The departure of coach Pascal Jansen is good for AZ supporters. After a series of disappointing matches, the Alkmaar football club decided today that things could not continue like this. The supporters also let us know that it was enough.
AZ supporter René Stoop is not sad about the departure: “The chemistry between the trainer and the selection seemed to have completely disappeared.” Stoop has been attending AZ matches since ’78. He noticed that there had been dissatisfaction among supporters about Jansen’s performance for quite some time. “And where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
Surprise
Anthony Wijman, supporter and manager of the social media platform AZAlerts, also thinks it is a justified decision, although he did not see it coming just after the winter break. “It is a drastic decision,” he says. “I did not expect that the management would dare to fire Jansen now.”
Supporter Herman Slim has mixed feelings about Jansen’s departure. “The man has done a lot of good for the club,” he explains. “But it just doesn’t work anymore. Then you have to do something else.”
According to the supporters, AZ’s game has been unwatchable for months. “But you cannot put all the blame on Jansen,” explains supporter Wijman. “Technical director Max Huiberts, for example, can also certainly look in the mirror.”
Maarten Martens
With the departure of Jansen, Maarten Martens, trainer of Jong-AZ, is now at the helm of the first team. The three supporters think the appointment of Martens is a good move and hope that their favorite club can make a fresh start. “The former is really a different story than youth,” says Stoop. “He can now prove his worth.”
“What Martens has shown with the youth is already a good sign,” Wijman emphasizes. “I’m certainly looking forward to it.”