Leeroy Echteld named first Rinus Michels Manager of the Month of the 2026/27 Season
Leeroy Echteld has been named Rinus Michels Manager of the Month for the first time. The AZ manager receives the award following his side’s performances in the Eredivisie in August.
Leeroy Echteld guided AZ to a perfect record in August, with his side the only club to win all four of their matches and take the maximum 12 points. The Alkmaar side opened the season with a 2-0 victory over ADO Den Haag, before also beating FC Utrecht (4-1), Fortuna Sittard (2-0) and Go Ahead Eagles (5-2).
Young and Familiar Starting XI
AZ have won their opening four matches of a Eredivisie season for only the fourth time in their history, having previously achieved the feat in 1980/81, 2005/06 and 2023/24. They also scored an impressive 13 goals in those four matches. The only other season in which AZ scored at least 13 goals after four Matchdays was 2005/06.
Ten different players accounted for those 13 goals, more individual goalscorers than any other team in the competition.
AZ are also the only team in the Eredivisie this season to have started every match with the same XI. The last time AZ did so was in the 2018/19 season.
With an average age of 22 years and 306 days, AZ fielded the second-youngest starting XI in the competition in August. Only SC Cambuur had a younger average starting XI, at 22 years and 82 days.
Leeroy Echteld with the award, presented by ESPN reporter Kenneth Perez.
First Monthly Award
This is Leeroy Echteld’s first Rinus Michels Manager of the Month award. His predecessor, Maarten Martens, was the last AZ manager to win the award, in October 2025.
About the Award
The Rinus Michels Manager of the Month is determined using a data model developed by Hypercube, which takes into account both absolute performance (how strong were the results achieved?) and relative performance (how much better or worse were those results than expected?).
The model considers factors including results, goals scored and conceded, the current strength of the manager’s own team and the strength of their opponents, including home advantage. Several indicators are used to determine team strength, including squad market value, the Euro Club Index (ECI) and the Euro Player Index (EPI).
The Rinus Michels Manager of the Month award is an initiative of Eredivisie CV, Coaches Betaald Voetbal, De Voetbaltrainer and ESPN.
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