60-563: The Eredivisie ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈeːrədiˌvizi] ; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands . The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. As of the 2024–25 season, it is ranked the sixth-best league in Europe by UEFA . The Eredivisie consists of 18 clubs. Each club meets every other club twice during
120-435: A 1–0 victory over defending league champions PSV, AZ did not lose a match in its next 28 matches, including a run of 11-straight matches where AZ did not concede an opposition goal. Three weeks before the end of the season, AZ became Eredivisie champions, edging nearest title rivals Twente and Ajax comfortably. This was a historic achievement for the club as this was the first title-winning season for 28 years, and it also meant
180-510: A defender, scoring 26 goals including a goal against Ipswich Town in the final of the UEFA Cup. Like Hovenkamp, Metgod was also included in the Dutch squad for Euro 1980. Meanwhile, Danish forward Kristen Nygaard spent ten years at AZ, scoring 104 goals in 363 matches between 1972 and 1982. Co-owner Cees Molenaar died in 1979. AZ's fortunes deteriorated after his brother, Klaas Molenaar, left
240-610: A fourth-place finish in the league. Along this rise, new signing Vincent Janssen scored 27 goals for the club, earning him the Eredivisie top goalscorer title. In the 2015–16 KNVB Cup , AZ made it to the semi-finals, losing 3–1 to Feyenoord. AZ won the first two qualification rounds to qualify for the 2015–16 Europa League group stage, but finished last in their group. At the start of the 2016–17 Eredivisie , AZ sold last season's performer Vincent Janssen to Tottenham Hotspur and long-time midfielder Markus Henriksen to Hull City . In
300-714: A historic tradition of aesthetic possession football based around technical ability and attacking flair. They won the European Championship in 1988, and have competed in many European and World Cups. The men's team finished second in the 1974,1978 and 2010 World Cups and third in the UEFA Euro 1976 and 2014 World Cup tournament. They have reached many finals ( 1974 World Cup , 1978 World Cup , Euro 1988 , 2010 World Cup ) and semi-finals ( Euro 1976 , 1998 World Cup , Euro 2000 , Euro 2004 , 2014 World Cup , Euro 2024 ). The women's team also managed to reach
360-736: A long time, but eventually submitted to pressure and merged with the NBVB in November 1954 to form a new football association and a new (professional) league. From 1956, the top flight of Dutch football is the Eredivisie (English: Premier Division , literally Honorary Division ). The second level is the Eerste Divisie (First Division). The third level is the Tweede Divisie (Second Division). Below that are two amateur divisions:
420-630: A poor season, suffering elimination in the first round of the KNVB Cup and the group stage of the UEFA Cup, as well as finishing the 2007–08 Eredivisie in a disappointing 11th place. Towards the latter stages of the season, in March 2008, AZ manager Louis van Gaal had initially tendered his resignation, but after protests the players and directors, he rescinded his resignation. The 2008–09 season had an unpromising start after two opening defeats against NAC Breda and ADO Den Haag . However, starting with
480-564: A return to the UEFA Champions League . Being league champions, AZ qualified for the Champions League for only the second time. It was drawn into a group alongside Arsenal FC , Standard Liège and Olympiacos but only took four points from six matches and finished bottom of their group. For the 2009–10 season, Ronald Koeman succeeded Louis van Gaal, who had departed to manage Bayern Munich after leading AZ to
540-633: A strong start, with a 3–1 extra time come back against Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League qualifiers, the club lost 2–0 to Dynamo Kyiv several weeks later, seeing them fall back into the Europa League . After victory against Napoli and Rijeka early in the pool stages, AZ was on track to advance, though lost to Real Sociedad away, obtained a 0–0 draw in the reverse fixture, and also drew 1–1 with Napoli . Following these results, AZ needed to defeat Rijeka away to advance. However,
600-735: Is a list of AZ players who have competed in international tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup , UEFA European Championship , AFC Asian Cup , Africa Cup of Nations , CONCACAF Gold Cup and the Copa América . To this date no AZ players have participated in the FIFA Confederations Cup or the OFC Nations Cup while playing for AZ Alkmaar. AZ play its home matches at the AFAS Stadion , located in
