In the movie Moneyball, the general manager of the Oakland A’s, Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, had a life-changing epiphany: Baseball was operating in an all too conventional, all too defective manner. With access to the tightest of budgets, Beane was expected to perform a miracle, to perform a modern day ‘water into wine’ act. He may not be God “Incarnate,” but Beane reinvented his team by outwitting far richer clubs.
By applying the principles of scepticism, innovation and intelligence, Billy created a new blueprint, and this was recognised by AZ Alkmaar.
Recently confirming that Beane would work as an official advisor to the club, while retaining his position as general manager of the A’s, AZ can only benefit from the American’s dexterity. Although the Californian outfit were eliminated before the World Series on each occasion, the A’s have qualified for MLB’s playoffs each of the past three seasons.
Critics of Beane’s sabermetrics system regularly point out that the 52 year old has never won a title with the A’s, but his method of using data to analyze the intricacies of sports has many benefits.
Widely considered one of the most progressive executives operating today, Beane, since assuming his general manager duties eighteen years ago, has been awarded with numerous industry awards.
Shorty after being selected The Sporting News Executive of the Year in 2012, he was named Baseball America’s Major League Executive of the Year.
Under his guidance, the A’s have picked up six American League West titles (2000; 2002-03; 2006; 2012-13). Furthermore, Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada earned American League Most Valuable Player awards during Beane’s tenure as general manager. Famed for remoulding a team that has posted one of the majors’ best records over the last ten years, the brilliance of the man lies in his ability to acquire influential players through trades, and this shrewdness has propelled several playoff runs.
Executively talented and in possession of a financially friendly philosophy, it’s no surprise that Beane’s services are in demand.
Earnie Stewart, AZ’s director of football, a self-proclaimed “Moneyball” fan, is best remembered in the U.S. for scoring against Colombia in the 1994 World Cup. Stewart was so inspired by the “Moneyball” philosophy that he decided to have a movie screening for AZ executives back in 2011. After the screening, much to Stewart’s delight, everyone agreed on one point – Beane was the man for them.
AZ, a respectable, tight knit club, currently sit fourth in the Dutch Eredivisie.
Very much the Oakland A’s of Dutch football, AZ operate on a tight budget and have held their own against the more financially muscular outfits — most notably PSV and Ajax. With two domestic league titles, the most recent coming in 2009 under the stewardship of Louis van Gaal, the current Manchester United boss, AZ will look to prosper from Beane’s ability to develop a winning mentality against financial odds.
According to Simon Gleave, head of analysis at Infostrada Sports, an Amsterdam based analytics company, “there is no real evidence that Dutch clubs are using analysis of on-pitch data to improve performance. The Eredivisie is not awash with great innovation in this area. It is new and there’s an opportunity to get an edge.”
The Che Guevara of sports, Beane is revolutionist, a a perfect fit for a small, economically aware club. Out of all the Dutch sides, AZ seem to be the only regular users of data analysis, and this is something Beane will surely exploit.
