2015–16 AZ Alkmaar season

AZ Alkmaar
Full name Alkmaar Zaanstreek
2015–16 AZ Alkmaar season
2015/16 season
Chairman René Neelissen
Manager John van den Brom
Ground AFAS Stadion
Eredivisie 4th
KNVB Beker Semi-final
Europa League Group stage
Home colours

During the 2015–16 season AZ will compete in the Eredivisie for the 18th consecutive season the KNVB Beker and the Europa League after qualifying for the 3rd qualification round due to finishing 3rd the previous season.

Background

European football returns after a one-year hiatus. John van den Brom finished third last season with Marco van Basten his assistant. Several key players moved elsewhere including captain Nemanja Gudelj and fan favourite Simon Poulsen.

Several youth players have been promoted to the first team the same year the club won the Rinus Michels award for best youth academy and youth development programme in the Netherlands, beating Feyenoord who won this award each of the five preceding years.

Transfers

Arrivals

  • The following players moved to AZ.
Name Position Previous club Fee Date
Netherlands Joris van OvereemCMNetherlands DordrechtReturn from loanJune 2015
Netherlands Fernando LewisLWNetherlands DordrechtReturn from loanJune 2015
Netherlands Raymond GyasiRWNetherlands Roda JCReturn from loanJune 2015
Sweden Denni AvdicSTNetherlands HeraclesReturn from loanJune 2015
Australia Eli BabaljSTNetherlands PECReturn from loanJune 2015
Belgium Jonas HeymansLBNetherlands Willem IIReturn from loanJune 2015
Netherlands Jop van der LindenLBNetherlands Go Ahead EaglesFreeJune 2015
Netherlands Gino CoutinhoGKNetherlands Excelsior RotterdamFreeJune 2015
Trinidad and Tobago Levi GarciaFWTrinidad and Tobago Central FCUndisclosedJune 2015
Netherlands Vincent JanssenCFNetherlands Almere City€100,000June 2015
Iran Alireza JahanbakhshFWNetherlands N.E.C.UndisclosedAugust 2015
Serbia Rajko BrežančićLBSerbia FK ČukaričkiUndisclosedAugust 2015

Departures

  • The following players moved from AZ.
Name Position New club Fee Date
Serbia Nemanja GudeljCMNetherlandsAjax€6 millionJune 2015
Netherlands Wesley HoedtCBItalyLazioCompensationJune 2015
Denmark Simon PoulsenLBNetherlandsPSVFreeJune 2015
Costa Rica Esteban AlvaradoGKUnattachedFreeJune 2015
Belgium Yves de WinterGKBelgiumSint-Truidense V.V.FreeJune 2015
Netherlands Steven BerghuisFWEnglandWatford F.C.undisclosedJuly 2015
United States Aron JóhannssonSTGermanyWerder Bremen€5 millionAugust 2015

Loans

  • The following players moved to new clubs whilst under contract at AZ.
Name Position New club Loan period
AustraliaEli Babalj CF AustraliaAdelaide United 30/06/2017

Pre-season friendlies

The first training session for the new season began on 28 June. Friendlies were arranged with smaller teams in the Netherlands as well as two additional friendlies against foreign teams touring the Netherlands. A training camp is also arranged the week before competitive football in the Europa League by 30 July.

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank Player (pen.)
1. Netherlands Janssen 10
2= Netherlands van Overeem
Netherlands Luckassen		 3
=4. Netherlands Lewis
Netherlands Helmer
Netherlands Mühren		 2
=7. Netherlands Gyasi
Netherlands Dos Santos
Norway Henriksen
Netherlands Van der Linden
Netherlands Gouweleeuw		 1
1
1
0(1)
0(1)
Total
Total inc. pen.		 25 (2)
27

Goals conceded

Against Scorers (pen.)
Netherlands Dirkshorn Regional Selection XI Netherlands De Bruin x2 2
Netherlands AFC '34 Netherlands Inecia 1
Netherlands Fortuna Sittard NA 0
Scotland Dundee United Scotland Spittal 1
Netherlands SC Telstar NA 0
United Arab Emirates Al Wasl NA 0
Total 4

Europa League

AZ qualified for the 3rd qualification round of the Europa League after finishing the league in 3rd position in the previous season. Due to previous runs in the competition the club has a high coefficient and is seeded for the draw meaning a favourable draw against weaker opposition is likely. The first game is scheduled for 30 July with the return leg on 6 August.

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank Player (pen.)
=1. Netherlands Janssen
Netherlands Van der Linden		 1
0(1)
Total
Total inc. pen.		 1 (1)
2

Goals conceded

Against Scorers (pen.)
Turkeyİstanbul Başakşehir
Total
Total inc. pen.

Eredivisie

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank Player (pen.)
1.
Total

Goals conceded

Against Scorers (pen.)