660-519: The 2010–11 Eredivisie in fourth place, thus securing Europa League football for the next season, while in the KNVB Cup , AZ reached the last eight, where they were beaten by rivals Ajax by a 1–0 scoreline. AZ also finished third in their Europa League group, thus failing to qualifying for the competition's knockout round. In the 2011–12 season, AZ finished fourth in the Eredivisie , though performed significantly better in cup competitions, reaching
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#1732790278436720-514: The 2016–17 Europa League , AZ finished second in Group D, surviving the group stage for the third time in five seasons. After an excellent 2019/20 season in which AZ beat league leaders Ajax home and away, aided by consistent performances from youth academy talents such as Teun Koopmeiners , Myron Boadu , Calvin Stengs and Owen Wijndal , the season was forced to end early due to the effects of
780-529: The Amsterdam Arena pitch in the 36th minute with Ajax winning 1–0, attacking AZ goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado . The fan slipped and Alvarado kicked the fan twice, prompting the referee to issue the goalkeeper a red card. Following this, AZ manager Gertjan Verbeek ordered his players to leave the pitch for the dressing room in protest. The match was later played on 19 January 2012, with Alvarado's red card rescinded; AZ won 3–2. The 2012–13 season started in
840-557: The COVID-19 pandemic. Joint on points with Ajax at the top of the table, AZ were given second place on goal difference, and subsequently earned Qualification to the Champions League second qualifying round . A poor start to their 2020/21 Eredivisie campaign saw AZ draw five games in a row, before eventually picking up a victory against RKC Waalwijk on 1 November 2020. AZ also struggled in European competitions this season. Despite
900-770: The Dutch national team . After the North Sea flood of 1953 , the Dutch players abroad (mainly playing in the French league ) organised a charity match against the France national team in Paris. The match was boycotted by the KNVB, but after the assembled Dutch players defeated the French (2–1), the Dutch public witnessed the heights that could be achieved through professional football. To serve
960-450: The Eerste Divisie . The winner of the Eredivisie claims the Dutch national championship . Ajax have won the most titles with 36. PSV Eindhoven are next with 25, and Feyenoord follow with 16. Since 1965, these three clubs have won all but three Eredivisie titles (the 1981 and 2009 titles went to AZ and Twente won in 2010). Ajax, PSV, and Feyenoord are known as the " Big Three " or "Traditional Top Three" of Dutch football. They are
1020-462: The Eerste Divisie , the reserve squad of AZ trains and plays their home games in Zaanstad . The following players were called up to represent their national teams in international football and received caps during their tenure with AZ Alkmaar: Member associations are listed in order of most to least amount of current and former AZ players represented Internationally The following
1080-426: The Europa League with a qualifying play-off round against Guus Hiddink 's Anzhi Makhachkala . AZ was hammered 6–0 on aggregate. Disappointingly, AZ finished tenth in the 2012–13 Eredivisie , although the club won the 2012–13 KNVB Cup after defeating PSV 2–1 in the final . As cup winners, AZ automatically qualified for the 2013–14 Europa League . In September 2013, just one day after emphatically beating PSV, at
1140-555: The KNVB Cup final to Ajax 8–7 after a penalty shoot-out, while also falling to Ajax over two play-off matches for participation in the Champions League . After the season, key players like Tim de Cler , Danny Koevermans and Shota Arveladze left the team. A remarkable run ended in the 2007–08 season: after AZ lost a group stage match against Everton (3–2) in the UEFA Cup , the club's unbeaten run of 32 home matches in European competitions – lasting from 1977 to 2007 – ended. AZ had
1200-585: The 2010–11 season, AFAS Software [ nl ] took over as official stadium sponsor. The current external name of the ground is the AFAS Stadion. On 10 August 2019, the roof of the stadium partially collapsed. No people were injured during the incident. As the result AZ spent the rest of the year playing home matches at the Cars Jeans Stadion in The Hague whilst the damaged roof
1260-604: The 2018–19 season was 18,010, with Ajax having the largest (52,987) and Excelsior having the smallest (4,223). Ajax's figures however differ from those provided by the Johan Cruyff Arena , since the club counts all tickets sold instead of the number of people going through the turnstiles. The top goalscorer of the league season is awarded the Willy van der Kuijlen Trophy . The following sixteen international tournaments were won by Eredivisie teams: The UEFA Super Cup
