In the Netherlands, the big three clubs, Feyenoord, Ajax and PSV Eindhoven have always stood out above the rest in their commercial success, fame and financial muscle. However, the 2019/20 campaign, despite its curtailment has seen AZ Alkmaar give the league table a breath of fresh air, breaking the expected league standings.
Conjuring up a second placed standing level on points with Dutch giants Ajax, AZ were there closest challengers and were on course to record their first league triumph since 2009, before the season was deemed null and void.
AZ’s Alkmaar’s emergence is certainly no fluke, in fact its a successful one and one that could leave a lasting impact on the big three Dutch outfits. If you look behind AZ’s success this season, you’d find that it is down to their impressive emphasis on their youth setup and one academy product arguably central to their efforts this season is bright young winger Calvin Stengs.
A product of the much famed academy since the age of 12, Stengs has rapidly emerged as a fundamental piece of the AZ Alkmaar jigsaw, along with Myron Boadu, Teun Koopmeiners and Owen Wijndal. Members of the first team squad have been together for many years.
Stengs is the one who has stood out, already attracting the interest of a number of top European outfits such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus. His 25 outings in the Dutch Eredivisie has captured the imagination of his reported suitors.
Who is Calvin Stengs?
Born in Nieuw-Vennep, Northern Holland, Stengs joined the AZ youth academy at the age of 12, having formerly played for local side SV DIOS and HFC Haarlem.
Stengs was promoted to the reserve side for the 2016/17 season playing in the Dutch third division. That season proved a successful one for the winger, finishing the campaign with six goals and eight assists from 20-odd outings. His sparkling performances with the reserves rightly warranted the attention of then first team coach John van den Brom.
His promotion came at the end of the 2016/17 conclusion, playing in the Eredivisie Europa League play-offs. With two appearances under his belt, Stengs made an immediate impression scoring in both semi-final games against FC Groningen, before setting up two goals in the first of two legs against FC Utrecht. AZ suffered defeat on penalties, at the last hurdle, however, it was opportunity to look at their academy product Calvin Stengs, if they had gained anything from the experience is that they held a future star in their hands.
AZ Alkmaar possessed a player they could really build around, and that they did. Entering the following season with much anticipation, they acquired the services of Marco Bizot and Oussama Idrissi – supplementing the exciting group of homegrown talent that were ultimately fast tracked into the first team picture.
However, Stengs’ 2017/18 was cut short abruptly, a game where he was awarded his first start in a 3-2 defeat against PSV Eindhoven, twisting his knee and tearing his ACL in just the seventh minute. Stengs didn’t feature until October the following year, scoring his first goal for the club in a 3-0 victory over FC Utrecht in January 2019. The campaign proved a steady progression for him finishing the season with 3 goals and 4 assists from 21 appearances.
Stengs’ ever presence in the first team picture was a welcome sight and the matured nature of his return aided his development within the current campaign – one that proved his remarkable breakthrough as an outstanding young talent.
How has Calvin Stengs impressed this season? What’s his style?
A jinky, tricky, remarkably gifted young forward, Calvin Stengs is a pain for defenders when he’s on the ball. Capable of easily getting by his markers with a silky drop of the shoulders, feinting one way then moving the other way. The way in which Stengs performs such moves is a joy to watch.
While Myron Boadu and Idrissi are seen as the explosive forwards blessed with such blistering pace, Stengs represents the more subtle and creative spark in the attacking trio. One such subtlety is his spatial awareness, and effortless knack of picking the right pockets of space in between the lines.
He typically lines up on the right of the AZ front free but is given the license to roam around in the attacking and middle third to create space and give the team more options when in possession of the ball. It’s through these areas where Stengs is at his most dangerous, capable of threading such delicate, fine through balls to his fellow forwards or to attempt shots with his stronger left-boot.
Calvin Stengs was directly involved in more shots (122) than any other AZ player in the 2019/20 Eredivisie campaign. He’s made 2.5 shots per game, 2.4 key passes and 2.4 dribbles highlighting his subtle but decisive impact in AZ’s exciting attack.
5 goals and 7 assists in the Dutch Eredivisie this season is simply impressive. Add that to his 2 goals and 2 assist through AZ’s Europa League run and you can see that Stengs was performing so close to his undoubted potential before the season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Stengs can simply put in a reliable performance within any of the attacking positions. His flexibility, vision, trickery, ball technique and balance warrants such versatility even for a player who’s just finished his second full season as a professional footballer.
Stengs is an atypical modern forward but with a blend of silky attributes, as the above heat map shows, Stengs does most of his work coming in off the right, he also has no problem picking up the deep in midfield and finding his teammates in more advanced positions or even dribbling past a few opponents to drive his team up the pitch.
When he receives a pass, he already has an idea of what he’s going to do and even if that plan fails, he’s very adept in improvising, manoeuvring his way out of trouble. His posture is open to play, often on the half-turn, and he can take his first touch with either foot.
In tight spaces, he’s capable of shifting the ball between both feet to protect possession, a trait that so few players can perform. Yet, Stengs has mastered them which opens up more angles and creates more options for his next creative action.
Stengs isn’t your typical winger, one who is relatively goes to the byline and get crosses in. He can obviously perform such roles, but he performs at his best when being allowed the freedom to create within the final third areas. Per 90 minutes, he performs 5.42 passes into the penalty area, 8.32 progressive passes and 4 through balls. These numbers highlights that Stengs is twice as productive in creating chances.
The young Dutchman is second behind Ajax’s talisman Hakim Ziyech regarding forward passes. He’s got a remarkable understanding with Myron Boadu and its Boadu’s off the ball runs that allows Stengs the opportunity to thread through balls for him to run onto. He identifies runners expertly and often spots passes that most wingers can’t.
What does the future hold for Calvin Stengs?
Calvin Stengs holds such distinctive features in his game; a tall, slender physique that so often glides around the pitch effortlessly facilitating attacks with his silky left foot, supporting a Leroy Sane-like afro. Indeed, he holds similar characteristics to the German international.
Stengs is indeed a unique talent, its no wonder why he’s so highly regarded in Holland and it won’t be long before he becomes a key component for Ronald Koeman at international level in the coming future after his debut last year. While Myron Boadu may have captured the attention because of his goal scoring exploits, Stengs is in fact the heartbeat of this exciting AZ Alkmaar side – the driving force behind their progressive team.
While it may be tempting for top clubs to move for him this summer, a couple more years leading AZ certainly won’t hurt his development. It’s his performances for the club that has Ronald Koeman excited about the prospect of having him in the national team. His attributes are seriously appreciated at AZ, and that may be the case for a while yet.
Though, there are a few Premier League sides who could do with his sublime attributes. Don’t be surprised to see a move to the English top-flight in the near future.
anthonyscouts.co.uk 