Football Season Guide

AZ, with coach Arne Slot, had an unforgettable season, undoubtedly their best in the last 10 years in the Eredivisie. In fact, they battled with Ajax for the domestic title right from the start and finished joint leaders of the table together with the Amsterdam side, having defeated them in both clashes, at home and away. However, they did not make the top due to a worse goal difference and all their efforts eventually proved to be in vain as the campaign was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The management obviously saw little point for making too many changes in the squad after such a bright campaign, especially considering that AZ also had the best defence of the league, with just 17 goals conceded. Veteran but injury-prone Wuytens was released and that was the main departure suffered over the summer. He was at the heart of the defence but in the new season he should be replaced by the younger Hatzidiakos, who spent most of the past campaign on the sidelines. None of the other players to have left were really first team material though, with only De Boer playing a couple of games. While they did not release any of their stars, AZ did not invest any money on new signings. In fact, Verhulst aside, who should become the deputy goalkeeper, they only saw a couple of midfielders, Helmer and Reijnders, returning home after being loaned out in the past campaign. If nothing else, AZ will still be able to rely on the exciting trio formed by Stengs, Boatu and Idrissi. Together they scored 32 goals with 21 assists in the past season and they have earned some experience to add to their young age.