Roman Yaremchuk prepares to face his former countrymen as "Olympiacos" meets "AZ Alkmaar" in a friendly match scheduled for July 26 at 16:00 Kyiv time. The Ukrainian striker, who joined the Greek powerhouse this season, has already helped his new team secure a domestic double.
"Every match against teams from strong leagues gives us valuable experience before the Champions League campaign," the coaching staff might be thinking ahead of this interesting clash.
The Dutch side "AZ Alkmaar" belongs to the second tier of Netherlands football, rarely challenging the country's top three clubs. Their 2009 championship remains only the second title in the club's history. Last season was fairly typical for them – they reached the Europa League playoffs before being eliminated by "Tottenham" in March, while finishing fifth in the Eredivisie.
Interestingly, AZ Alkmaar has already kicked off their season, suffering a surprising 3:4 defeat to Finnish underdogs Ilves in a Conference League qualifier. This unexpected setback might shift their focus toward seeking revenge in the return leg rather than this friendly encounter.
Olympiacos, meanwhile, stands as the undisputed giant of Greek football with 47 championship titles. Under Jose Luis Mendilibar, who took charge during the 2023/2024 season, they achieved something special – winning the Conference League, the first European trophy in Greek football history!
The 2024/2025 season has started brilliantly for the Greek champions. With Yaremchuk strengthening their squad, they completed a golden double, finishing a whopping 16 points ahead of their nearest challenger "Panathinaikos" in the Greek Super League.
The head-to-head record favors the Greek side. In their 2009 Champions League meetings, Olympiacos took four out of six possible points against AZ. They also won a friendly match three years ago.
With the Greek league season only starting next month, this friendly gives Yaremchuk and company valuable preparation time. Will the Ukrainian striker score against the Dutch side? The odds seem to favor the Greeks in this encounter.
