Alkmaar take on Dutch Goliaths

Big three
In the last 40 years, last season's UEFA Cup semi-finalists are the only side to have broken AFC Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord's grip on the title. Having made an excellent start to the new campaign, Alkmaar coach Louis van Gaal may be set to lead another assault on the championship.

Adriaanse leaves
AZ provided PSV with tough competition for much of last term, but when it was announced that coach Co Adriaanse would leave to take charge of FC Porto in the summer, few gave the modest club a chance of retaining their best players.

Predicted exodus
However, the predicted exodus has been less dramatic than expected. While defenders Olaf Lindenbergh and Jan Kromkamp left for Ajax and Villarreal CF respectively and striker Robin Nelisse joined FC Utrecht, Van Gaal's men have won their opening three matches in style.

Arveladze starring
Much of that success has been down to striker Shota Arveladze, recruited from Rangers FC. The experienced Georgian, who may yet persuade Van Gaal to bring his international team-mate Zurab Khizanishvili to Alkmaar, has scored four goals already.

Excellent record
"It does not surprise me at all," said former FC Barcelona boss Van Gaal who spent part of last year as sporting director at Ajax. "Wherever Shota has played, his scoring rate has been a goal every two games. There are not many strikers in Europe who average that."

Perez hat-trick
On Saturday, Dane Kenneth Perez outshone Arveladze with a hat-trick in a 5-0 win at SBV Vitesse, but Van Gaal was subdued afterwards. "I am pleased with the result, but we still made too many wrong choices in possession. We did not play so well as a team - our individual qualities made the difference."

Late slump
Van Gaal is reluctant to talk up his side, mindful of the late slump in 2004/05 which saw Alkmaar finish 23 points behind champions PSV in third place. And when it comes to their title credentials, the coach is resolute in his scepticism.

Realistic expectations
"That is not realistic," he said. "You only have to look at the clubs' budgets. We work with a €14m budget; PSV, Ajax and Feyenoord all have budgets between €50m and €60m. Therefore, we should be glad if we manage to qualify for Europe again."

National selections
However, for all their modesty, few doubt the progress that the club are making. Not least Netherlands coach Marco van Basten, who has regularly called Alkmaar's Henk Timmer, Tim De Cler, Barry Opdam and Denny Landzaat into his squad.

Not so bad
With Stijn Schaars and Demy de Zeeuw getting a run-out with the Under-21s, Perez starring for Denmark and Tarik Sektioui doing similarly well for Morocco, even Van Gaal would not deny that his side are going somewhere. "Well, maybe AZ are not doing so bad after all," he conceded.

European start
As they prepare to open their UEFA Cup campaign against Russia's FC Krylya Sovetov Samara on 15 September, fans will be hoping Van Gaal's "not so bad" will be good enough to give them another memorable season.