Milos Kerkez, 18 years young, is a symbol for the current state of leader AZ. Or else that is Dani de Wit. Or Tijjani Reijnders. Or Maxim Dekker. Or Hobie Verhulst. It is precisely the cooperation, the fusion of the club’s talent, combined with good purchases, scouting and work ethic.
They would rather not sell anyone to Ajax at AZ, the absolute rival in the Eredivisie on many fronts. But it was unavoidable this summer. Captain Owen Wijndal wanted to go to Amsterdam and Ajax paid the requested ten million euros for him. And while Wijndal was injured and has hardly been of value to Ajax, his successor Milos Kerkez is one of the most striking players in the Eredivisie.
Kerkez, a Hungarian born in Serbia, was taken over from AC Milan youth in January. So the successor of Wijndal, and he is doing fantastic. He races along the sidelines, defends and attacks, provides crosses and smart passes, and he deftly scored against FC Groningen, the decisive 1-3, after a wonderful combination with Reijnders and Riechedly Bazoer. After his substitution, shortly before time, he gave his shirt to an overjoyed boy in the stands. Kerkez told the club’s website that he was shaking with excitement and tension just over a week ago before his debut in the Hungarian national team, in Germany. Started and won. Hungary missed the final of the Nations League in the Netherlands due to a defeat at home to Italy. He also appeared at kick-off.
Hard to beat
AZ, which would love to see the term traditional top three expanded to top four, is therefore the provisional number one in the Eredivisie. A hard team to beat. stiff. Good too. One time very offensive, then again everything on the defense, like two weeks ago in the final phase against Ajax. AZ won easily at FC Groningen (1-4) and is the only one in the Eredivisie without defeat, after a draw against FC Twente and NEC. That is quite sensational, although the game is not always good. But the togetherness and the fighting spirit never disappear.
On Saturday in Groningen, the team also had much more to offer than Kerkez. Otherwise there was the brilliant assumption and the immediate passing of the ball by Peer Koopmeiners, Teun’s younger brother who so desperately wants more playing time, on substitute Mayckel Lahdo, another surprising newcomer, a 19-year-old Swede. Lahdo scored.
AZ is famous because of its training, the machine that always produces talent from mostly the North Holland drives. That is the basis of everything. Goalkeeper Hobie Verhulst even comes from a previous era of the school, because he is already 29 and finally a permanent keeper in Alkmaar, now that he is judged better than the Dane Peter Vindahl, because not all purchases are a success at AZ either. And otherwise there is Maxim Dekker, the 18-year-old left-footed central defender, replacing the injured Bruno Martins Indi.
Calm and relaxed
‘Work really hard’, says Pascal Jansen regularly, the trainer who looks so calm and relaxed. Let’s say: attacking midfielder Dani de Wit, one of the most annoying players to have as an opponent, because he goes on indefinitely and can cover 15 kilometers during a duel, although he dropped out with an injury on Saturday. In a typical way for him, he opened the score on Saturday, by sliding in and taking advantage of FC Groningen’s defensive work that amateurs don’t even do.
AZ is not only in the lead, but has also successfully completed three preliminary rounds for the Conference League, and just like last season encountered a group that is not very attractive, with Dnipro, Vaduz and Limassol, next Thursday’s opponent. Those opponents offer AZ the opportunity to live more or less modestly and anonymously. The team is in excellent shape, despite numerous injuries.
Artist Jesper Karlsson, the best last season, only made his first minutes (he scored). The Swede appeared in the base a little earlier than intended, because top scorer Jens Odgaard was ill. And striker Vangelis Pavlidis is also injured. But Jansen never whined and improvised, also because the youth Myron van Brederode offered him an extra option on the left.
Tijjani Reijnders and Jordy Clasie form an excellent block in midfield. Reijnders is a wonderful midfielder, but he will only really break through this season. Strong in passing, good shot, nice style. All in all, AZ can last quite a long time at the top, especially if Ajax and PSV lack inspiration.
Budgets of the top-4:
Ajax 160 million, PSV 85 million, Feyenoord 80 million, AZ 32 million