VV Alkmaar is busy with the selection for next season. The Alkmaar club finished penultimate last season and have ambitions to move up the ranks. “We are improving in terms of experience compared to last year, but we remain a training club,” said general manager Patrick Tenthof.
Keepster Femke Liefting extended her expiring contract by one year last week. The talented 17-year-old closing post made her debut last season and became the permanent first choice. “It was not difficult to keep her,” says Tenthof about the goalkeeper who also plays in national youth teams. “We like to work with young talents. Other clubs, where she will go in the future, think she is still too young. In the coming year, clubs will be lining up for that.”
In recent weeks, VV Alkmaar also strengthened itself with Kim Remijnse, Manique de Vette and Amy Banarsie. Remijnse has been taken over from Sparta, De Vette makes the switch from Feyenoord and Surinamese international Banarsie comes from PEC Zwolle. Elanur Polat, Yael Mollink and Renee Zoutewelle will also strengthen the selection of the Alkmaarders. “We are not quite ready yet, because we are looking for two more players. We had to attract a lot of new players, more than we would like. But that sometimes happens when you are a training club.”
training club
With the reinforcements, VV Alkmaar, which finished penultimate last season, has a different composition of the selection compared to last season. The training club, as Tenthof has repeatedly said, has a little more experience in house. “Our goal is to deliver beautiful players to beautiful clubs. Also this year. And we prefer to make some steps in the ranking.”
However, VV Alkmaar saw star player Sanne Koopman leave. The 19-year-old attacker made her Eredivisie debut four years ago and last season was good for ten goals in the shirt of the Alkmaarders. “If you look at it technically, it is a loss, but it is also something beautiful for VV Alkmaar. She has gone through all the teams, became the great lady in the first and now she has been delivered to Feyenoord. We are proud of that.”
Mark de Vries
The collaboration with trainer Mark de Vries was recently extended for a year† The former striker of FC Volendam and SC Cambuur, among others, started his first job as head coach in professional football last year and that pleases both sides. “We have done well against top teams. We have made steps as a team and that is partly due to Mark. So we will definitely continue with him,” said Tenthof.