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#17327902784361320-530: The DSB bankruptcy and there are no current plans to increase the capacity. In October 2009, sponsor DSB Bank was declared bankrupt. The stadium name temporarily changed from DSB Stadion to AZ Stadion, as it was considered undesirable that the stadium was linked with a non-existent bank. In February 2010, a new main sponsor was found in construction works service provider BUKO, based in Beverwijk . A year later, in
1380-508: The Eredivisie (as Sportclub Enschede ) Founding member of the Eredivisie (as VV DOS and USV Elinkwijk ) Please note that the table below totals all winners of the Dutch top division, which included the Netherlands Football League Championship that preceded the Eredivisie. The Eredivisie was only founded in 1956 so many of these teams did not win the Eredivisie title. As Rapid JC. Since
1440-526: The Europa League play-off final round (their 58th match of the season, a club record). The 2014–15 season began with a new manager, former Heerenveen manager and Ajax great Marco van Basten . However, after just three matches into the season, Van Basten resigned as manager to become assistant manager under Alex Pastoor , citing heavy stress as the main reason. Pastoor was the interim manager during two matches under Van Basten's absence and received
1500-577: The Football Associations of Belgium , Denmark , France , Spain , Sweden , and Switzerland . Professional football was introduced in 1954, with the establishment of the Dutch Professional Football Association ( Nederlandse Beroeps Voetbal Bond , or NBVB). The first professional game was played on 14 August 1954 between Alkmaar '54 and SC Venlo . The KNVB had opposed professional football for
1560-417: The KNVB and the NBVB started their separate competition. The first professional football match was contested between Alkmaar and Venlo . The leagues went on for eleven rounds, before a merger was negotiated between the two federations in November. Both leagues were cancelled and a new, combined competition emerged immediately. De Graafschap , Amsterdam, Alkmaar and Fortuna '54 from the NBVB were accepted to
1620-671: The Molenaars successfully merged FC Zaanstreek with Alkmaar '54 in 1967. FC Zaanstreek had finished 7th and Alkmaar '54 12th in 1966–67 Eerste Divisie . The team would be based in Alkmaar, though the second team originally trained and played in Koog aan de Zaan . Partially through the hiring of expensive foreign players, the new club soon acquired large debts. In 1972, the Molenaar brothers bailed it out and invested heavily in
1680-413: The Netherlands and the late 1890s and early 1900s saw the foundation of many new clubs, notably Sparta Rotterdam in 1888, which is the oldest professional football club in the country, AFC Ajax in 1900, Feyenoord Rotterdam in 1908, and PSV Eindhoven in 1913. The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) was founded on 8 December 1889 and joined FIFA in 1904 as one of the founding members alongside
1740-568: The Netherlands, is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district . The club plays in the Eredivisie , the highest professional football league in the Netherlands. AZ won the Eredivisie in 1980–81 and 2008–09 . In the same season as their first league title, they also reached the UEFA Cup Final , which they lost to Ipswich Town . The team has won the KNVB Cup on four occasions, and one Johan Cruyff Shield . AZ
1800-641: The Netherlands: on 14 August 1954, they won 3–0 at home against Venlo '54, with Klaas Smit scoring the first and third goal. After winning the Eerste Divisie in 1960–61, it played one year in the Eredivisie. FC Zaanstreek had been playing since 1910 as the Kooger Football Club (KFC). KFC had nearly become national champion in 1934 through a narrow loss to Ajax in the finals. The team became professional in 1955. In 1964
1860-446: The beginning of the league, there have been three clubs with an attendance much higher than the others: Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord . Clubs like Heerenveen , Utrecht and Groningen also have fairly large fanbases. The regular season average league attendance was just over 7,000 in 1990, but this figure has risen sharply over the years thanks to the opening of new stadiums and the expansion of existing ones nationwide. Average attendance for
