AZ Alkmaar add former Oranje coach Stekelenburg to staff | OneFootball

AZ Alkmaar have added Maarten Stekelenburg to its coaching staff. The 53-year-old Amsterdam native, who served as assistant coach to Frank de Boer and Louis van Gaal from 2019 to 2021, will serve as both assistant coach and transition coach.

A position Maarten Martens previously held at Alkmaar before being appointed head coach early last year, Stekelenburg will be responsible for the development of talented players into the first team and maintaining contact with players on loan from AZ.

Stekelenburg is happy with his new contract and feels comfortable at AZ right away. “I know AZ as a great club focused on development. That suits me. It felt right from the start. I know people on the staff and players I’ve worked with before, so it didn’t take me long to adjust.”

AZ considered Stekelenburg an interesting addition to their staff because of his experience, says football director Max Huiberts: “On the one hand, he knows what it’s like to develop young players to their full potential, but he also knows what it means to perform at the highest level.”

Stekelenburg, not to be confused with the former Ajax and Dutch national team goalkeeper of the same name, worked in Egypt in recent years as technical director at Zed FC. Before his time with the Dutch national team, he coached various Dutch youth teams, as well as Almere City, AFC Ajax, and Ajax Cape Town.

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield