AZ, an initialism for Alkmaar Zaanstreek, is a
football club from
Alkmaar, the
Netherlands. It was founded on
May 10,
1967 as AZ '67, the result of a merger of Alkmaar '54 and FC
Zaanstreek. In the Netherlands the club is known as AZ, but internationally Alkmaar is often added. Owing to the commitment of businessmen Cees and Klaas Molenaar, AZ '67 was successful in the late seventies and early eighties. In 1981 they became
Dutch champions and
UEFA Cup finalists. Things went downhill after the Molenaar brothers left the club. In 1988 AZ were relegated from the
Eredivisie.The involvement of businessman Dirk Scheringa in the mid-nineties marked the revival of the club. AZ returned to the Eredivisie in 1998. In 2004-05 they reappeared in the UEFA Cup tournament, advancing to the semi-finals. They also finished third in the Eredivisie that season, again qualifying for the UEFA Cup, after spending most of the season in the top two spots. A remarkable achievement, since AZ is financially not a big club and it does not have a similar fanbase like their Eredivisie rivals: AZ's home ground in the 2005-06 season, the
Alkmaarderhout, had a spectator capacity of 8,390.
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