![]() ![]() Planned disruptions to develop creative, problem-solving players.Biobanding and contemporary approaches to coaching.Banning tactics until under-16s level, with a focus on holistic development.Integration of physical and technical data, and Billy ‘Moneyball’ Beane’s involvement.Neuroscience technology in player identification and development.Their continued success in developing both teams and individuals - notoriously difficult things to do typically one happens at the expense of the other - are underpinned by a uniquely run academy that uses: Last season, AZ’s kids finished higher than the other three for the first time. ![]() Ajax, Utrecht and PSV also have Jong sides in this division. Jong AZ, their reserve team, which is made up of under-21 players, play in the Dutch second tier, the Eerste Divisie. It is their best start to the season since 1980-81, and comes after the summer sales of several key players - central midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, left-back Milos Kerkez and centre-back Pantelis Chatzidiakos, who all spent time in AZ’s academy at some level. This season, after seven Eredivisie games, AZ are unbeaten and second, having outscored opponents 20 goals to three. They were Europa Conference League semi-finalists last season, too, beaten by winners West Ham United in a tie that was in doubt well into added time at the end of the second leg. They have not won the Eredivisie since 2008-09, when Louis van Gaal was head coach, but have finished in the top four in nine of the 14 seasons since. But put those four clubs into their own mini-league from 2018-19, and AZ come out on top for wins and points in matches played among them. Their AFAS Stadium holds 19,400 people - less than half of Ajax’s Johan Cruyff Arena and their budget is a fraction of what Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven have to spend. “It is really exciting to see how much we can achieve with players of our academy,” Brandenburg also said.ĪZ continue to vindicate Brandenburg and top some of Europe’s biggest clubs for talent identification and development, even though they are on Amsterdam-based Ajax’s doorstep, with Alkmaar located just 40 kilometres (25 miles) to the north. The clubs had identical records - 18 wins, two draws and five losses - when the pandemic hit that March, with the Dutch football season subsequently abandoned and voided the following month with no champions crowned and no relegations. He was not speaking there about their ‘class of 2023’ but AZ’s first team, who were pushing Ajax for the Eredivisie title in the early spring of 2020. When we see talent, we are convinced that our programme will make sure that the talents will arise”. Paul Brandenburg, AZ’s academy director, told Sky Sports that “each generation is different, it is all about the talent and the individual. Their 12-0 defeat of Lithuanian visitors Klaipedos on Tuesday is the biggest win in the competition’s history. AZ lost on penalties after a 1-1 draw in front of a crowd of over 37,000 with seven of their starting XI having played in that final against Hajduk.Īnd now, AZ’s next generation of academy talent have begun the defence of their Youth League crown in dominant fashion.
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