AZ secured European football on Sunday evening at the expense of FC Twente, achieving their season’s goal. Nevertheless, the Alkmaar players don’t feel the season was entirely successful. “The cup final still hurts.”
While Ruben van Bommel talks about the playoff final and his season in the mixed zone on Sunday evening, former AZ striker Myron Boadu walks by. “I came to watch talents like him,” Boadu says, tapping Van Bommel on the shoulder.
Van Bommel laughs, as the attacker didn’t lose his smile after AZ’s 3-2 victory over FC Twente. “I think we ultimately deserved to win this match,” Van Bommel said.
“But I didn’t think we were good in the first half. We fell behind 0-2. Why did we start so poorly? I don’t know. I don’t think it was nerves, but sometimes things don’t go your way. Fortunately, we recovered in the second half and can still celebrate.”
AZ’s recovery was partly thanks to Van Bommel, who brought AZ level shortly after halftime following Mexx Meerdink’s goal before halftime. In injury time, Ibrahim Sadiq caused an explosion of joy among AZ fans by tapping in the 3-2.
“I thought: this is the last attack, one more sprint,” the Ghanaian said afterwards. “I saw that Troy Parrott had the ball and hoped he would give it to me. He shot himself, but the ball fell at my feet.” And laughing: “Then I thought: let me give the ball the final touch.”
Two crates of beer in the locker room
With that goal, AZ concluded a fluctuating season with a ticket to European football. Afterwards, two crates of Heineken beer went to the locker room. Yet there wasn’t exuberant celebration at AZ. “But we are relieved because we had a difficult season,” Sadiq said.
AZ alternated high peaks with deep valleys this season. For example, the club won 9-1 against sc Heerenveen in September and defeated several renowned European clubs at home. But AZ also had two periods in which they remained without a win for a long time.
“And those dips lasted too long to finish really high this season,” Van Bommel responded. “There are more things that don’t sit well with me, like the cup final. That remains painful.”
In April, AZ was heading for victory in the final against Go Ahead Eagles, but conceded the equalizer deep in injury time after an unfortunate handball by Peer Koopmeiners. The Deventer side eventually won after penalties.
That lost final means that AZ’s season cannot be described as successful, according to Van Bommel. “On the other hand: after that final, our goal was to reach European football. Now that we have succeeded, we can still conclude with a reasonable feeling. Not everything was bad this year.”
Ultra-short vacation for Van Bommel?
Due to Sunday’s victory, AZ players can only enjoy their vacation for a short time. The matches in the second qualifying round of the Conference League will be played on July 24 and 31. In the weeks before that, the Alkmaar team will probably be training again.
Van Bommel may even face an ultra-short vacation. The attacker will represent Young Oranje at the European Championship under 21 in Slovakia this summer. The Dutch youngsters hope to reach the final, which will only be played on June 28.
Less than a month later, AZ’s first European match awaits. “Yes, I saw it,” Van Bommel says laughing. “But you know, I also missed matches this season due to injuries. Playing matches is the best thing there is. A short vacation doesn’t matter to me then.”