2015–16 AZ Alkmaar season

AZ Alkmaar

Full name	Alkmaar Zaanstreek

AZ Alkmaar

2015/16 season
Chairman	René Neelissen
Manager	John van den Brom
Ground	AFAS Stadion
Eredivisie	4th
KNVB Cup	Semi-final
Europa League	Group stage
Home colours

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

Background

European football returned 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 were 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
	Joris van Overeem	CM	Dordrecht	Return from loan	June 2015
	Fernando Lewis	LW	Dordrecht	Return from loan	June 2015
	Raymond Gyasi	RW	Roda JC	Return from loan	June 2015
	Denni Avdic	ST	Heracles	Return from loan	June 2015
	Eli Babalj	ST	PEC	Return from loan	June 2015
	Jonas Heymans	LB	Willem II	Return from loan	June 2015
	Jop van der Linden	LB	Go Ahead Eagles	Free	June 2015
	Gino Coutinho	GK	Excelsior Rotterdam	Free	June 2015
	Levi Garcia	FW	Central FC	Undisclosed	June 2015
	Vincent Janssen	CF	Almere City	€100,000	June 2015
	Alireza Jahanbakhsh	FW	N.E.C.	Undisclosed	August 2015
	Rajko Brežančić	LB	FK Čukarički	Undisclosed	August 2015

Departures

• The following players moved from AZ.

	Name	Position	New club	Fee	Date
	Nemanja Gudelj	CM	Ajax	€6 million	June 2015
	Wesley Hoedt	CB	Lazio	Compensation	June 2015
	Simon Poulsen	LB	PSV	Free	June 2015
	Esteban Alvarado	GK	Unattached	Free	June 2015
	Yves de Winter	GK	Sint-Truidense V.V.	Free	June 2015
	Steven Berghuis	FW	Watford F.C.	undisclosed	July 2015
	Aron Jóhannsson	ST	Werder Bremen	€5 million	August 2015

Loans

• The following players moved to new clubs whilst under contract at AZ.

	Name	Position	New club	Loan period
	Eli Babalj	CF	Adelaide 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 was also arranged the week before competitive football in the Europa League by 30 July.

Dirkshorn Regional Selection XI v AZ

4 July 2015	Dirkshorn Regional Selection XI	2-7	AZ	Dirkshorn
	De Bruin 26' De Bruin 44'		van Overeem 32' Janssen 54' Janssen 74' Gyasi 81' Janssen 86' Lewis 87' Lewis 90+1'	Stadium: Sportcomplex De Veersloot Referee: Luca Cantineau

AFC '34 v AZ

8 July 2015	AFC '34	1-8	AZ	Robonsbosweg, Alkmaar
	Inecia 45'		Janssen 5' Janssen 19' van Overeem 22' Janssen 27' Van der Linden 38'(pen.) Mühren 46' Helmer 78' Helmer 88'	Stadium: Gemeentelijk Sportpark Referee: Sander Brito de Roque

Fortuna Sittard v AZ

11 July 2015	Fortuna Sittard	0-5	AZ	Sittard
			Janssen 35' Dos Santos 44' Janssen 52' Van Overeem 55' Luckassen 79'	Stadium: Offermans Joosten Stadion Referee: Jeroen Sanders

AZ v Dundee United

14 July 2015	AZ	3-1	Dundee United	Dirkshorn
	Henriksen 21' Luckassen 56' Gouweleeuw 78'(pen.)		Spittal 28'	Stadium: Sportpark Veersloot Referee: Danny Makkelie

AZ v SC Telstar

18 July 2015	AZ	3-0	SC Telstar	Alkmaar
	Janssen 24' Luckassen 50' Janssen 66'			Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Martin van den Kerkhof

AZ v Al Wasl

24 July 2015	AZ	1-0	Al Wasl	Putten
	Mühren 75'			Stadium: Sportpark Puttereng Referee: Steven van der Vrande

Statistics

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

Goals conceded Against Scorers (pen.) Dirkshorn Regional Selection XI De Bruin x2 2 AFC '34 Inecia 1 Fortuna Sittard NA 0 Dundee United Spittal 1 SC Telstar NA 0 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 had a high coefficient and was seeded for the draw meaning a favourable draw against weaker opposition was likely. The first game was scheduled for 30 July with the return leg on 6 August.

