AZ Alkmaar captain wants Leeroy Echteld to stay on as head coach following KNVB Cup win

AZ Alkmaar captain wants Leeroy Echteld to stay on as head coach following KNVB Cup win

AZ Alkmaar romped to a 5-1 victory in Sunday’s cup final. The side made up for last seasons disappointing final defeat to Go Ahead Eagles by taking full advantage of an NEC Nijmegen side that were pushing to get back into the game. AZ Alkmaar hit the side on the break a number of times to cement their hold on the game and end up lifting their fifth KNVB Cup.

Head coach Leeroy Echteld could not have imagined this happening at the start of the season. The interim head coach took over just three months ago after Maarten Martens was sacked. While Echteld was only given a contract until the end of the season, his cup win has seen calls for him to extend his stay. It appears that conversations between the club and head coach are now taking place, and as reported by ESPN, AZ Alkmaar captain Jordy Clasie would like to see Echteld stay.

Following the cup win, Clasie said ‘I think this coach has brought a certain spirit and energy back into the group…I say he should stay. But ultimately, it’s not up to me’.

While the trophy is the most important thing, AZ Alkmaar can also now look forward to a return to European football without having to go through the play-offs. The side are currently sitting in sixth place, a finish that would have seen them having to win the play-offs. Now that that has been avoided, they could try and push for an improved ticket by closing the gap on Feyenoord and NEC, although this seems unlikely.

For more on how the cup final will effect the distribution of European tickets in the Eredivisie, we put together an article here.