AZ (football club)

Football club infobox
clubname = AZ


fullname = Alkmaar Zaanstreek NV
nickname =
short name = "AZ"
founded = May 10, 1967
ground = DSB Stadion
Alkmaar
capacity = 17,023
chairman = flagicon|Netherlands Dirk Scheringa
manager = flagicon|Netherlands Louis van Gaal
league = Eredivisie
season = 2007-08
position = Eredivisie, 11th
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pattern_la2=_whiteborder|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=_whiteborder| leftarm2=00CCFF|body2=00CCFF|rightarm2=00CCFF|shorts2=00CCFF|socks2=00CCFF

pattern_la3=_goldborder|pattern_b3=|pattern_ra3=_goldborder| leftarm3=000000|body3=000000|rightarm3=000000|shorts3=000000|socks3=000000
website= http://www.az.nl/

AZ, an initialism for "Alkmaar Zaanstreek", is a football club from Alkmaar, the Netherlands. It was founded on May 10, 1967 as AZ '67, the result of a merger of "Alkmaar '54" and "FC Zaanstreek". In the Netherlands the club is known as "AZ", but internationally "Alkmaar" is often added.

Owing to the commitment of businessmen Cees and Klaas Molenaar, AZ '67 was successful in the late seventies and early eighties. In 1981 they became Dutch champions and UEFA Cup finalists. Things went downhill after the Molenaar brothers left the club. In 1988 AZ were relegated from the Eredivisie.

The involvement of businessman Dirk Scheringa in the mid-nineties 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 Dec 20, 2007, when they finally lost to Everton FC of England, by a score of 2-3.

In the summer of 2006, the club moved to a new 17,000 capacity stadium, the DSB Stadion. The club's chairman, Dirk Scheringa, is on record as stating that he wishes to expand the stadium to 40,000 by 2010. [cite web|url=http://www.az.nl/index.php?module=news&articleID=21316 |title="We want to win trophies" |publisher=AZ |date=2007-08-09 |accessdate=2007-09-11]

The club manager is Louis van Gaal, who succeeded Co Adriaanse after the 2004-05 season. In April 2007 Louis van Gaal signed an extension of his contract to 2010, which included clauses related to possible jobs as a national coach in future.

Current squad

[http://www.az.nl/index.php?module=news&articleID=21241]

Out on loan

Reserve squad

Transfers

In:

Out:

Achievements

* Eredivisie
** Winners (1): 1981
** Runners-up (2): 1980, 2006
* Eerste Divisie
** Winners (2): 1996, 1998
* KNVB Cup
** Winners (3): 1978, 1981, 1982
** Runners-up (1): 2007
* UEFA Cup
** Runners-up (1): 1981
** Semifinalists (1): 2005
* Trofeo Santiago Bernabéu
** Runners-up (1): 1981

Notable players

* Kees Kist (1972-1981)
* Kristen Nygaard (1972-1982)
* Jan Peters (1977-1982)
* Hans de Koning (1978-1988)
* Eddy Treijtel (1979-1985)
* Hugo Hovenkamp
* Bert van Marwijk (1975-1979)
* Willem van Hanegem (1976-1979)
* Martin Haar (1983-1986)
* Louis van Gaal (1986-1987))
* Phillip Cocu (1988-1990)
* Sigi Lens
* Fred Patrick
* Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (1990-1993)
* Michael Buskermolen (1990-2006)
* Barry Opdam (1996-2008)
* Barry van Galen (1997-2006)
* John Bosman (1999-2002)
* Jan Kromkamp (2000-2005)
* Kenneth Perez (2000-2006)
* Henk Timmer (2000-2006)
* Ron Vlaar (2002-2006)
* Tim de Cler (2002-2007)
* Denny Landzaat (2003-2006)
* Kiki Musampa
* Kew Jaliens (2004-present)
* Joris Mathijsen (2004-2006)
* Shota Arveladze (2005–2007)

Former managers

*Co Adriaanse
*Hans van Doorneveld
*Hans Eijkenbroek
*Willem van Hanegem
*Hans de Koning
*Gerard van der Lem
*Piet Schrijvers
*Henk van Stee
*Piet de Visser
*Theo Vonk
*Henk Wullems
*Georg Kessler

ee also

*Dutch football league teams

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.az.nl/ AZ.nl - Official website] nl icon / en icon
* [http://www.az.tv/ AZ TV] nl icon
* [http://www.forza-az.nl/ Forza-AZ] nl icon
* [http://www.azfanpage.nl/ AZ Fanpage] nl icon
* [http://www.az-alkmaar.pl/ AZ news & fanpage] pl icon
* [http://www.epitch.co.uk/eredivisie/az-alkmaar/ AZ news at ePitch] en icon
* [http://www.football-lineups.com/games/?campaign=17.108 AZ formations at football-lineups.com] en icon