Total

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
2 Ajax 34 25 7 2 81 21 +60 82 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
3 Feyenoord 34 19 6 9 62 40 +22 63 Qualification for the Europa League group stage[lower-alpha 1]
4 AZ 34 18 5 11 70 53 +17 59 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round
5 Utrecht 34 15 8 11 57 48 +9 53 Qualification for the European competition play-offs[lower-alpha 2]
6 Heracles Almelo (O) 34 14 9 11 47 49 −2 51
Source: Eredivisie, NUsport, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored; 7) Play-off (only if deciding champion, European competitions, or relegation); 8) Draw.[1]
(O) Play-off winner.
Notes:
  1. ↑ Feyenoord qualified for the Europa League group stage by winning the 2015–16 KNVB Cup.
  2. ↑ Four teams played for one spot in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.

KNVB Beker

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank Player (pen.)
1.
Total

Goals conceded

Against Scorers (pen.)

Total

Squad Performance

Player League starts (pen.) Cup starts (pen.) European starts (pen.)
Goalkeepers
01.UruguaySergio Rochet 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16.NetherlandsGino Coutinho 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25.NetherlandsNick Olij 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Defenders
02.SwedenMattias Johansson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
03.NetherlandsJeffrey Gouweleeuw 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
04.BelgiumJan Wuytens 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
05.SerbiaRajko Brežančić 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14.NetherlandsJop van der Linden 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15.NetherlandsDonny Gorter 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17.NetherlandsDjavan Anderson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23.NetherlandsDerrick Luckassen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24.NetherlandsRidgeciano Haps 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
33.GreecePantelis Hatzidiakos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
34.NetherlandsJoris Kramer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Midfielders
06.ParaguayCelso Ortiz 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
08.NetherlandsJoris van Overeem 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10.NorwayMarkus Henriksen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
19.NetherlandsDabney dos Santos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20.NetherlandsThom Haye 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
26.NetherlandsStijn Spierings 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
36.IcelandAlexander Sigurdarson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
38.NetherlandsThomas Ouwejan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
40.NetherlandsJeremy Helmer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Attackers
07.NetherlandsGuus Hupperts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
09.IranAlireza Jahanbakhsh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11.SwedenMuamer Tankovic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12.NetherlandsVincent Janssen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21.NetherlandsRobert Mühren 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
22.NetherlandsAchille Vaarnold 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
27.NetherlandsRaymond Gyasi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
28.Trinidad and TobagoLevi Garcia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
29.NetherlandsFernando Lewis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

International Appearances

The following first team players either played or were involved for their respective national teams during the season:

Toulon Tournament

Three players were involved in this invitational tournament for youth teams throughout the world and all played for the Netherlands under 21s or Jong Oranje. The Netherlands team failed to progress from the group stages after two wins and two draws; France and The United States of America progressed from group A.

Date National Team Player Opposition Appearances Goals Result
27 May 2015NetherlandsU213.Derrick LuckassenCosta RicaU2310U21Netherlands 3-2 Costa RicaU23
8.Thom Haye10
10.Joris van Overeem10
29 May 201510.Joris van OvereemUnited StatesU2310U21Netherlands 1-3 United StatesU23
31 May 20153.Derrick LuckassenQatarU2310U21Netherlands 5-1 QatarU23
8.Thom Haye10
4 June 20153.Derrick LuckassenFranceU2110U21Netherlands 0-4 FranceU21
8.Thom Haye10
10.Joris van Overeem10

Gold Cup

Aron Jóhannsson is the only internationalist from the CONCACAF association eligible to play in this tournament.

Date National Team Player Opposition Appearances Goals Result
8 July 2015United States9.Aron JóhannssonHonduras00United States 2-1 Honduras
11 July 20159.Aron JóhannssonHaiti10United States 1-0 Haiti
14 July 20159.Aron JóhannssonPanama--Panama x-x United States

EURO 2016 Qualification

Date National Team Player Opposition Appearances Goals Result
12 June 2015Netherlands17.Steven BerghuisLatvia00Latvia 0-2 Netherlands

Friendlies

Date National Team Player Opposition Appearances Goals Result
5 June 2015United States9.Aron JóhannssonNetherlands10Netherlands 3-4 United States
5 June 2015Netherlands17.Steven BerghuisUnited States00Netherlands 3-4 United States
10 June 2015United States9.Aron JóhannssonGermany10Germany 1-2 United States
4 July 2015United States9.Aron JóhannssonGuatemala00United States 4-0 Guatemala

UEFA Ranking

After the 2014-15 season where AZ did not compete in European competitions the club fell 8 places to 44th.

This places the club in third place overall in domestic terms: Ajax (26) lead PSV (30) following AZ (44), FC Twente (45) and Feyenoord (95).

RankCountryTeamPoints
42EnglandLiverpool47.078
43UkraineMetalist Kharkiv47.033
44NetherlandsAZ45.612
45NetherlandsTwente43.695
46ItalyRoma43.602
As of 28/05/2015[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Reglementen betaald voetbal Seizoen 2015/'16" [Regulations professional football 2015–16 season] (pdf) (in Dutch). Royal Dutch Football Association. p. 44. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  2. ↑ http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/club/index.html
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