AZ v İstanbul Başakşehir

30 July 2015 Europa League Third Qualifying Round, First Leg	AZ	2-0	İstanbul Başakşehir	Alkmaar
	Van der Linden 17'(pen.) Janssen 63'		Babacan (GK)	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Attendance: 11,723 Referee: Kevin Clancy

İstanbul Başakşehir v AZ

6 August 2015 Europa League Third Qualifying Round, Second Leg	İstanbul Başakşehir	1 - 2 (1 - 4 agg.)	AZ	Başakşehir, Istanbul
	Doka Madureira 45' Gençer Cansev  74'	Summary	Henriksen 21' Johansson  74' van Overeem 75'	Stadium: Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium Attendance: 5,289 Referee: Carlos Clos Gómez

Astra Giurgiu v AZ

20 August 2015 Europa League Play off, First Leg	Astra Giurgiu	3 - 2	AZ	Giurgiu
	Fernando Boldrin 25' Oros  30' Alibec 41' Dandea 45+3' Enache  52' Pedro Queirós  72'	Summary	van Overeem  9' Henriksen 11'  22' Janssen 13' Luckassen  40' Johansson  73'	Stadium: Stadionul Marin Anastasovici Attendance: 3,712 Referee: Slavko Vinčić

Statistics

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

Goals conceded Against Scorers (pen.) İstanbul Başakşehir Total Total inc. pen.

Eredivisie

AZ v Ajax

9 August 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 1	AZ	v	Ajax	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

Excelsior v AZ

15 August 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 2	Excelsior	v	AZ	Rotterdam
				Stadium: Stadion Woudestein

AZ v Willem II

15 August 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 3	AZ	v	Willem II	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

AZ v Roda JC

30 August 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 4	AZ	v	Roda JC	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

De Graafschap v AZ

12 September 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 5	De Graafschap	v	AZ	Doetinchem
				Stadium: De Vijverberg

Groningen v AZ

20 September 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 6	Groningen	v	AZ	Groningen
				Stadium: Euroborg

AZ v Heracles

26 September 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 7	AZ	v	Heracles	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

AZ v Twente

4 October 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 8	AZ	v	Twente	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

Cambuur v AZ

4 October 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 9	Cambuur	v	AZ	Leeuwarden
				Stadium: Cambuur Stadion

Feyenoord v AZ

25 October 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 10	Feyenoord	v	AZ	Rotterdam
				Stadium: De Kuip

AZ v NEC

1 November 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 11	AZ	v	NEC	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

Vitesse v AZ

8 November 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 12	Vitesse	v	AZ	Arnhem
				Stadium: GelreDome

AZ v Heerenveen

21 November 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 13	AZ	v	Heerenveen	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

PSV v AZ

29 November 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 14	PSV	v	AZ	Eindhoven
				Stadium: Philips Stadion

AZ v ADO

4 December 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 15	AZ	v	ADO	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

PEC v AZ

13 December 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 16	PEC	v	AZ	Zwolle
				Stadium: IJsseldelta Stadion

AZ v Utrecht

19 December 2015 Eredivisie Matchday 17	AZ	v	Utrecht	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

Winter Break v 22 December 2015 - 14 January 2016

Winter Break

v

22 December 2015 - 14 January 2016

Roda JC v AZ

16 January 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 18	Roda JC	v	AZ	Kerkrade
				Stadium: Parkstad Limburg Stadion

AZ v Feyenoord

24 January 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 19	AZ	v	Feyenoord	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

AZ v Cambuur

27 January 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 20	AZ	v	Cambuur	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

NEC v AZ

30 January 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 21	NEC	v	AZ	Nijmegen
				Stadium: Goffertstadion

AZ v Vitesse

6 February 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 22	AZ	v	Vitesse	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

Heracles v AZ

13 February 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 23	Heracles	v	AZ	Almelo
				Stadium: Polman Stadion

AZ v Groningen

20 February 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 24	AZ	v	Groningen	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

Ajax v AZ

28 February 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 25	Ajax	v	AZ	Amsterdam
				Stadium: Amsterdam ArenA

AZ v Excelsior

5 March 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 26	AZ	v	Excelsior	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

Willem II v AZ

12 March 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 27	Willem II	v	AZ	Limburg
				Stadium: Koning Willem II Stadion

Twente v AZ

20 March 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 28	Twente	v	AZ	Enschede
				Stadium: De Grolsch Veste

AZ v PSV

2 April 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 29	AZ	v	PSV	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

Heerenveen v AZ

10 April 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 30	Heerenveen	v	AZ	Heerenveen
				Stadium: Abe Lenstra Stadion

AZ v PEC

16 April 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 31	AZ	v	PEC	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

ADO v AZ

20 April 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 32	ADO	v	AZ	The Hague
				Stadium: Kyocera Stadion

AZ v De Graafschap

1 May 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 33	AZ	v	De Graafschap	Alkmaar
				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

