2023–24 AZ Alkmaar season

AZ Alkmaar
2023–24 season
Chairman	René Neelissen
Head coach	Pascal Jansen; (until 17 January); Maarten Martens; (from 17 January)
Stadium	AFAS Stadion
Eredivisie	4th
KNVB Cup	Quarter-finals
UEFA Europa Conference League	Group stage
Top goalscorer	League: ; Vangelis Pavlidis (25); All: ; Vangelis Pavlidis (29)
	← 2022–23 2024–25 →
	All statistics correct as of 6 April 2024.

The 2023–24 season is AZ Alkmaar's 57th season in existence and second consecutive season in the Eredivisie. They also competed in the KNVB Cup and the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Players[edit]

First-team squad[edit]

As of 1 February 2024^[1]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	AUS	Mathew Ryan
2	DF	JPN	Yukinari Sugawara
3	DF	NED	Wouter Goes
4	DF	NED	Bruno Martins Indi (captain)
5	DF	POR	Alexandre Penetra
6	MF	POR	Tiago Dantas (on loan from Benfica)
8	MF	NED	Jordy Clasie (vice-captain)
9	FW	GRE	Vangelis Pavlidis
10	MF	NED	Dani de Wit
11	FW	GHA	Ibrahim Sadiq
12	GK	NED	Hobie Verhulst
13	GK	NED	Sem Westerveld
14	MF	SRB	Kristijan Belić
15	FW	NED	Ruben van Bommel


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
16	MF	NED	Sven Mijnans
18	DF	NOR	David Møller Wolfe
19	FW	NED	Myron van Brederode
20	GK	NED	Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro
21	FW	NED	Ernest Poku
22	DF	NED	Maxim Dekker
23	FW	SWE	Mayckel Lahdo
24	MF	NED	Lewis Schouten
25	DF	NED	Riechedly Bazoer
27	DF	POR	Gonçalo Esteves (on loan from Sporting)
28	FW	NED	Lequincio Zeefuik
30	DF	NED	Denso Kasius
34	DF	NED	Mees de Wit

Out on loan[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	NED	Zico Buurmeester (at PEC Zwolle until 30 June 2024)
—	MF	NED	Kenzo Goudmijn (at Excelsior until 30 June 2025)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	NED	Peer Koopmeiners (at Almere City until 30 June 2024)
—	FW	NED	Mexx Meerdink (at Vitesse until 30 June 2025)
—	FW	DEN	Jens Odgaard (at Bologna until 30 June 2024)

Transfers[edit]

In[edit]

Pos.	Player	Transferred from	Fee	Date	Source
DF	Alexandre Penetra	Famalicão	€4,200,000	24 July 2023	^[2]
FW	Ibrahim Sadiq	BK Häcken	€4,000,000	1 September 2023	^[3]
MF	Kristijan Belić	FK Partizan	€4,000,000	13 January 2024	^[4]

Out[edit]

Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee	Date	Source
FW	Yusuf Barası	Adana Demirspor	Undisclosed	26 August 2023	^[5]
DF	Pantelis Chatzidiakos	Cagliari	€2,000,000	1 September 2023	^[6]

Pre-season and friendlies[edit]

Win Draw Loss Fixtures

19 July 2023 Friendly	AZ	1–1	Norwich City	Dirkshorn, Netherlands
18:30 UTC+2	Van Bommel 10'	Report	Barnes 6'	Stadium: Sportpark vv Dirkshorn Attendance: 1,800 Referee: Sander van der Eijk (Netherlands)

22 July 2023 Friendly	Club Brugge	1–2	AZ	Bruges
15:00 UTC+2	Olsen 3' Thiago 42' Odoi 76' Yaremchuk 81' Vetlesen 90+2' Vanaken 90+4'		De Wit 9' Bazoer 42' Sugawara 55', 64'	Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium

29 July 2023 Friendly	Southampton	0–1	AZ	Southampton, England
15:00 UTC+1	Stephens	Report	M. De Wit Lahdo 65'	Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 7,277 Referee: Keith Stroud (England)

5 August 2023 Friendly	AZ	1–0	Bologna	Alkmaar
17:00 UTC+2	Poku 48'	Report		Stadium: AFAS Stadion Attendance: 8,021 Referee: Dennis Higler (Netherlands)