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1920-541: The board instead opting for sponsorship deals because of financial motives. However, to this day, the name maintains a good share of support among the fans. To further increase revenue, AZ's board of directors decided to expand the capacity of the new stadium to at least 30,000 somewhere in the future. The extension will be realised by constructing a second tier to three of the four stands. The main stand with all technical areas, VIP and sponsor and media facilities will remain in place. These plans, however, were put on hold after
1980-469: The championship. Koeman was officially hired on 17 May 2009, but on 5 December, AZ announced he was no longer in charge of the club after losing 7 of his first 16 matches. Former Rangers and Zenit Saint Petersburg manager Dick Advocaat took over for the remainder of the season. Under Advocaat, AZ achieved solid results and secured European football for the next season. For the 2010–11 season, AZ appointed Gertjan Verbeek as its new manager. They finished
2040-467: The club in 1985. After several mid-table finishes in previous seasons, AZ was relegated in 1988 from the Eredivisie , ending the season on 28 points from 34 matches and falling to the Eerste Divisie due to the superior goal difference of Roda JC . This relegation was significant since it occurred just seven years after the club's historic domestic double and marked the end of AZ's first period of success in Dutch football. Following this, AZ spent much of
2100-699: The club's highest ever goalscorer with 212 goals and the first ever Dutchman to win the European Golden Boot in 1979 when he scored 34 goals in a season; Jan Peters , who played 120 matches for AZ during this period scoring 30 goals from midfield; and Hugo Hovenkamp , who played 239 matches in defence for AZ from 1975 to 1983, as well as receiving 31 caps for the Netherlands national team from 1977 to 1983 and playing each match in UEFA Euro 1980 while an AZ player. Additional stars included John Metgod , who spent six years at AZ playing 195 matches as
2160-441: The club, to the point that AZ '67 were successful in the late 1970s and early '80s, regularly playing European football from 1977 to 1982 while also winning three KNVB Cups over that period. After four close league campaigns, AZ finally became Dutch champions in 1981 , becoming the only team other than the "big three" of Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV to do so in a 44-year period spanning from 1965 to 2009 (when AZ once again won
2220-864: The departure the week before the game of manager Arne Slot saw an unorganised team lose 2–1 to Rijeka, ending their European dream. In 2022–2023, AZ stepped up their performance in Europa Conference League play, winning five out of six Group E matches against SC Dnipro-1 , Apollon Limassol and Vaduz , then beating Lazio 4–2 on aggregate. However, their run was ended by defeats to West Ham United , with AZ's home leg marred by supporter violence. Statistic from January 2024 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Participating in
2280-465: The final in its just second FIFA Women's World Cup , where they reached the 2019 Women's World Cup but failed to win. This means the Netherlands is the second country in the world where both men's and women's teams reached the final of respective gender's World Cup yet failed to win both times, the other being Sweden. The women also won the Women's Euro 2017 . Only the Netherlands and Germany have won both
2340-723: The fourth level is the Derde Divisie (Third Division), formerly Topklasse, and the fifth level the Hoofdklasse . The Topklasse was launched in 2010, before that time promotion to or relegation from the Eerste Divisie was not possible. In 2016, the Topklasse was renamed Derde Divisie and the Tweede Divisie was revived. The Netherlands national men's and women's team are usually dressed in orange and have
2400-537: The growing interest, a dissident professional football association (the NBVB) and league were founded for the 1954–55 season . On 3 July 1954, the KNVB met with a group of concerned amateur club chairmen, who feared the best players would join the professional teams. The meeting, dubbed the slaapkamerconferentie ('bedroom conference'), led to the Association reluctantly accepting semi-professionalism. Meanwhile, both
2460-544: The league title). They won the title with overwhelming power, winning 27 of 34 matches and only losing once, while scoring a club record 101 goals and conceding just 30. That same season, AZ reached the final of the UEFA Cup , losing 5–4 on aggregate to Ipswich Town . The next year, in the European Cup , they lost in the second round 3–2 on aggregate to Liverpool . Georg Keßler was AZ's manager over most of these years (1978–82), while star players included: Kees Kist ,
