 Vlaar was part of the starting line-up thrice, while he came in as a substitute in four matches, having a total of seven Eredivisie appearances in his first half-year.Despite Vlaar's substitute status at AZ, the youngster impressed the Netherlands coach Marco van Basten enough to invite him for his first international matches.As Vlaar was only playing at AZ for a youth contract, various sides were interested to offer Vlaar more playing time.