Competitions[edit]

Overall record[edit]

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Eredivisie	13 August 2023	19 May 2024	Matchday 1		28	15	7	6	55	28	+27	053.57
KNVB Cup	20 December 2023	7 February 2024	Second Round	Quarter Final	3	1	1	1	6	7	−1	033.33
UEFA Europa Conference League	10 August 2023	14 December 2023	Third Qualifying Round	Group Stage	10	4	2	4	14	15	−1	040.00
Total					41	20	10	11	75	50	+25	048.78

Last updated: 3 April 2024
Source: Soccerway

Eredivisie[edit]

League table[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
2	Feyenoord (Q)	31	23	6	2	80	24	+56	75	Qualification for the Champions League league stage
3	Twente (X)	31	19	6	6	59	31	+28	63	Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
4	AZ (Y)	31	17	7	7	63	36	+27	58	Qualification for the Europa League league stage^[a]
5	Ajax (Y, V)	31	13	10	8	65	58	+7	49	Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round
6	NEC (Y, V)	31	12	11	8	59	47	+12	47	Qualification for the Conference League play-off

Updated to match(es) played on 3 May 2024. Source: Eredivisie
Rules for classification: Season in progress: 1) Most points won; 2) Less points lost; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Alphabetical order; End of season: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored; 7) Play-off if relevant for deciding champion, relegation or participating in a European league, otherwise by draw. 8) Penalty shoot-out (only after a play-off)
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (V) May at best reach the Europa League; (X) Assured of least Europa League league stage; (Y) Assured of least Conference League play-off
Notes:

^ The 2023–24 KNVB Cup winners qualified for the Europa League league stage. Since the cup winners (Feyenoord) qualified based on league position, the Europa League spot was passed to the fourth-placed team.

Results summary[edit]


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
28	15	7	6	55	28	+27	52	9	2	3	33	12	+21	6	5	3	22	16	+6

Last updated: 3 April 2024.
Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results by round[edit]

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29
Ground	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A
Result	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	D	L	W	D	L	W	L	L	D	D	L	D	W	W	D	W	W	W	L
Position	1	1	6	5	5	5	2	2	2	2	4	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Points	3	6	9	12	15	16	19	22	25	26	26	29	30	30	33	33	33	34	35	35	36	39	42	43	46	49	52	52

Updated to match(es) played on 3 April 2024. Source: ^{[citation needed]}
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches[edit]

The league fixtures were unveiled on 30 June 2023.^[7]

13 August 2023 1	AZ	5–1	Go Ahead Eagles	Alkmaar
14:30 UTC+2	Clasie 4' Pavlidis 15' D. de Wit 16', 87' (pen.) Van Bommel 51' Chatzidiakos 65' Lahdo 90+3'	Report	Amofa 2' Nauber 34' Rommens 66' Deijl 87'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Danny Makkelie

20 August 2023 2	RKC Waalwijk	1–3	AZ	Waalwijk
16:45 UTC+2	Kramer 41' (pen.), 58' Margaret 76'	Report	Pavlidis 54', 79' D. de Wit 59' Poku 63'	Stadium: Mandemakers Stadion Referee: Alex Bos

3 September 2023 4	Vitesse	0–2	AZ	Arnhem
16:45		Report	Pavlidis 49', 64'	Stadium: GelreDome Referee: Jeroen Manschot

17 September 2023 5	AZ	2–0	Sparta Rotterdam	Alkmaar
16:45 UTC+2	D. de Wit 18' Pavlidis 19'	Report		Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Pol van Boekel

24 September 2023 6	PEC Zwolle	0–3	AZ	Zwolle
16:45 UTC+2		Report	Lahdo 13' Van Brederode 52' Pavlidis 90'	Stadium: MAC³PARK Stadion Referee: Edwin van de Graaf

28 September 2023 3	AZ	1–1	Heracles	Alkmaar
20:00 UTC+2	Pavlidis 13'	Report	Ouahim 53'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Danny Makkelie

1 October 2023 7	AZ	4–0	Fortuna Sittard	Alkmaar
16:45 UTC+2	Clasie 45+1' Pavlidis 49' Siovas 82' (o.g.) Dantas 88'	Report		Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük