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2520-549: The league was called the Holland Casino Eredivisie. Since the 2005–06 season, the league has been sponsored by the Vriendenloterij (lottery), but for legal reasons its name could not be attached to the league (the Dutch government was against the name, because the Eredivisie would, after Holland Casino's sponsorship, yet again be sponsored by a company providing games of chance). In August 2012, it
2580-9425: The men's and the women's European Championship. Level League(s)/Division(s) 1 Eredivisie 18 clubs 2 Eerste Divisie 20 clubs 3 Tweede Divisie 18 clubs Saturday Sunday 4 Derde Divisie Saturday 18 clubs Derde Divisie Sunday 18 clubs 5 Saturday Hoofdklasse A 16 clubs Saturday Hoofdklasse B 16 clubs Sunday Hoofdklasse A 16 clubs Sunday Hoofdklasse B 16 clubs 6 District West 1: Saturday Eerste Klasse A 14 clubs District West 2: Saturday Eerste Klasse B 14 clubs District South 1: Saturday Eerste Klasse C 14 clubs District East: Saturday Eerste Klasse D 14 clubs District North: Saturday Eerste Klasse E 14 clubs (All divisions run in parallel) District West 1: Sunday Eerste Klasse A 14 clubs District West 2: Sunday Eerste Klasse B 13 clubs District South 1: Sunday Eerste Klasse C 14 clubs District South 2: Sunday Eerste Klasse D 14 clubs District East: Sunday Eerste Klasse E 13 clubs District North: Sunday Eerste Klasse F 14 clubs (All divisions run in parallel) 7 District West 1: Saturday Tweede Klasse A 14 clubs District West 1: Saturday Tweede Klasse B 14 clubs District West 2: Saturday Tweede Klasse C 14 clubs District West 2: Saturday Tweede Klasse D 14 clubs District South 1: Saturday Tweede Klasse E 14 clubs District South 1: Saturday Tweede Klasse F 14 clubs District East: Saturday Tweede Klasse G 14 clubs District East: Saturday Tweede Klasse H 14 clubs District North: Saturday Tweede Klasse I 14 clubs District North: Saturday Tweede Klasse J 14 clubs (All divisions run in parallel) District West 1: Sunday Tweede Klasse A 14 clubs District West 1: Sunday Tweede Klasse B 14 clubs District West 2: Sunday Tweede Klasse C 14 clubs District West 2: Sunday Tweede Klasse D 13 clubs District South 1: Sunday Tweede Klasse E 14 clubs District South 1: Sunday Tweede Klasse F 14 clubs District South 2: Sunday Tweede Klasse G 14 clubs District South 2: Sunday Tweede Klasse H 14 clubs District East: Sunday Tweede Klasse I 14 clubs District East: Sunday Tweede Klasse J 14 clubs District North: Sunday Tweede Klasse K 14 clubs District North: Sunday Tweede Klasse L 14 clubs (All divisions run in parallel) 8 District West 1 Saturday Derde Klasse A 14 clubs , Saturday Derde Klasse B 14 clubs Saturday Derde Klasse C 14 clubs , Saturday Derde Klasse D 14 clubs District West 2 Saturday Derde Klasse A 14 clubs , Saturday Derde Klasse B 14 clubs Saturday Derde Klasse C 14 clubs , Saturday Derde Klasse D 14 clubs District South 1 Saturday Derde Klasse A 14 clubs , Saturday Derde Klasse B 14 clubs Saturday Derde Klasse C 14 clubs , Saturday Derde Klasse D 14 clubs District East Saturday Derde Klasse A 14 clubs , Saturday Derde Klasse B 14 clubs Saturday Derde Klasse C 14 clubs , Saturday Derde Klasse D 14 clubs District North Saturday Derde Klasse A 14 clubs , Saturday Derde Klasse B 14 clubs Saturday Derde Klasse C 14 clubs , Saturday Derde Klasse D 14 clubs (All divisions run in parallel) District West 1 Sunday Derde Klasse A 14 clubs , Sunday Derde Klasse B 14 clubs Sunday Derde Klasse C 14 clubs , Sunday Derde Klasse D 14 clubs District West 2 Sunday Derde Klasse A 15 clubs , Sunday Derde Klasse B 14 clubs Sunday Derde Klasse C 14 clubs , Sunday Derde Klasse D 14 clubs District South 1 Sunday Derde Klasse A 14 clubs , Sunday Derde Klasse B 14 clubs Sunday Derde Klasse C 14 clubs , Sunday Derde Klasse D 14 clubs District South 2 Sunday Derde Klasse A 14 clubs , Sunday Derde Klasse B 14 clubs Sunday Derde Klasse C 14 clubs , Sunday Derde Klasse D 14 clubs District East Sunday Derde Klasse A 14 clubs , Sunday Derde Klasse B 14 clubs Sunday Derde Klasse C 14 clubs , Sunday Derde Klasse D 14 clubs District North Sunday Derde Klasse A 12 clubs , Sunday Derde Klasse B 12 clubs Sunday Derde Klasse C 12 clubs , Sunday Derde Klasse D 12 clubs (All divisions run in parallel) 9 District West 1 Saturday Vierde Klasse A 14 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse B 13 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse C 10 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse