AZ Alkmaar
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2013) |
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| Full name | Alkmaar Zaanstreek | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Cheeseheads | |||
| Short name | AZ | |||
| Founded | 10 May 1967 | |||
| Ground | AFAS Stadion | |||
| Capacity | 17,023 | |||
| Executive director Technical director | Robert Eenhoorn Max Huiberts | |||
| Chairman | René Neelissen | |||
| Manager | John van den Brom | |||
| League | Eredivisie | |||
| 2015–16 | Eredivisie, 4th | |||
| Website | http://www.az.nl/ | |||
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Alkmaar Zaanstreek ([ˈɑlkmaːr ˈzaːnstreːk]), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (Dutch pronunciation: [aːˈzɛt]), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaanstreek. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and hosts home games at the AFAS Stadion.
AZ has won the Eredivisie twice, 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. In addition, the team has won the KNVB Cup on four occasions.
History
1954–1972: Foundation and first years
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 Cees and Klaas Molenaar, former players 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 this merger failed, they successfully merged KFC (now "FC Zaanstreek") with Alkmaar '54; the team would be based in Alkmaar. Partially through the hiring of expensive foreign players, the new club soon acquired large debts.
1972–1985: The Molenaar years
Fortunately, 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 games for AZ during this period scoring 30 goals from midfield; and Hugo Hovenkamp, who played 239 games in defence for AZ from 1975–83, as well as receiving 31 caps for the Netherlands national team from 1977–83 and playing each game in UEFA Euro 1980 while an AZ player. Additional stars included John Metgod, who spent six years at AZ playing 195 games as a defender, scoring 26 goals including a goal against Ipswich 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 games between 1972 and 1982.
1985–1993: The interim years
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The club deteriorated after Klaas Molenaar left the club in 1985 (Cees died in 1979). AZ were relegated in 1988 from the Eredivisie.
1993–2009: The Scheringa years
The involvement of businessman Dirk Scheringa in the mid-1990s marked the revival of the club as AZ returned to the Eredivisie in 1998.
After a 22-year hiatus from European football, AZ appeared in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup, advancing to the semi-finals. The second leg of the semi-final against Sporting Clube de Portugal had a heart-breaking conclusion when Sporting scored in the 122nd minute (two minutes into stoppage time) to reach an aggregate score of 4–4; Sporting advanced to the final via the away goals rule. In the same season, AZ finished third in the Eredivisie, thus also qualifying for the subsequent season's UEFA Cup. These were great achievements for the club which does not have a similar sized fanbase relative to Eredivisie and European rivals; AZ's home ground until the 2006–07 season, the Alkmaarderhout, had a capacity of only 8,390.
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 the eventually-relegated, bottom-of-the-table Excelsior, who 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 games for participation in the Champions League. After the season, key players like Tim de Cler, Danny Koevermans and Shota Arveladze left the team.
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 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, however, he withdrew 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 game 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.
Being league champions, AZ qualified for the Champions League for the second time, but only took four points from six matches and finished bottom of their group.
2009–present
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 games. 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 Almelo 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 Hiddinks Anzhi Makhachkala; AZ were 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.[1] 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 game of the season, a club record).
The 2014–15 season began with a new manager, former Heerenveen manager and Ajax great, Marco van Basten.
Current squad
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- As of 6 August 2016
For recent transfers, see List of Dutch football transfers summer 2016
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Jong AZ
Note: Flags indicate national team as 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 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 "n 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. To this day, however, the name maintains a good share of support among the fans.
In order 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 Erp Software took over as official shirt sponsor, also taking over duties as stadium sponsor. The current external name of the ground is the AFAS Stadion.
Honours
Domestic
- Eerste Divisie
- Tweede Divisie
- Runners-up (1): 1963–641
- KNVB Cup
- Johan Cruijff Shield
International
- UEFA Cup
- Amsterdam Tournament:
- Winners (3): 1977, 1979, 1982
- Runners-up (1): 1980
1 As Alkmaar '54
AZ in Europe
Below is a table with AZ's international results in the past seasons.
| AZ in Europe | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 AK (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 (away: 1–1), Larissa (home: 1–0), 1. FC Nürnberg (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);  Aktobe (2–0, 1–2); Group E with  BATE Borisov (3–0, 1–4),  Sheriff Tiraspol (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 | Baumit Jablonec (2–0, 1–1); Aalesund (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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| 2012–13 | Europa League | Play-off round | Anzhi Makhachkala (0–1, 0–5)
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| 2013–14 | Europa League | Quarter-final | Atromitos (3–1, 0–2); Group L with  Maccabi Haifa (1–0, 2–0), PAOK (1–1, 2–2), Shakhter Karagandy (1–1, 1–0), result: group winner; Slovan Liberec (1–1, 1–0); Anzhi Makhachkala (1–0, 0–0); Benfica (0–1, 0–2)[2]
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| 2015–16 | Europa League | Group Stage | İstanbul Başakşehir (2–0, 2–1);  Astra Giurgiu (2–0, 2–3); Group L with  Partizan (1–2, 2–3), Athletic Bilbao (2–1, 2–2), FC Augsburg (0–1, 1–4), result: 4th place in group
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| 2016–17 | Europa League | Giannina (1–0, 2-0); Vojvodina (3-0, 0-0); Group D with Zenit Saint Petersburg (..., ...), Maccabi Tel Aviv (..., ...), Dundalk (..., ...)
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UEFA current ranking
- As of 13/04/2016[3]
| Rank | Country | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | |
Marseille | 46.516 |
| 43 | |
Viktoria Plzeň | 44.986 |
| 44 |  |
AZ | 43.432 |
| 45 | |
Braga | 43.083 |
| 46 | |
Club Brugge | 43.000 |
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 |
| 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 |
Notable (former) players
- For a list of former AZ players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:AZ Alkmaar players.
The players below had senior international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed represented their countries while playing for AZ and its predecessor AZ'67.
Managers
Alkmaar '54
AZ '67
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AZ
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References
External links
