A quiet-but-tough head coach in Pascal Jansen.
An international teammate of Celtic ace Giorgos Giakoumakis with a similar eye for goal.
Frustration against Eredivisie opponents who park the bus.
Aspirations to bely a modest budget and usurp Ajax and PSV Eindhoven.
Those are just some of the defining attributes of AZ Alkmaar, Dundee United’s Europa Conference League third qualifying round opponents.
Ahead of a mouth-watering continental clash at Tannadice, Courier Sport spoke to Noordhollands Dagblad’s AZ correspondent Theo Brinkman — in Scotland for Thursday’s tie — to get the lowdown.
The Manager: Pascal Jansen
“As a man, Pascal Jansen is very balanced and quiet in his performance. He is not shouting very much; it is calm and steady.
“However, as he says himself, he can be tough in his decisions.
“AZ’s style is technical and attacking, that is how he wants the team to play but it does not always work out this way!
“Especially against very defensive teams, AZ can sometimes struggle because the opponent is too compact and the spaces are too small. They can struggle to break teams down.
“But their style will always be to move the ball around the pitch quickly, dominate possession and be on the offence.”
The Dangermen?
“Unfortunately for AZ, the star player — certainly, one of the star players — is currently injured — in Jesper Karlsson. He will not be in the team and this is a blow for them because he was the most dangerous striker, although he was not top scorer.
“The main striker, Vangelis Pavlidis, is a very dangerous player in attack.
“Sometimes he does not look the most aggressive but he scores a lot of goals. He was the club’s top scorer last season.
🇬🇷 Vangelis Pavlidis nominated for the 2021 FIFA Puskas Award, for his beautifully crafted solo goal for Willem II against Fortuna Sittard back in May 💥
🗳️ VOTE: https://t.co/hJZYofNVaepic.twitter.com/e71jsovGoF
— Hellas Football (@HellasFooty) November 29, 2021
“In midfield, Jordy Clasie is a good, important player for this team.
“For fans, he is someone who doesn’t stand out but he is very efficient; always passing the ball, controlling the game and he has so much experience. He played for the Dutch team in the World Cup in 2014 so he has a lot of quality.”
What are AZ’s expectations?
“The ambitions are high as ever. They want to challenge the big teams like Ajax and PSV.
“They are not saying, ‘we need to be champions; we must win the title’. But they always want to challenge them.
“The realistic goal — and this is the case every season — is to reach European competition through third or fourth place in the league or winning the cup.
“Once in Europe, there is a drive to reach the group phase and always do better than last season [AZ reached the last-16 of the Europa Conference League in 2021/22].
“So, it would be a big blow for the club if they do not beat Dundee United and go on to reach the group stage.
“They should progress but you never know; we can see that Dundee United have some good, experienced players.”
How can Dundee United beat AZ Alkmaar?
“I would say to look at the defending of the wingers, maybe. AZ’s wingers do not always love chasing back!
“The right wing wasn’t too good last season, and also so far this season. One of the key defenders, [right-back] Yukinari Sugawara, is still injured and they are struggling on the right side.
“There is not one person who is outstanding for that position — a lot of changes in that role — and there could be opportunities there.”
Conversation