8 October 2023 8	Ajax	1–2	AZ	Amsterdam
12:30 UTC+2	Van den Boomen 73'	Report	Pavlidis 45' D. de Wit 57'	Stadium: Johan Cruyff Arena Referee: Allard Lindhout

21 October 2023 9	AZ	3–0	Heerenveen	Alkmaar
19:00 UTC+2	Pavlidis 11', 59', 76'	Report		Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Jochen Kamphuis

6 November 2023 11	Excelsior	1–1	AZ	Rotterdam
16:45 UTC+1	Sandra 90+1'	Report	Lahdo 72'	Stadium: Stadion Woudestein Referee: Laurens Gerrets

12 November 2023 12	Feyenoord	1–0	AZ	Rotterdam
16:45 UTC+1	Timber 24'	Report		Stadium: De Kuip Referee: Danny Makkelie

26 November 2023 13	AZ	3–0	Volendam	Alkmaar
14:30 UTC+1	Van Bommel 5' Pavlidis 48' Martins Indi 57'	Report		Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Bas Nijhuis

3 December 2023 14	Utrecht	1–1	AZ	Utrecht
16:45 UTC+1	Jensen 49'	Report	Pavlidis 40'	Stadium: Stadion Galgenwaard Referee: Erwin Blank

6 December 2023 10	AZ	1–2	NEC	Alkmaar
19:00 UTC+1	Pavlidis 57'	Report	Dost 11' Mattsson 31'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Jeroen Manschot
Note: Match originally scheduled on 29 October 2023, but was abandoned in injury time after NEC player Bas Dost collapsed.^[8]

9 December 2023 15	AZ	4–1	Almere City	Alkmaar
21:00 UTC+1	Pavlidis 7', 90+2' D. de Wit 66' Møller Wolfe 80'	Report	Mbe Soh 56'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Attendance: 18,429 Referee: Sander van der Eijk

17 December 2023 16	AZ	0–4	PSV	Alkmaar
20:00 UTC+1		Report	de Jong 9' (pen.), 57' Saibari 11' Dest 16'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Dennis Higler

13 January 2024 17	Twente	2–1	AZ	Enschede
18:45 UTC+1	Ugalde 42', 70'	Report	Odgaard 4'	Stadium: De Grolsch Veste Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük

20 January 2024 18	AZ	2–2	PEC Zwolle	Alkmaar
20:00 UTC+1	Pavlidis 77' (pen.) Mijnans 90+4'	Report	Thy 57' Velanas 86'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Allard Lindhout

28 January 2024 19	Heerenveen	2–2	AZ	Heerenveen
12:15 UTC+1	Clasie 24' (o.g.) Brouwers 51'	Report	Pavlidis 19' Bochniewicz 88' (o.g.)	Stadium: Abe Lenstra Stadion Referee: Sander van der Wijk

4 February 2024 20	AZ	0–1	Feyenoord	Alkmaar
12:30 UTC+1		Report	Wieffer 6'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Danny Makkelie

10 February 2024 21	Almere City	0–0	AZ	Almere
20:00 UTC+1		Report		Stadium: Yanmar Stadion Referee: A. Bos

17 February 2024 22	Fortuna Sittard	1–2	AZ	Sittard
16:45 UTC+1	Córdoba 18'	Report	Pavlidis 63' D. de Wit 90'	Stadium: Fortuna Sittard Stadion

25 February 2024 23	AZ	2–0	Ajax	Alkmaar
16:45 UTC+1	van Bommel 7', 67'	Report		Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Allard Lindhout

2 March 2024 24	Sparta Rotterdam	1–1	AZ	Rotterdam
16:45 UTC+1	Verschueren 74'	Report	Sugawara 25'	Stadium: Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel Referee: Jochem Kamphuis

10 March 2024 25	AZ	4–0	Excelsior	Alkmaar
16:45 UTC+1	D. de Wit 13' Pavlidis 15' Mijnans 25', 72'	Report		Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Martin van den Kerkhof

17 March 2024 26	Volendam	0–4	AZ	Volendam
12:15 UTC+1		Report	D. de Wit 22' Sugawara 30', 76' Pavlidis 70'	Stadium: Kras Stadion Referee: Sander van der Eijk

30 March 2024 27	AZ	2–0	Vitesse	Alkmaar
16:45 UTC+1	D. de Wit 53' Pavlidis 64'	Report		Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Jannick van der Laan