Utrecht v AZ

8 May 2016 Eredivisie Matchday 34	Utrecht	v	AZ	Rotterdam
				Stadium: Stadion Galgenwaard

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
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
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.
(O) Play-off winners
Notes:

KNVB Cup

AZ v VVV-Venlo

23 September 2015 Second round	AZ	6–1	VVV-Venlo	Alkmaar
	van der Linden 8' (pen.) Tanković 37' 82' Mühren 70' Henriksen 78' 80'	Summary	Kristiaan Haagen  7' Kruijsen  13' Fleuren  48' van Crooy 69'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Attendance: 7,188 Referee: Richard Liesveld

Telstar v AZ

29 October 2015 Third round	Telstar	0–1	AZ	Velsen
	Zonneveld  78' Serrarens  83' van Berkel  85'	Summary	van Overeem 68' Haye  83' Ortiz  90'	Stadium: Telstar Stadion Attendance: 3,200 Referee: Dennis Higler

Kozakken Boys v AZ

16 December 2015 Round of 16	Kozakken Boys	1–3	AZ	Werkendam
	Jesper Hogedoorn  39' Tecleab  58' Grot  67' Bryan Jongeneel 72' Quentin Jacoba  83'	Summary	Gouweleeuw 41' (pen.) 83' (pen.) Luckassen  67' Haye  73' Mühren 88'	Stadium: Sportpark De Zwaaier Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Siemen Mulder

AZ v HHC Hardenberg

2 February 2016 Quarter-finals	AZ	1–0	HHC Hardenberg	Alkmaar
	Janssen 8' Garcia  59' Henriksen  82'	Summary	Koos Werkman  40' Stijn Pol  86'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Attendance: 7,623 Referee: Pol van Boekel

Feyenoord v AZ

3 March 2016 Semi-finals	Feyenoord	3–1	AZ	Rotterdam
	Henriksen 15' (o.g.) Toornstra  58' Kramer 78' Kuyt 85' (pen.) Elia  86'	Summary	Luckassen  1' Henriksen 46' van Overeem  89'	Stadium: De Kuip Attendance: 47,500 Referee: Danny Makkelie

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.Sergio Rochet	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16.Gino Coutinho	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
25.Nick Olij	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
02.Mattias Johansson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
03.Jeffrey Gouweleeuw	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
04.Jan Wuytens	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
05.Rajko Brežančić	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14.Jop van der Linden	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15.Donny Gorter	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
17.Djavan Anderson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
23.Derrick Luckassen	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
24.Ridgeciano Haps	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33.Pantelis Hatzidiakos	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
34.Joris Kramer	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Midfielders
06.Celso Ortiz	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
08.Joris van Overeem	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10.Markus Henriksen	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19.Dabney dos Santos	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20.Thom Haye	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26.Stijn Spierings	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
36.Alexander Sigurdarson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
38.Thomas Ouwejan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
40.Jeremy Helmer	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Attackers
07.Guus Hupperts	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
09.Alireza Jahanbakhsh	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11.Muamer Tankovic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12.Vincent Janssen	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21.Robert Mühren	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
22.Achille Vaarnold	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27.Raymond Gyasi	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
28.Levi Garcia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
29.Fernando 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 2015	U21	3.Derrick Luckassen	U23	1	0	U21 3-2 U23
		8.Thom Haye		1	0
		10.Joris van Overeem		1	0
29 May 2015		10.Joris van Overeem	U23	1	0	U21 1-3 U23
31 May 2015		3.Derrick Luckassen	U23	1	0	U21 5-1 U23
		8.Thom Haye		1	0
4 June 2015		3.Derrick Luckassen	U21	1	0	U21 0-4 U21
		8.Thom Haye		1	0
		10.Joris van Overeem		1	0

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 2015		9.Aron Jóhannsson		0	0	2-1
11 July 2015		9.Aron Jóhannsson		1	0	1-0
14 July 2015		9.Aron Jóhannsson		-	-	x-x

EURO 2016 Qualification

Date	National Team	Player	Opposition	Appearances	Goals	Result
12 June 2015		17.Steven Berghuis		0	0	0-2

Friendlies

Date	National Team	Player	Opposition	Appearances	Goals	Result
5 June 2015		9.Aron Jóhannsson		1	0	3-4
5 June 2015		17.Steven Berghuis		0	0	3-4
10 June 2015		9.Aron Jóhannsson		1	0	1-2
4 July 2015		9.Aron Jóhannsson		0	0	4-0

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).

Rank	Country	Team	Points
42		Liverpool	47.078
43		Metalist Kharkiv	47.033
44		AZ	45.612
45		Twente	43.695
46		Roma	43.602

As of 28/05/2015