AZ finished seventh in the Eredivisie last season, but won the KNVB Cup with an emphatic 5-1 victory over NEC and reached the Conference League quarter-finals.
How would you assess last season overall and what were the main positives and frustrations?
Mixed, but with a great ending. Seventh is below what we expect in Alkmaar. The league campaign never really got going.
The cup final made up for a lot of that, because winning a trophy doesn’t happen often at AZ. The celebrations will stay with a lot of us for a long
time.
Add a European quarter-final and you can call it a good season, even if the league table says otherwise.
Leeroy Echteld replaced Maarten Martens midway through last season and has overseen an excellent start this time around.
What has he changed since taking charge and how popular is he with the AZ supporters?
He made the team harder to beat. Against Heerenveen we were 2-1 down at half-time and still won 3-2. Afterwards he talked about mental resilience, which the staff work on deliberately with the busy schedule in mind.
He also isn’t easily satisfied. He said the tempo had to go up even while we were winning every week. But the main reason supporters like him is that he is simply a real person. He doesn’t act for the cameras and he doesn’t play the role of a manager. Leeroy is just Leeroy. People appreciate that.
AZ are unbeaten in the Eredivisie this season, scoring 17 goals in just six matches.
Has the strength of the start surprised supporters and do you believe this team can challenge PSV and Feyenoord at the top?
A little, yes. After selling key players you expect a transition year. Instead, we won the first five league games.
The 1-1 at home to Willem II on Friday meant the first dropped points. They defended deep and waited for one chance. They got it and took it. That is football too.
How we cope with Sunderland will be interesting, because that will be a completely different kind of match. Challenging for the title over a full season while also playing in Europe is a big ask. Staying close to the top is realistic.
Troy Parrott left for Real Betis during the summer and Sven Mijnans joined PSV.
How big were those departures and do you think AZ replaced them successfully?
Big. Parrott scored the goals and Mijnans was a key figure in midfield. Neither has been replaced one for one.
Instead, Echteld kept the core of the squad together and added experience with Calvin Stengs and Wesley Hoedt. Hoedt came back to Alkmaar after eleven years.
So far, the goals have come from all over the team: Daal, Meerdink, Kwakman, Schouten, Chávez and even Clasie have all scored.
Calvin Stengs returned to AZ this summer having originally come through the academy.
How significant was bringing him back to the club and what can Sunderland supporters expect from him?
Very. He is one of our own and an eight-time Dutch international. As a footballer, he is without any doubt our best player.
He came back from an injury and the staff have built him up step by step. Keeping him fit is crucial, so you shouldn’t play him three times a week. But when he plays, he makes the difference straight away.
Ro-Zangelo Daal and Mexx Meerdink have both made excellent starts to the season.
Who are the main attacking players Sunderland need to be wary of on Wednesday?
Ro-Zangelo Daal on the left. He cuts inside and scored twice against Go Ahead Eagles.
Mexx Meerdink works hard up front and finishes well. Just look at his long-range equaliser in Heerenveen.
Also keep an eye on Kees Smit. He is back in the squad after missing the last two league games. He is our most creative midfielder and his performance at Crystal Palace last November got plenty of people talking in England.
AZ have a reputation for developing young players rather than simply buying established stars.
How important is the academy to the identity of the club and who is the next youngster supporters believe could make a big breakthrough?
It is the identity of the club. A lot of this squad came through the youth ranks, and our captain Peer Koopmeiners has spent his entire career at AZ.
The next one I expect to make it is Bendegúz Kovács. He came off the bench for the first team against Willem II on Friday.
Behind him, Julian Oerip is starting to make his mark for Jong AZ. With the De Wit brothers and Wassim Bouziane, we have more exciting players coming through.
At the other end of the experience scale, Jordy Clasie remains an important player at 35 and Peer Koopmeiners has started every league game this season.
How important is that experience alongside AZ’s younger players?
Very. Jordy Clasie scored in his 350th Eredivisie match on Friday and still sets the rhythm of the team.
Peer Koopmeiners is the constant next to him. In a young side, those two decide when to slow the game down and when to push on. That matters in a stadium like yours on a European night.
AZ have traditionally found English opposition difficult in Europe, winning only three of their previous 22 meetings.
Do supporters view a trip to Sunderland as one of the more difficult fixtures in the league phase, particularly given the occasion surrounding Sunderland’s return to Europe?
Yes. English opposition has been a problem for AZ in Europe for a long time. We even have a name for it: the England syndrome.
We are also Sunderland’s first European opponent in more than fifty years and the first ever at the Stadium of Light. That makes it harder still. We expect a full house and a physical side that goes at it from the first minute.
Around 500 AZ fans are travelling. Plenty of them are looking forward to hearing Can’t Help Falling in Love live.
Lastly, how do you expect AZ to approach the match tactically, where do you think Sunderland can hurt them and what is your score prediction?
AZ will want the ball and try to build patiently from the back.
The risk is being physically overrun in the first twenty minutes before the team finds its rhythm. That is where Sunderland can hurt us: pressing high, winning second balls and using the crowd.
But we are dangerous on the counter. If we play through the press, we are in front of the goalkeeper in no time. My prediction: 1-1.
