AMSTERDAM – Former US National Team ace Earnie Stewart continued climbing the ladder of management success Tuesday, when he was named technical director with Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.
The Cheese Farmers, Dutch champions in 2009, slid to fifth place in the Eredivisie last term. With former director Marcel Brands off to PSV Eindhoven, Stewart steps in to run a club seeking to remain among the league’s elite the smart way.
When the American arrived at NAC in 2006, the club had just survived a frightening relegation scrape. Two seasons later, the Yellow Army finished third. This year, they made the first round proper of the Europa League.
This success with the southerners drew attention up north. Stewart quickly became the prime candidate to succeed Brands, and was quickly hired away from NAC and is delighted to be pulling strings in Alkmaar.
"It's a big step up from where I started at VVV Venlo," Stewart told MLSsoccer.com by phone on Thursday. "And then going to my old club, NAC Breda, and those four years were good. It's a tremendous step up in my career. I was very pleased and very happy even just hearing my name mentioned among other names as a candidate for this job. Once you're the person, it's a fantastic feeling."
Stewart was born in Neghel, Netherlands, and played in the top Dutch league from 1988 until 2003. He also earned 101 career caps with the US National Team, and scored the decisive goal in the Americans' 1994 World Cup memorable group play win over Colombia.
The move up comes a larger budget at AZ, perhaps even one twice the size of NAC Breda's. The thrifty executive says the added cash makes thing easier and harder at the same time.
"When you want to go get players, it makes it a little easier. Of course, when you have more money, it makes it easier to give money away – and that's something I don't like doing,” Stewart said. "The decisions are at another level, but I'm going to try to make the same types of decisions I've made over the last four years. Every Euro counts, and we gotta make sure that works the same way as with NAC."
AZ are busy fielding transfer offers, with the likes of Mexico defender Héctor Moreno and forward Moussa Dembélé making gossip headlines.
"We do expect that there's going to some players leaving," he said. "At this time, there are a couple players that have done well for AZ and are a hot commodity now. There are transfer talks going on about these players."
As one might expect, the greater means increases the possibility that someone could end up as Stewart's first ever American capture at AZ Stadion.
The Netherlands has bumped the minimum annual salary requirement for non-European Union signings up to €512,000 ($623,000). The man Dutch folks call "Earnest" admitted they can afford the right player, but made it clear he won't go out of his way to bring AZ their first American player.
"The chances are greater, yeah," said Stewart. "We have a bigger budget, we do have room for non-EU players. I still know a lot of players. Because I played in MLS, I saw some young players and some of them have developed over the years. On the other hand, we have a fantastic scouting system at AZ. They're going to be traveling all over the world so that we have great opportunities."
Stewart doesn't rule out one day bringing his management skills to America, but for now, assures that there is only one job on his mind.
"The club is doing well once again and we need to make sure it stays that way," Stewart said. "We have to make sure that we compete for European soccer every year."
"I'm grateful for everything I learned at VVV Venlo and NAC Breda, and I want to get better at what I'm doing at AZ. Whereever that ends, that's something for the future. Right now, I want to see if I can keep building my career at this wonderful branch."
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