AZ Alkmaar: The cheese wheels are rolling

No, injured.

 

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That's funny. From the Italian U19 selection only one is from a non-Italian club

 

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Whoah
Kees Smit should seriously look elsewhere for his next step

 

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AZ has a remarkable coach hiring MO.
Successor in recent changes is the (sort of) second in command!

AZ will continue with Leeroy Echteld as head coach. The 57-year-old from Amsterdam has signed a new contract until mid-2028. Initially, Echteld was appointed on an interim basis in mid-January, as the successor to the fired Maarten Martens. In recent months, he has convinced the club management to choose him in the long term.

The 57-year-old coach moved on in January as the successor to Martens, who had to leave the field after disappointing results. Echteld was still coach of Jong AZ at that time. He also worked at PEC Zwolle, the amateurs of De Treffers and as coach of the second team of Paris Saint-Germain.

 

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Kees Smit not called up for the World Cup praised by UEFA
Kees Smit of AZ has been voted Revelation of the Tournament in the Conference League. UEFA announced this on Thursday afternoon. The midfielder also ended up in the Team of the Tournament. It is a nice tribute for the twenty-year-old player, who recently found out that he will not go to the World Cup with the Orange Squad.

The selection by UEFA will feel like a small plaster on the wound.
The UEFA Technical Observer Group, composed of former football players and former coaches, stated that Smit had a 'clear and measurable impact on AZ's team performance'. He provided five assists in the ten Conference League matches that AZ played. The Alkmaar team came through the competition phase, intermediate round and eighth final, but stranded in the quarterfinals against Shakhtar Donetsk. Smit is also mentioned as 'one of the most promising talents of his generation and a potential future star'. Smit is therefore also in the Team of the Tournament, winner Crystal Palace is the main supplier.

 

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AZ starts the preparation for the new season with a thinned selection. AZ Alkmaar selection will enter the training field for the first time on Monday and will do so without Maxim Dekker, Mayckel Lahdo, Zico Buurmeester, Ibrahim Sadiq and Lequincio Zeefuik. The five have little perspective and may look for a new club.
AZ has a wide selection and wants to continue pruning/selecting this summer. This has consequences for several players.

In the meantime, AZ is in talks with Smit about a longer stay Kees Smit is one of the most talked about players of the summer transfer window, but AZ hopes to be able to admire him for longer. There is a lot of talk about a possible top transfer of the twenty-year-old midfielder. Nevertheless, AZ is in talks with Smit about a longer stay. Smit still has two years in Alkmaar and is linked to numerous European top clubs. At the end of last season, after the cup win with AZ, the midfielder let it be known that he did not rule out staying at AZ for another year. 'Maybe I'll stay at AZ for another year,' Smit said to Rodi Media, a publisher in North Holland.

'Do I have good hope? Hope is not worth much in football', said technical director Niels van Duinen on Wednesday during an introduction to the press. 'Kees has spoken out about this himself and I have read that too. I see that as something positive. We have already spoken to him about this.' 'I think we would all be very happy if Kees can be admired here again next season,' Van Duinen continued. 'We are talking to each other about it. But yes, there is a World Cup going on and the market is not yet underway. We all know what is being said and written, so we have to see how this will develop.'

 

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Maximilian Ibrahimovic, the 19-year-old son of Zlatan, will get the chance to recover from a minor injury at Jong AZ. In time, he should join the reserves team, where he will have the opportunity to develop further. The Alkmaar team reports this on their website.
The attacker has been loaned by AC Milan to the Ajax Reserves for the past six months.
Partly due to an injury, it was only four appearances in our second tier.
Ajax then decided not to activate the option to buy. The plan was to return to AC Milan, but Ibrahimovic will remain in the Netherlands for the time being. At Jong AZ, the Swede gets the chance to rehabilitate from 'a minor injury' and to 'join in the long term'. It is not yet clear when Ibrahimovic will return to the field.

I'm thoroughly opposed to waste development spots on players our clubs don't own by having them under contract.
These loans benefit the rich clubs and block a spot for our own talents.

 

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AZ will keep Bendegúz Kovács longer.
The nineteen-year-old attacker is about to sign an improved contract until mid-2029. With that, the Alkmaar team rewards the stormy development of the Hungarian, who came over from Ajax last year. Kovács started in the Under-19s and scored continuously. In the Youth League, too, the tall striker was hard to stop: in six games he scored no less than nine goals. After the winter break, Kovács got more and more playing time with Jong AZ. He also continued to score his goals in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie. This did not go unnoticed in our own country. Last month, Kovács made his debut for the national team of Hungary. National coach Marco Rossi let him in the friendly matches with Finland and Kazakhstan. This preparation, Kovács gets the chance to prove himself in the first team. Last week, he scored in the friendly match against Zulte Waregem.

Plenty of interest
AZ wanted to keep Kovács longer and made him an improved offer. There was a lot of interest in the Hungarian. Ajax, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund, among others, inquired about his situation. Chelsea had a route via Strasbourg in mind. Kovács' new commitment, which is expected to be announced later this week, runs until mid-2029.
With Troy Parrott, Mexx Meerdink and Jizz Hornkamp, Alkmaar is pressing for the point of attack for the time being. A departure of Parrott could increase Kovács' prospect of playing minutes.