"AZ in ’81 had bravado and guts"

Thursday 16 April 2009

In the Spelbos residence the phone rings halfway through the morning.

"So far it's been calm, but the party is about to begin I think," says Ronald Spelbos, after he has told the makers of a TV-program they'll have to call back later.

It's not so strange that he is one of the people asked to analyze the AZ-team of 1981 and that of today.

Back then he was one of the symbols of AZ, wearing the red-and-white jersey for eight years, before he joined maker of champions Georg Kessler to Club Brugge.

He got his first invitation for the national team in the year of the league title with AZ and a while later he grew to be one of the best center backs at Ajax.

At present he is Head of Scouting with the KNVB after he was coach at NAC, Vitesse and FC Utrecht.

- Statement 1: AZ of 1981 were a joy to watch

Spelbos: "We would dominate an opponent when in possession and we wanted to play in the opponents half. That could be a difference with AZ now. The way we played took a lot of concentration. You weren't allowed to make mistakes and you had to keep it up 34 games, 90 minutes. I understand full well that Louis van Gaal thinks it's necessary to sit back from time to time though. Let the opponents take the initiative and make a mistake. But we would be dishonest when we say that AZ only benefit from mistakes."

"In our team we had some really attractive players. Jan Peters was a crack in midfield. I still feel he was underestimated. Peters could do anything. He regained balls, he was incredibly strong, tackled and was a great passer. I used to be annoyed who would moan about him only playing short, lateral passes. Ridiculous! Jan Peters could really do anything. In fact the whole midfield was good. Next to Peters there were Kristen Nygaard, Jos Jonker and Peter Arntz. The latter two played out wide. If Peters would leave a gap, Arntz would be there to fill it up. Nygaard was more forward orientated. He could always play a dangerous pass."

- Statement 2: AZ now has more forwards who can score

"That is what I like about this team: they always score. I can hardly remember a game in which they didn't. It's perhaps because of the fact that they have forwards who can play on several different positions. Mounir El Hamdaoui can play center forward or just behind, but he can also come from the wing. Moussa Dembélé has played different positions throughout the season. On the left Maarten Martens has the ability to score. The fact that they can all play in different positions has to do with the organization. They are well organised. Every player knows the tasks on every position and knows what to do there. The individual qualities are also used well."

"In 1981 all eyes were on Kees Kist , but he didn't even play at first. Pier Tol was our striker and Kist was in the sick bay. When he recovered he did play immediately and scored a number of goals."

- Statement 3: Louis van Gaal and Dirk Scheringa talk about AZ as a provincial club. You never did that.

"It didn't feel like that to us and we didn't want to be. We had bravado and guts. I dare say that. We would go around the Eredivisie with an aura that said: we are the best. Opponents would respect us because of it. And we had the types of players to be like that. Kees Kist had been top scorer of the Eredivisie of years. He wasn't a newcomer. Hugo Hovenkamp played with a lot of flair on the overlap, and everybody respected Nygaard, while John Metgod was eyed by Real Madrid. I would add a little toughness."

"The name 'provincial club' indicates the role of the underdog. I know it rarely happens that a club other than the traditional big three Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord, wins the league. It's all down to money. Whoever has the biggest budget has the biggest chance to win it. At the moment Ajax' budget is twice that of AZ. That is why it is so special that AZ win the league. Not so much because they are labeled 'provincial'."

- Statement 5: Van Gaal's players have long been uncertain because of the drama two years ago.

"They were afraid to say out loud that they were going to be champions. The fact that they lost the title on the last day in 2007 was a terrible moment for the entire club. You carry such an experience with you when you are challenging for the league again. But the way they are dealing with that pressure says a lot about the character of the current players. They already know they are expected to win it again next year. That pressure is put upon them automatically. But will you carry it as a burden? Or will you relish it and show it in the way you play? On our team back then were a number of players who enjoyed that status."

- Statement 5: Our coach George Kessler was as extreme as Van Gaal.

"I don't know whether extreme is the right word. He was a special coach though, as is Van Gaal. As a coach I thought of him as a strategist. In the years before we won the league he has had to make some tough decisions. There were some question marks surrounding him as a coach. In a way he was distant, nothing like a father figure. But I thought he was charming and he gave the players a lot of confidence. Kessler knew an awful lot about football. And as he did Van Gaal has also spent a lot of energy on the team building."

- Statement 6: AZ will not be able to hold on to it's best players

"When you win the league in Holland all big European clubs will come and look at your players. Coaches, scouts, they all want to come and take the biggest talents. You can not stop that. The one advantage AZ have is that the other Dutch clubs are not able to sign their best players. They are too expensive for that. AZ have a large scouting team. Just look at the names: John Bosman, Peter Arntz, Hugo Hovenkamp, Max Huiberts, Barry van Galen. It turns out that investing in scouting pays off. The players don't come from big clubs."

"With El Hamdaoui AZ have one of the best forwards in the Netherlands. He is skilled, no too fast but two-footed and he makes a great pair with Dembélé. De Zeeuw always thinks offensively as a midfielder and makes sure that his first touch is always forward. That is one of the strongest weapons of AZ. When he pulls it back he knows it will take all pace from the attack or the counter."

"Demy often sees the right moments and Stijn Schaars is the holding player. He is smart and always knows how the team is or should be positioned. Such a player is indispensable. Let's hope for AZ they can hold on to these guys."