Hedwiges Maduro

Hedwiges Eduard Martinus Maduro (born 13 February 1985) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player who is the assistant coach of Eredivisie club Ajax.

Mainly a defensive midfielder during his playing career, he could also operate as a central defender, where he started his career at Ajax at the age of 19.

A Dutch international in the 2000s, Maduro represented the country at the 2006 World Cup.

Maduro was born in Almere, Flevoland.

At Ajax, he was voted as the Amsterdam club's brightest emerging talent in the 2003–04 season, and made his Eredivisie debut in the following campaign, his debut in the competition coming against Roda JC on 27 February 2005 in a 2–1 away win.

In the following years, Maduro started more often than not for Ajax, helping the team to two KNVB Cups and three Johan Cruyff Shields.

He appeared in 105 games overall for them, scoring eleven goals.

Shortly after making his league debut with Ajax, Maduro won his first cap for the Netherlands on 26 March 2005, in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Romania.

He was picked for the final squad-of-23 by national team manager Marco van Basten – also his coach in Ajax's youth system – appearing four minutes in the 0–0 group stage draw against Argentina in an eventual round-of-16 exit.

The Dutch went on to retain their 2006 title by beating Serbia 4–1 in the final, and he was named in the 'UEFA Team of the Tournament'.

In addition to his work as an analyst on ESPN, Maduro also started his training as a professional football coach.

In 2007, despite already having amassed 12 senior caps, Maduro took part in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship which was held in the Netherlands, and scored the competition's first goal when the Jong Oranje beat Israel 1–0.

He also played in the second match, a 2–1 win against Portugal which secured a semi-final spot and qualification to the Olympic tournament.

In the semi-finals against England (1–1 after 120 minutes) Maduro successfully converted his penalty shootout attempt, as Holland won it 13–12 after 32 shots.

He spent several seasons in La Liga, mainly with Valencia, where he appeared in 113 competitive games and won the 2008 Spanish Cup.

He also competed professionally in Greece and Cyprus.

In mid-January 2008, after helping Ajax to the third consecutive Johan Cruyff Shield, Maduro joined Valencia, in a four-and-a-half-year deal worth €3 million; compatriot Ronald Koeman was the team manager.

His La Liga debut came late in the month a 0–1 home loss against Almería, and he started in all 11 matches he played in his first year, but the Che could only finish tenth even though they won the Copa del Rey, with the player being an unused substitute in the final against Getafe (Koeman had already been fired at that point).

In his first full season in Spain, Maduro started playing a small role, a situation which was created after his late return from the 2008 Summer Olympics.

However, new coach Unai Emery eventually awarded him minutes due to injuries and suspensions, and he performed well in various positions, including right-back.

On 25 April 2009, he scored his first competitive goal for the club, netting from a corner kick to make it 1–1 against Barcelona in an eventual 2–2 home draw; with the team finally finishing in sixth position he made more than 30 appearances during the campaign, in spite of facing stiff competition from the likes of Alexis or Carlos Marchena, as only Raúl Albiol was an undisputed starter in the back-four sector.

Maduro spent the vast majority of 2011–12 on the sidelines, nursing a serious ankle injury.

On 5 June 2012, Sevilla announced on their official website the signing of Maduro on a free transfer.

He turned down a contract extension at Valencia, and also had an offer from Spartak Moscow, who had just hired his former boss Emery, finishing his debut season in Andalusia with 30 games all competitions comprised to help the side to the ninth place, in spite of being diagnosed with a heart condition in the previous summer.

With Míchel gone from the bench and Emery being hired as his replacement, Maduro was quickly deemed surplus to requirements.

On 2 January 2014, it was announced that Maduro would sign with Greece's PAOK for two and a half years.

The deal was confirmed five days later.

In February 2015, nursing a hand injury, Maduro requested a leave of absence and visited his former club Ajax.

After being linked to Feyenoord, his contract expired and both parties agreed to part ways.

On 20 July 2017, the 32-year-old Maduro signed a two-year contract with Cypriot First Division side Omonia for an undisclosed fee, arriving from Groningen.

He made his debut on 10 September in the season opener, a 2–1 home win against Ethnikos.

On 9 August 2018, Maduro announced his retirement through a short video on Twitter.

During the 2018-2019 season, he was assistant coach to Erwin van de Looi at Jong Oranje.

The following season, he was assistant coach at the Netherlands Under-18.

In mid-2020, he became head coach of Almere City U21.

He led the team to the U21 Division 1 title in 2022.

Starting in December 2021, he also worked as an assistant coach of the Almere City first team.

In April 2022, it was announced he would be an assistant for the first team by signing a two-year contract.

In June 2023, Maduro signed a three-year contract to become the assistant coach at his former club, Ajax.

On 23 October that year, he became the caretaker manager of the club, following the dismissal of Maurice Steijn.