Max Huiberts Faces Influx of Interest Following Departure of Head Coach

Max Huiberts’ phone has been buzzing with activity on Monday. Numerous coaches and agents are reaching out to the technical director of AZ following the departure of head coach Maarten Martens.

Despite the influx of interest from potential candidates, Huiberts has indicated that it may not be fruitful for these coaches to make contact at this time. He has opted to promote Jong AZ coach Leeroy Echteld to the position of interim coach for the immediate future. The intention is to appoint a new head coach to start in the upcoming summer. “That decision is not for me to make,” Huiberts stated in an interview with Voetbal International, noting that he will be leaving AZ after more than a decade this summer.

Huiberts has long believed that more can be extracted from the current players. “I consistently track the progress of the team and individual players based on our data models,” he explained. “The latest analysis was discussed with Merijn Zeeman (general director) and Paul Brandenburg (head of training). After that conversation, I made my decision. Naturally, Maarten was disappointed, but he handled it with the dignity I have come to expect from him.”