March 18, 2015
THE AMERICANIZATION OF SOCCER:
AZ Alkmaar hire Oakland A's general manager and Moneyball hero Billy Beane (AP, 18 March 2015)
AZ Alkmaar have hired the Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane - the subject of the bestseller Moneyball - as an adviser, tasking him with closing the gap on big-spending clubs in the Eredivisie. [...]Alkmaar's general director Robert Eenhoorn, who played for the New York Yankees and Anaheim Angels in the 1990s, said: "AZ was already very interested in the Moneyball principle before I got here. I have known Billy for a while, because of my history in baseball. When we approached him for this role with AZ, he was immediately enthusiastic."He has been able to close the gap with the big-market teams, by being innovative. We are very excited and look forward to working with him. Billy will give his advice from the States and he will visit Alkmaar a few times a year."
For all their passion about the game, Europeans don't really understand it very well.
Posted by Orrin Judd at March 18, 2015 6:18 PM
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