Editing AZ Alkmaar (section)

===1985–1993: Interim years===

Co-owner [[Cees Molenaar]] died in 1979. AZ's fortunes deteriorated after his brother, Klaas Molenaar, left the club in 1985. After several mid-table finishes in previous seasons, AZ was relegated in 1988 from the [[Eredivisie]], ending the season on 28 points from 34 matches and falling to the {{Lang|nl|[[Eerste Divisie]]|italic=no}} due to the superior goal difference of [[Roda JC]]. This relegation was significant since it occurred just seven years after the club's historic domestic double and marked the end of AZ's first period of success in Dutch football. Following this, AZ spent much of the next decade in the second tier, struggling to find a return to the top flight.