Billy Beane gets involved in soccer

Baseball news and yet not.

Oakland Athletics’ general manager Billy Beane has accepted a job with Dutch soccer club AZ from Alkmaar. AZ stands for Alkmaar (the renowned cheese city) and Zaanstreek (Zaan area. The Zaan is a small river in the area just north of Amsterdam).

Recently the club acquired former Yankee shortstop and Dutch team manager Robert Eenhoorn for a job with the club.

Billy Beane has accepted a special advisory role with the club. Since Beane is very experienced with creating competitive teams with a small budget, AZ was very interested. The two time Dutch champion was already very intrested in the Moneyball principle according to general director Robert Eenhoorn. Beane’s task will be to narrow the gap with the big spenders in the Dutch Eredivisie (highest professional soccer league in the Netherlands).
According to Robert Eenhoorn, Beane was able to close the gap with the big spenders in MLB by being innovative.

Billy Beane will advice the club from the United States and will visit Alkmaar a few times per year. He will provide advice in the areas of high performance and innovation.