D 14 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse E 12 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse F 11 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse G 12 clubs District West 2 Saturday Vierde Klasse A 13 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse B 12 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse C 13 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse D 13 clubs Saturday Vierde Klasse E 13 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse F 14 clubs Saturday Vierde Klasse G 13 clubs District South 1 Saturday Vierde Klasse A 14 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse B 14 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse C 14 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse D 14 clubs District East Saturday Vierde Klasse A 13 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse B 12 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse C 14 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse D 12 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse E 12 clubs District North Saturday Vierde Klasse A 12 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse B 13 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse C 13 clubs , Saturday Vierde Klasse D 12 clubs (All divisions run in parallel) District West 1 Sunday Vierde Klasse A 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse B 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse C 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse D 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse E 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse F 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse G 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse H 12 clubs District West 2 Sunday Vierde Klasse A 13 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse B 14 clubs District South 1 Sunday Vierde Klasse A 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse B 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse C 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse D 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse E 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse F 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse G 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse H 14 clubs District South 2 Sunday Vierde Klasse A 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse B 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse C 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse D 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse E 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse F 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse G 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse H 14 clubs District East Sunday Vierde Klasse A 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse B 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse C 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse D 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse E 15 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse F 12 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse G 12 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse H 12 clubs District North Sunday Vierde Klasse A 13 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse B 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse C 13 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse D 13 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse E 14 clubs , Sunday Vierde Klasse F 14 clubs (All divisions run in parallel) 10 District North Saturday Vijfde Klasse A 13 clubs , Saturday Vijfde Klasse B 12 clubs , Saturday Vijfde Klasse C 13 clubs , Saturday Vijfde Klasse D 14 clubs , Saturday Vijfde Klasse E 14 teams (All divisions run in parallel) District West 1 Sunday Vijfde Klasse A 11 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse B 13 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse C 6 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse D 11 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse E 10 clubs District South 1 Sunday Vijfde Klasse A 14 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse B 14 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse C 13 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse D 14 clubs District South 2 Sunday Vijfde Klasse A 14 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse B 14 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse C 14 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse D 14 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse E 13 