AZ have won the second Eredivisie title in their history. The Alkmaar outfit were also crowned Eredivisie champions in 1981, but haven’t managed to win the title again until now.

They did come close in the 2006/07 campaign, but lost their last match of the season against Excelsior and saw PSV scooping up the title instead.

AZ were one of the biggest disappointments of the last campaign and eventually finished eleventh. Head coach Louis van Gaal even offered his resignation to chairman Dirk Scheringa, but AZ didn’t let go of Van Gaal after he got a vote of confidence from the players.

The Alkmaar outfit made a disastrous start this season with two defeats, but they bounced back with a string of good results. AZ went unbeaten  until this Saturday, when they could have grabbed the title, but lost the home match against Vitesse 2-1.

Nevertheless, AZ have every reason to celebrate, after the losses of both Twente and Ajax this weekend.

Key men for AZ this campaign have been star striker Mounir el Hamdaoui, midfield duo Stijn Schaars and Demy de Zeeuw and Argentinean shot stopper Sergio Romero.

Other impressive performers were Finnish defender Niklas Moisander and strong forward Moussa Dembele.