AZ Alkmaar view on Sunderland with Juventus comparison and dangerman named
The Echo spoke to Football Oranje’s Michael Statham ahead of Sunderland’s Europa League tie with Eredivisie club AZ Alkmaar.
History awaits Sunderland on Wednesday night as they face AZ Alkmaar in their first ever Europa League fixture.
Last season’s outstanding seventh place finish in the Premier League earned the Black Cats a first European campaign since Bob Stokoe’s FA Cup heroes of 1973 faced Hungarian side Vasas and Portuguese giants Sporting CP in the following season’s Cup Winners Cup.
Since a memorable final day win against Chelsea earned a place in the league phase of the Europa League, Sunderland fans have eagerly anticipated their side’s long-awaited return to European competition - and that wait will come to an end when Eredivisie club AZ travel to Wearside. But what do we know about the Dutch outfit? The Echo spoke to Michael Statham from Football Oranje to get the inside track on Wednesday night’s visitors.
How are Sunderland viewed in the Netherlands?
“From the Netherlands, their perspective on Sunderland is that it’s a big club, a big team. The fans will be excited for the trip, it’s a big club to play at and they don’t think this is an easy game at all. They have the view Sunderland is a better team, they have the financial power, the Premier League’s physical power, to get past AZ. Brobbey and Roefs have gone on to bigger and better things from the Dutch League. They’re playing for the Dutch national team now. When Sunderland came out of the hat with AZ, they were looking forward to playing Sunderland and Juventus throughout this league phase and that shows you the respect Dutch football have for a Premier League team.”
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How will AZ approach the game?
What AZ will do is be tight, have defensive moments, they will be able to pass and not necessarily play on the counter-attack, although they can do that, they are quick, they will try and hold on to the ball, they will pass it around and try and create openings. They will try and dominate the ball around Sunderland’s own penalty area and try and find someone out wide or a runner in the box. Those are the ways I think they can hurt Sunderland.”
What are AZ’s aims for the Europa League?
“I think AZ’s run in this season’s Europa League might not be especially long and I’m saying that because the manager seems to have a bit of an eye on the league campaign. He’s sees an opportunity there to do well this season - especially if Feyenoord underperform or if Ajax need longer to build their own campaign. I think it’s a shame because I think AZ could surprise a few in Europe this season. I don’t think they will retain the whole eleven but they might make one or two little changes to the starting eleven. I think they enjoy performing in Europe but they have no concrete ambitions to win the trophy or say get to the quarter or semi-final.”
Has AZ’s start to the season surprised you?
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“AZ typically are just beneath what the top three can do financially. AZ Alkmaar, for a long time in the past, were more of a mid-table team that would occasionally win a prize like the cup. But ever since 2009, they’ve been competing in Europe. Rarely do they miss out in the league stage or group stage of a competition so has it caught me by surprise? They are always a good team - but the start they’ve had, they drew at the weekend, five wins in the first five, was a little bit of a surprise.
“One of the things I can tell you about is the new manager, Lee-Roy Echteld, who came in throughout last season, he won the Dutch Cup with AZ, it was a really successful end to the season, and they then beat PSV four-nil in the Dutch equivalent of the Community Shield, what they achieved in their first five games in the league, was noted that last season they would have dropped points in those games last season. So home games they were expected to win, away games they would have a bit of a rubbish performance, not turning up, actually they have been turning up and home games they’ve been putting teams away comfortably. That was until Friday night, they drew one-one with Willem II, a newly promoted team, and I think that was over-confidence. That said, they could have easily won two or three-nil. On another night, AZ win that one.”
What are AZ’s aims for the season?
“The realistic aims for the season, AZ are typically in the top four of the Eredivisie and they like to take advantage of whenever an Ajax, PSV or Feyenoord are underperforming. They can then make the push for a top three place but finishing fourth or fifth is not a disgrace for AZ, they don’t have the same budget as the top three. It’s the youth academy that is certainly their main asset. I recently published a video about how I think AZ Alkmaar have the best academy in the Netherlands, a bit of a controversial statement I know with Ajax’s academy being so successful in the past, but AZ produce so many young players for the first team. Their aims will be to finish in the top four, qualify for Europe again and two qualify beyond the league phase of the Europa League, whether that’s top eight or 24, fans will be satisfied.”
Who are AZ’s dangermen?
“They have a number of young talents who are about 22 years of age and they were together when AZ won the UEFA Youth League three years ago. They’ve now become first-teamers and aren’t necessarily those young prospects anymore, but they are players that are now first-team regulars. The average age of the team is very low, it is actually 22 and they’re now expected to kick on, score goals, make assists, play pretty much every game. It’s not just one or two players in this bracket, it’s about six or eight players within the starting eleven that are around this age and have these expectations on them. One of the people I’d point out is Ro-Zangelo Gal, who is a left-winger, 22 years of age, one of the youth academy products. He is a winger that could endanger Cody Gakpo’s place in the Netherlands starting eleven if he continues to have a really good season. He has started to have more output in his game and what you’ll notice about Gal is the way he runs on to it and he will wait for a left-back to overlap. He’s really good at taking players on, he will beat them a lot, he will have a dangerous shot, he can bend shots into the far corner or produce a cross. Looks out for those things.
“At the back, they have a couple of young centre-backs who came through the academy, Wouter Goes and Lewis Schouten, they’re a new partnership together in terms of the AZ first-team, but they have historically played together in the youth teams. I find they’re quick strong and you’ll notice this AZ team are fluid on the ball, they’re excellent at passing, they will play through teams, probably more than any other team you’ll play in the Europa League. They are very good on the ball.”