AZ is still three games away from the group stage of the Conference League. The first of two meetings with Dundee United is scheduled for Thursday evening, after which the Alkmaarders will face the winner of the game between Riga FC and Gil Vicente in the play-offs. The meeting with the Scots will be a tough one, expect Bruno Martins Indi and Pascal Jansen.
Unlike AZ, Dundee enters a round later and will be in European action for the first time this season on Thursday evening. Last weekend, the team of coach Jack Ross managed to keep a point from the first league match against Kilmarnock (1-1). “It’s going to be a difficult fight,” Jansen said in the run-up to the game during the press conference. “Dundee did well last season to qualify for this competition. It is a physical team. It is important that we play our own game. We have a plan for tomorrow and we are ready.”
Martins Indi also expects a physically tough match. AZ traveled to Scotland battered, because both Riechedly Bazoer and Peer Koopmeiners are ill, while Zinho Vanheusden, Jesper Karlsson and Yukinara Sugawara are not match fit. To make matters worse, Jens Odgaard is also struggling with an injury. “We expect a difficult game. But we have confidence in our own qualities,” said Martins Indi. “If you look at their selection, almost all players are tall. They are dangerous with standard situations. We have to be ready for that.”
According to Jansen, the encounter with Dundee cannot be compared with the clash against Celtic last August. At the time, the Alkmaarders were less than the Scottish superpower in two matches and were therefore unable to qualify for the group stage of the Europa League. “That was something completely different. A different experience,” says Jansen. “A club with a great history, both nationally and internationally. Playing in a stadium where you can’t even understand yourself is very special. Those are elements that you take with you in your development. Both as a player, as a team and as a trainer.”
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