsrecht" bei Alkmaar
- ^ "First Team Squad List". AZ. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
- ^ "Court gives Dutch bank DSB last chance to find a buyer"
- ^ "Court declares Dutch bank DSB bankrupt"
- ^ "DSB mother company declared bankrupt"
- ^ "New sponsor for AZ"
External links []
- AZ.nl – Official website (Dutch), (English)
- AZ TV (Dutch)
