A history of AZ Alkmaar

Caoimhin Reilly reporting from Alkmaar.

AZ Alkmaar are a member of Dutch football’s hierarchy. Twice champions of the Netherlands, with a history of having top-class managers and a tradition of developing players, AZ are one of the country’s stand-out teams.

The club itself though is relatively new. AZ Alkmaar were formed in on 10 May, 1967, following the merger of Alkmaar ’57 and FC Zaanstreek. Cees and Klaas Molenaar were the majority shareholders of the club in its formative years, indeed, the Molenaar brothers were ambitious football entrepreneurs and signed multiple foreign players in a bid to make the club a success. Instead, AZ ’67, as they were then known as, achieved a high debt bill that the club had to pay off.

The Molenaar’s, former players with KFC (a.k.a. FC Zaanstreek) stepped into save the club in 1972 as it hurtled towards financial meltdown. Using the proceeds of their home appliance business, the brothers poured resources into the club with the clear aim of establishing AZ as Dutch football’s leading light.

Their investments yielded success, although it was the end of the decade before they began to see the fruits of their venture into football ownership. Between 1977 and 1982, AZ enjoyed the most successful period in their existence under the stewardship of German, Georg Kessler, winning three Dutch Cups, qualifying for the 1979 UEFA Cup final (losing to Ipswich Town) before winning their first ever league title in 1981. In the process, AZ had the honour of being the only other team apart from the Dutch big three of PSV, Ajax and Feyenoord, to win the national championship in the 44-year period between 1965-2009.

Throughout the seventies, AZ signed many top players as they attempted to win silverware. Club legends such as Kees Kist (the club’s record goal scorer) and Kristen Nygaard (the person whom the AFAS Stadion’s fanshop is named in honour of) were signed, with Jan Peters, John Metgod and Hugo Hovenkamp also joining the Cheeseheads.

AZ’s resources soon dried up though. Cees Molenaar died in 1979, while Klaus ended his partnership with the North-Western club in 1985. Following three seasons of struggle, AZ were relegated from the Eredivisie. Their top-flight exile would last for an entire decade.

Dutch businessman Dirk Scheringa took control of AZ in the mid-nineties and brought the club back to the top-flight in 1998. As President, he rejuvenated the club’s fan base and he helped attract big players back to the club.

AZ returned to European football in 2004 following a 22-year absence. They reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, exiting to Sporting Lisbon having conceded a 122^nd minute goal to draw the tie level. The Portuguese team advanced on the away-goal rule, 4-4 on aggregate.

Since 2006, AZ have taken their development as a club to a new level. They built their AFAS Stadion in 2006 to host their home games, and in the process, they gave their extremely passionate supporters a modern auditorium to watch their team. The 17,023 capacity stadium is an extraordinary blend of architecture and character, the noise it generates is deafening.

Legendary Dutch figures including Louis Van Gaal, their championship winning manager from 2009, Ronald Koeman, and Marco van Basten have taken charge of the Cheeseheads since the AFAS Stadion has become their home.

Within three years of moving into their new abode, van Gaal led them to the league title, their first Eredivisie triumph in 27 seasons, and also the first time since their previous title winning season that they finished above their fierce rivals, Ajax, in the league table. As a reward, the club named their stadium restaurant after the 65-year-old.

Since then, AZ have established themselves as competitors in the UEFA Europa League. Their sole venture into the Champions League group stages came in the winter of 2009, where they failed to make any impact.

Last season under the stewardship of the demanding John van den Brom, AZ finished a respectable fourth in the Eredivisie. Their star-player, Vincent Janssen also topped the goal scoring charts in the Netherlands with 27 Eredivisie goals.

Janssen has since moved on, however, AZ have begun the 2016/17 season brightly having picked up 10 points from their opening five fixtures. As a result, they sit fourth and open their second European campaign with the visit of Dundalk FC tonight.

In recent weeks, AZ have also opened their new €11 million training complex. The AFAS Trainingscomplex consists of nine pitches, two of which are made up of Astro-Turf. The club use the complex, situated 30 minutes from their home stadium, to train all of their teams from u12 to the first-team, while also sharing it with local lower league teams.

The development of the training ground and the focus on producing youth is meant to last as a legacy at AZ who have reinvested much of the prize money they have won during their recent successful seasons. The club proudly displays a plaque in the interior of their stadium lobby with the names and pictures of every AZ academy member.

Below the plaque reads: “Samen dromen waarmaken.” The slogan translates as “together dreams come true.” I suppose they are right - AZ’s development across their 49-year history is meteoric, almost as extraordinary as the revival efforts mounted by Dundalk FC in recent seasons, it could be heralded as the ‘stuff of dreams’. I suppose tonight’s match will be the perfect way to measure the evolution of both clubs and indeed, how far their dreams can progress.

Caoimhin Reilly is in Alkmaar for Dundalk’s opening Group Stage game so stay tuned to Extratime.ie for much, much more before, during and after Thursday’s game.