3 April 2024 28	Heracles	5–0	AZ	Almelo
18:45 UTC+2	De Keersmaecker 19' Hornkamp 38' (pen.), 40' (pen.) Sankoh 90', 90+4'	Report		Stadium: Erve Asito Referee: Allard Lindhout

6 April 2024 29	PSV	v	AZ	Eindhoven
16:45 UTC+2				Stadium: Philips Stadion

13 April 2024 30	AZ	v	RKC Waalwijk	Alkmaar
16:45 UTC+2				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

27 April 2024 31	NEC	v	AZ	Nijmegen
16:45 UTC+2				Stadium: Goffertstadion

4 May 2024 32	AZ	v	Twente	Alkmaar
16:45 UTC+2				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

12 May 2024 33	Go Ahead Eagles	v	AZ	Deventer
16:45 UTC+2				Stadium: De Adelaarshorst

19 May 2024 34	AZ	v	Utrecht	Alkmaar
16:45 UTC+2				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

KNVB Cup[edit]

AZ enter the KNVB Cup in the second round, the draw was made on 4 November 2023.^[9] On 21 December 2023, the draw was made for the Round of 16.^{[citation needed]} The draw for the quarter-final was made on 20 January 2024.^[10]

20 December 2023 Second round	HHC Hardenberg	2–3 (a.e.t.)	AZ	Hardenberg
20:00 UTC+1	Fatima 63' Church 90+4'	Report	Pavlidis 22' Odgaard 77' Van Bommel 102'	Stadium: De Boshoek Referee: Robin Hensgens

16 January 2024 Round of 16	AZ	3–3 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p)	Quick Boys	Alkmaar
21:00 UTC+1	D. de Wit 70' Poku 72' van Brederode 97'	Report	Nwankwo 59' de Beste 90+7' S. van Duijn 113'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Edwin van de Graaf
	Penalties
	D. de Wit Clasie Pavlidis van Brederode Odgaard		van den Meiracker Franken L. van Duijn Nwankwo

7 February 2024 Quarter-final	Feyenoord	2–0	AZ	Rotterdam
21:00 UTC+1	Geertruida 44' Nieuwkoop 86'	Report		Stadium: De Kuip Referee: Bas Nijhuis

UEFA Europa Conference League[edit]

Third qualifying round[edit]

The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 24 July 2023.

10 August 2023 First leg	FC Santa Coloma	0–1	AZ	Andorra la Vella, Andorra
19:00 UTC+2	Crespo Zurita 45' Novoa 71'	Report	Mihailović 74' Møller Wolfe 86'	Stadium: Estadi Nacional Attendance: 716 Referee: Sayat Karabayev (Kazakhstan)
Note: FC Santa Coloma played their third qualifying round home match at the Estadi Nacional in Andorra la Vella, instead of their regular stadium, the Estadi Comunal d'Andorra la Vella in Andorra la Vella, which did not meet UEFA requirements.

17 August 2023 Second leg	AZ	2–0 (3–0 agg.)	FC Santa Coloma	Alkmaar
20:45 UTC+2	Van Bommel 40' Mijnans 45+1' Clasie 59' D. de Wit 66' Lahdo 78'	Report	Toribio 78'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Attendance: 10,014 Referee: Henrik Nalbandyan (Armenia)

Play-off round[edit]

The draw for the play-off round was held on 7 August 2023.

24 August 2023 First leg	AZ	1–1	Brann	Alkmaar
20:45 UTC+2	Chatzidiakos 71'	Report	Castro 31', 59' Heltne Nilsen 45+2' Pallesen Knudsen 65'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Attendance: 10,888 Referee: Evangelos Manouchos (Greece)

31 August 2023 Second leg	Brann	3–3 (a.e.t.) (4–4 agg.) (5–6 p)	AZ	Bergen, Norway
19:00 UTC+2	Heltne Nilsen 39' Pallesen Knudsen 45+1', 54' Soltvedt 66' Sery 82' Børsting 90+6' Horn Myhre 120+1'	Report	Lahdo 12', 77' Pavlidis 20' Mijnans 29' Van Bommel 50' D. de Wit 58' Møller Wolfe 65' Ryan 75' Sugawara 81'	Stadium: Brann Stadion Attendance: 14,355 Referee: Gergő Bogár (Hungary)
	Penalties
	Finne Heltne Nilsen Heggebø Simba Soltvedt Børsting		D. de Wit Sugawara Odgaard Mijnans Mihailović Penetra

