The exciting crop of youngsters at AZ Alkmaar outperformed even their loftiest expectations as they usurped the big three to become champions of the Netherlands for the third time in 2027. The challenge now was for Robinho Lazaró and his young squad to build on that success.
AZ moved another step closer to being fully homegrown as centre back Alexandre Penetra joined West Ham for £22m. That left right back Denso Kasius as the only non-academy product at the club, while Penetra was replaced by promising 18-year-olds Franciscus Legrus and holding midfielder Riccardo Kindt. However, worrying news saw 17-year-old starlet Raily Wau decide he wanted to join a stronger squad, but he wouldn’t be allowed to leave for cheap. Then, in January, centre back and captain Wouter Goes got in a strop about a bid from Ajax being rejected and joined Norwich for £18m.
AZ’s Title Defence
AZ came into their title defence as third favourites to win Eredivisie, level at 8/1 with PSV. They began the season with Lazaró’s 200th game at the club and Wau and strike partner Myron van Brederode earned a 2-1 win over Cambuur. And the season generally started brightly with a 2-0 at Feyenoord and 1-0 at home to Ajax their only losses in the first half of the season, largely inspired by the fantastic van Brederode scoring 16 in 11. The striker also scored the only goal at home to Feyenoord in mid-March, preventing the Rotterdam side from winning for just the third time this season.
But that win wasn’t enough to mount a title challenge to Feyenoord, who won 14 out of 16 in the new year. That saw them win the league by 12 points after conceding just 15 times, while AZ dropped to 3rd with a 4-1 thumping at Ajax in the penultimate game of the campaign. They finished on 79 points, 7 fewer than last season, after 25 wins, 4 draws and 5 defeats, and scored 85 and conceded 35.
van Brederode was easily the best player in the league with 27 goals – 10 more than Brian Brobbery – and a 7.57 average rating. That saw him replace Wau as Voetballer van het jaar while the latter won Talent van het jaar with Wessel van Dord in 2nd.
AZ got a challenging set of Champions League fixtures, which began with defeats at Bayern and Dortmund before a rotated side dominated Lyon and won 2-0 through van Brederode and a late Lewis Schouten header. Wau and Ruben van Bommel earned another 2-0 win at Olympiacos before a Jayden Addai brace inspired a 4-2 win at Salzburg. Defeats to PSG and Spurs followed but a 2-1 win over Leipzig saw them sneak into 20th. They avoided some big names in the playoff round and breezed past Wolfsburg 4-1 on aggregate but Tottenham had far too much for them in the last 16, winning by the same scoreline.
AZ Academy Products Update
While there may not be any silverware to show for it, this has been another stellar year for AZ’s academy products. Kasius is the only non-homegrown player at the club so they were edging closer to Lazaró’s aim to create a successful side of players produced through the AZ academy. While Wau defended his NxGn award win, cementing his position as the best young player in the world.
van Brederode led the way with 29 goals and 12 assists followed by Wau (15 goals and 11 assists), van Bommel (14 goals and 6 assists), Jayden Addai (11 goals and 9 assists), Jasper Hartog (9 assists and 5 assists) and Yoël van den Ban (9 goals and 4 assists).
AZ’s young talents again set a new record with players sharing 448 league appearances and 198 cup appearances. They scored 84 goals in the league, 2 more than last season, and 30 in the cups with 56 assists in the league and 18 in the cups. Here’s how the AZ academy stars fared in the first team:
Jong AZ had another solid season, finishing 13th in Keuken Kampioen Divisie led by the performances of midfielders Alhaji Bangura and Tómas Johanneson, who’s racked up 20 caps for Iceland at the age of 20 and is vying for a first-team call-up in the summer. But the under 18s struggled, finishing mid-table in the first phase of their league then getting relegated in the second phase despite striker Jeffrey Potjes scoring 29 in 43. Here’s how the youngsters got on:
Now we’re five years into the save, it feels timely to have a look at the AZ prospects playing regularly in the first team:
Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro: Our mainstay goalkeeper throughout this save, 23-year-old RJOO has racked up 140 league appearances since making his debut in 2022. He’s also won 24 caps for the Netherlands.
Lewis Schouten: The versatile centre back / midfielder has made 159 league appearances for AZ, scoring 23 with 28 assists. But he’s largely used as a ball-playing defender now.
Aad Scholten: Scholten stepped up as a starter when Penetra and Goes departed and has performed well in his first full season. He’s a natural holding midfielder but has done a good job at centre back this season.
Maxim Dekker: Club captain at the age of 24, Dekker has been a mainstay throughout our time at AZ, making 172 league appearances for AZ. Largely used as a centre back in the first few seasons, he’s been used as a inverted full back this season and is a solid performer.
Enoch Mastoras: A largely unheralded member of the side, Mastoras is the rock at the heart of the AZ midfield. He’s largely considered a centre back but has performed admirably in the ball winner role, with a 7.27 average this season, and already has 128 league appearances for the club.
Wessel van Dord: The first member of our in-game youth intakes, WvD has long been linked to a move away from AZ. However, he still has four more years on his contract and only the likes of Celtic and Leicester are interested. He performed really well in all competitions this season and has plenty more potential to fulfil, having played 117 league games by the age of just 19.
Jayden Addai: Rapid winger Addai has proven himself critical over the last three years with more than 15 goal contributions in each. His performances dropped off a little this campaign, but he remains an important first team player.
Ruben van Bommel: RvB became homegrown at the club at the start of last season and is a vital attacking cog as a 6ft 4in winger. He scored 10 league goals this season as his form hit new heights.
Manuel Piqué: Very much one for the future, Piqué has made good progress this season but needs to start delivering goal contributions to earn his place. That said, the winger is only 18 having come through the academy in 2025.
Jasper Hartog: Another unheralded player, Hartog delivered 14 goal contributions this season. Largely a backup wing option, he played in all but one Eredivisie game and performed really well in Europe and cup games. He still has room to grow and is only 22 but already has 87 league appearances for AZ.
Raily Wau: Arguably the best player AZ has ever produced, Wau has won back-to-back NxGn awards and scored twice in 5 caps for the Netherlands. He has already scored 35 in 83 league games and delivered 26 goal contributions in 37 games this season. As a result, he’s wanted by the likes of Real Madrid and Chelsea and seems intent on forcing a move away but is under contract until 2032.
Myron van Brederode: Probably the best player in the Netherlands and now an iconic AZ figure, MvB very much stepped it up this season. He contributed 41 goals in just 40 games and has scored 94 goals in 147 games for AZ. As a result, he is wanted by Chelsea and Spurs, but he is also under contract until 2032. He’s also scored 1 goal in 12 caps for the Netherlands.
Yoël van den Ban: YvdB is an able deputy for Wau and MvB, averaging well over a 7.00 rating and delivering 13 goal contributions this season. His ability has probably levelled out at 2.5 stars, but that’s still considered a good Eredivisie player.
The potential at the club was boosted by a better youth intake. Striker Gery ten Teije and midfielders Patrick Pol and Rence Stronks were the cream of the crop along with wingers Faruk Akyüz and Melvin Nijland and Argentinian full back Federico Gudiño, who looks to be progressing really well.
So things are going well at AZ, especially given we’re down to just one player in the first team not trained at the club’s academy. The next step was for them to bring through a right back capable of usurping Kasius and they could crack on with trying to claim trophies.
Could AZ improve their fortunes and edge closer to Feyenoord next season? Join us next Monday to find out!
Football Manager Addict 
Leave a comment