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse F 14 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse G 13 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse H 13 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse I 13 clubs District East Sunday Vijfde Klasse A 12 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse B 11 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse C 13 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse D 12 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse E 12 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse F 11 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse G 13 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse H 13 clubs District North Sunday Vijfde Klasse A 13 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse B 14 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse C 13 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse D 13 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse E 14 clubs , Sunday Vijfde Klasse F 14 clubs (All divisions run in parallel) Level League(s)/Division(s) 1 Eredivisie 18 clubs 2 Eerste Divisie 20 clubs Saturday Sunday 3 Topklasse Saturday 16 clubs Topklasse Sunday 16 clubs AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek ( Dutch: [ˈɑl(ə)kmaːr ˈzaːnstreːk] ), better known internationally as AZ Alkmaar , or simply and most commonly as AZ ( pronounced [aːˈzɛt] ) in
2640-600: The new league. Other clubs merged, which led to new names like Rapid J.C. , Holland Sport and Roda Sport. The first (semi-)professional league was won by Willem II . For the 1956–57 season , the KNVB abandoned the regional league system. The Eredivisie was founded, in which the eighteen best clubs nationwide directly played for the league title without play-offs. The inaugural members of the Eredivisie in 1956 were Ajax , BVC , BVV , DOS , EVV , Elinkwijk , SC Enschede , Feijenoord , Fortuna '54, GVAV , MVV , NAC , NOAD , PSV, Rapid J.C., Sparta , VVV '03 and Willem II. Ajax
2700-443: The next decade in the second tier, struggling to find a return to the top flight. The involvement of businessman Dirk Scheringa in the mid-1990s marked the revival of the club as AZ returned to the Eredivisie, winning the 1997-98 Eerste Divisie title. The club achieved consecutive finishes around the middle positions in the league until ending up in third place in the 2004-05 Eredivisie season, AZ's highest position for 23 years. In
2760-456: The official title on 16 September, but contract negotiations failed and he left the club just two days later. A week later, John van den Brom was appointed manager. Under Van den Brom, AZ quickly rose up to the sub-top, eventually finished the season in third place, surpassing Feyenoord on the final season's matchday and qualifying for the 2015–16 Europa League . The 2015–16 Eredivisie started with AZ selling most of its first-team players from
2820-523: The only clubs in their current form to have never been relegated out of the Eredivisie. A fourth club, Utrecht , is the product of a 1970 merger between three of that city's clubs, one of which, VV DOS , had also never been relegated out of the Eredivisie. From 1990 to 1999, the official name of the league was PTT Telecompetitie (after the sponsor, PTT Telecom), which was changed to KPN Telecompetitie (because PTT Telecom changed its name to KPN Telecom) in 1999 and to KPN Eredivisie in 2000. From 2002 to 2005,
2880-453: The previous season during the summer transfer period. As a response, AZ bought players from other Dutch clubs, notably Vincent Janssen from Almere City , Alireza Jahanbakhsh from NEC and Ben Rienstra from PEC Zwolle . In December, it was announced free agent Ron Vlaar signed a contract until the end of the season after training with the club for a few weeks prior. Vlaar quickly became team captain and helped lift AZ from tenth place to
2940-522: The professional part of KFC was renamed FC Zaanstreek, while the amateurs played on as KFC. Also in 1964, the brothers Cees and Klaas Molenaar, former players and trainers for KFC and owners of a growing appliance store chain, sought to create a powerful football team in Zaanstreek by merging the two local professional teams: KFC and Zaanlandsche Football Club. After the ZFC leadership thwarted this attempt,
3000-505: The season, once at home and once away. At the end of each season, the two clubs at the bottom are relegated to the second level of the Dutch league system, the Eerste Divisie (First Division), while the champion and runner-up of the Eerste Divisie are automatically promoted to the Eredivisie. The club finishing third from the bottom of the Eredivisie goes to separate promotion/relegation play-offs with six high-placed clubs from
