AZ's Youth League class of 2023 continue to shine
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
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With insight from players who have progressed to the senior team, we look at AZ Alkmaar's 2022/23 UEFA Youth League title and what the competition does for young players.
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Hanging at AZ Alkmaar's training ground are photographs of the club's academy graduates who have broken into the first team.
These players are the Dutch outfit's pride and joy, representing everything it stands for as it aims to compete with Europe's most powerful clubs.
"It's great for young players that AZ invests in that," says defensive midfielder Peer Koopmeiners, who features among those on the walls having broken through in 2021.
"When you see all the photos, you want yours up there as well. I’m glad mine is."
Two years ago, AZ's Under-19s made history by becoming the first Dutch winners of the UEFA Youth League – the youth version of the Champions League, founded in 2013 to help young players transition into senior football.
That stunning victory, which included knockout defeats of Real Madrid and Barcelona, was the club's first UEFA trophy at any level.
Telling the story of the UEFA Youth League
In September 2024 we released 'Development at its Heart: The UEFA Youth League'. The 30-minute film uses behind-the-scenes access to tell the story of a unique tournament, exploring its positive impact since launching in 2013. Among those featured in the documentary is Wouter Goes, who captained AZ Alkmaar to the 2022/23 Youth League title.
'A nice campaign'
Striker Mexx Meerdink was a star of their campaign, netting twice as a substitute in the final – a 5-0 victory over Hajduk Split – to finish as the competition's joint-top goalscorer.
"It was a really nice campaign," Meerdink says. "We started off well and then beat Barcelona away [3-0] and Real Madrid at home [4-0.]"
Incredibly, Meerdink missed the semi-final against Sporting after sending AZ's senior team into the UEFA Conference League semi-finals with the decisive spot kick in their penalty shoot-out win over Anderlecht the night before, before playing in the Youth League final in Switzerland the next day.
"It was doubtful I would play," Meerdink says. "But I went to Geneva for half of the final. It was a great experience, being important for the team."
'The trophy means something'
Youth team skipper Wouter Goes had been an unused substitute for the Conference League tie before starting against Sporting the following afternoon.
"For someone that age, it's a great tournament to play in," says the 20-year-old centre-back, who has since progressed to the first team. "The first trophy really means something to you."
Meerdink is also now a regular fixture of AZ's senior team, netting five goals domestically this season and playing in the UEFA Europa League.
For him, Goes and other members of AZ’s class of 2023, it's clear that the Youth League has provided an ideal launchpad for their careers.