Group stage[edit]

The draw for the group stage was held on 1 September 2023.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	AVL	LEG	AZ	ZRI
1	Aston Villa	6	4	1	1	12	7	+5	13	Advance to round of 16	—	2–1	2–1	1–0
2	Legia Warsaw	6	4	0	2	10	6	+4	12	Advance to knockout round play-offs	3–2	—	2–0	2–0
3	AZ	6	2	0	4	7	12	−5	6		1–4	1–0	—	1–0
4	Zrinjski Mostar	6	1	1	4	6	10	−4	4		1–1	1–2	4–3	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

21 September 2023 1	Zrinjski Mostar	4–3	AZ	Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
18:45	Kožulj 48', 81' Ćorluka 68' Hrvanović 71'	Report	Van Brederode 10' Mijnans 32' D. de Wit 44'	Stadium: Stadion pod Bijelim Brijegom Attendance: 5,100 Referee: Don Robertson (Scotland)

5 October 2023 2	AZ	1–0	Legia Warsaw	Alkmaar, Netherlands
21:00	Pavlidis 52'	Report		Stadium: AFAS Stadion Attendance: 14,239 Referee: Nenad Minaković (Serbia)

26 October 2023 3	AZ	1–4	Aston Villa	Alkmaar, Netherlands
18:45	Sadiq 65'	Report	Bailey 13' Tielemans 23' Watkins 51' McGinn 56'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Attendance: 16,633 Referee: Sven Jablonski (Germany)

9 November 2023 4	Aston Villa	2–1	AZ	Birmingham, England
21:00	Diego Carlos 61' Watkins 81'	Report	Pavlidis 52'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 35,156 Referee: Luis Godinho (Portugal)

30 November 2023 5	AZ	1–0	Zrinjski Mostar	Alkmaar, Netherlands
18:45	Pavlidis 59' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: AFAS Stadion Attendance: 17,132 Referee: Oleksiy Derevinskyi (Ukraine)

14 December 2023 6	Legia Warsaw	2–0	AZ	Warsaw, Poland
18:45	Ribeiro 34' Kramer 81'	Report	Martins Indi 53'	Stadium: Stadion Wojska Polskiego Referee: Harald Lechner (Austria)

References[edit]

^ "Spelers". az.nl. AZ. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
^ [1]
^ "Sadiq nieuwste aanwinst AZ". www.az.nl.
^ [2]
^ "Adana Demirspor Yusuf Barasi ile anlaştığını açıkladı!". Fotomaç.
^ [3]
^ "Defintief competitieprogramma Eredivisie 2023/24". Eredivisie. Ons Voetbal. June 30, 2023.
^ "Nijmegen striker Dost 'doing well' after collapsing". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
^ "PSV - FC Twente in tweede ronde TOTO KNVB Beker". www.totoknvbbeker.nl. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
^ "De 𝗸𝘄𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 van de #TOTOKNVBBeker zijn bekend! ⚔️". KNVB Cup on X (formerly Twitter). 20 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.

External links[edit]

Official website

[table_note_res_ELLS0.66680855009091-7] The 2023–24 KNVB Cup winners qualified for the Europa League league stage. Since the cup winners (Feyenoord) qualified based on league position, the Europa League spot was passed to the fourth-placed team.

[1] "Spelers". az.nl. AZ. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.

[2] [1]

[3] "Sadiq nieuwste aanwinst AZ". www.az.nl.

[4] [2]

[5] "Adana Demirspor Yusuf Barasi ile anlaştığını açıkladı!". Fotomaç.

[6] [3]

[8] "Defintief competitieprogramma Eredivisie 2023/24". Eredivisie. Ons Voetbal. June 30, 2023.

[9] "Nijmegen striker Dost 'doing well' after collapsing". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-10-30.

[10] "PSV - FC Twente in tweede ronde TOTO KNVB Beker". www.totoknvbbeker.nl. Retrieved 2023-11-12.

[11] "De 𝗸𝘄𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 van de #TOTOKNVBBeker zijn bekend! ⚔️". KNVB Cup on X (formerly Twitter). 20 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.

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