3060-428: The semi-finals in the KNVB Cup (losing to Heracles after extra time) and the quarter-finals in the Europa League. In the latter, the club ultimately lost to Valencia after having defeated Udinese , Anderlecht , Malmö FF , Austria Wien , Metalist Kharkiv , Aalesund and Baumit Jablonec to reach that stage. On 21 December 2011, during the quarter-finals of the 2011–12 KNVB Cup , a 19-year-old Ajax fan invaded
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#17327902784363120-656: The southern part of the city of Alkmaar. The stadium, which is directly owned by the club, was opened in 2006 and replaced the old Alkmaarderhout venue as the DSB Stadion . The stadium currently has a capacity of 17,023. During its design stages, the name Victorie Stadion was frequently used, referring to the Dutch War of Independence , the phrase " In Alkmaar begint de victorie " (Victory begins in Alkmaar) in particular. Until now, this name has not been officially in use,
3180-480: The summer of 2006, the club moved to a new 17,000 capacity stadium, AZ Stadion . Despite playing strongly for the majority of the 2006–07 season, AZ's season ended in disappointment. First, entering the last matchday of the 2006–07 Eredivisie season, AZ led PSV and Ajax on goal difference at the top of the league table, but ended up third after losing their last match against 16th placed team Excelsior , AZ played with ten men for 80 minutes. Additionally, AZ then lost
3240-418: The time the league leaders , Verbeek was dismissed as first team manager by the club due to "a lack of chemistry" between management and players. He was replaced by Dick Advocaat for the remainder of the season until a permanent replacement could be found. Advocaat took AZ to the semi-finals of the KNVB Cup , the quarter-finals of the Europa League and eighth in the league, ultimately losing to Groningen in
3300-614: The title was decided through play-offs by a handful of clubs who had previously won their regional league. The competition was purely an amateur one; the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) rejected any form of payment and suspended players who were caught receiving salary or transfer fees. The call for professional football grew in the early fifties after many national team members left to play abroad in search for financial benefits. The KNVB would usually suspend these players, preventing them from appearing for
3360-460: Was being removed, before returning to the stadium on 15 December 2019, beating Ajax 1–0 in their first match back. AZ played the rest of the 2019/20 season, until the COVID-19 pandemic cut it short, without a roof. During the 2020/21 season, a new roof was installed, held up by 20 crane-like arms on three sides and a so-called mega truss on the main stand. The renewed stadium, which also included
3420-511: Was founded by a Dutch reporter named Anton Witkamp and Ajax's 1973 win was the first time the tournament was contested officially. Football in the Netherlands Football is the most popular sport in the Netherlands . Football was introduced to the Netherlands by Pim Mulier in the 19th century when in 1879, at the age of 14, he founded Haarlemsche Football Club . Over the next 30 years, football gained popularity in
3480-483: Was founded on 10 May 1967 as AZ '67, the result of a merger of Alkmaar '54 and FC Zaanstreek. Alkmaar '54 was founded as a professional team in April ;1954 to play in the 10-team NBVB league, created because the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) refused to organize a professional league (the KNVB took over in 1955). Alkmaar '54, and by extension AZ, played the first professional match in
3540-421: Was made public that tycoon Rupert Murdoch had secured the rights to the Eredivisie for 12 years at the expense of one billion euros, beginning in the 2013–14 season. Within this deal, the five largest Eredivisie clubs were to receive five million euros per year. In 2020, the Eredivisie was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic . From the foundation of the Dutch national football championship in 1898 until 1954,
3600-554: Was the first team to claim the title that season. Below is a complete record of how many teams played in each season throughout the league's history; Willem II finished first and PEC Zwolle finished second in the 2023–24 Eerste Divisie . NAC finished 8th and defeated Rotterdam in the playoff final. Founding member of the Eredivisie Never been relegated from the Eredivisie Founding member of
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