Hedwiges Maduro

Hedwiges Eduard Martinus Maduro (born 13 February 1985) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for FC Groningen. Mainly a defensive midfielder he can also operate as a central defender, where he started his career at Ajax.
He spent several seasons in La Liga, mainly with Valencia, where he appeared in 113 official games and won the 2008 Spanish Cup.
A Dutch international in the 2000s, Maduro represented the country at the 2006 World Cup.

Ajax

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

Maduro with a Spanish journalist.

In the following years Maduro started more often than not for Ajax, helping the team to two domestic cups and three Supercups. He appeared in 105 games for the club overall, scoring 11 goals.

Valencia

In mid-January 2008, after helping Ajax to the third consecutive Johan Cruijff-schaal, Maduro joined La Liga side Valencia CF, in a four 1/2-year deal worth €3 million – compatriot Ronald Koeman was the team manager. His official debut came on 27 January in a 0–1 home loss against UD 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 CF (Koeman had already been fired at that point).

In his first full season with Valencia 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 with first-team action due to injuries and suspensions, and he performed well in various positions, including right-back. On 25 April 2009 he scored his first official goal for the club, netting from a corner kick to make it 1–1 against FC Barcelona in an eventual 2–2 home draw. With Valencia finally finishing in sixth position he appeared in more than 30 official contests 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.

Sevilla

On 5 June 2012, Sevilla FC 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 FC 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.

PAOK

On 2 January 2014, it was announced that Maduro would sign with Greek side PAOK FC for two and a half years. The deal was confirmed five days later.

In February 2015 Maduro, nursing a hand injury, requested a leave of absence and visited his former club Ajax. After being linked to Feyenoord, club and player parted ways after his contract expired.

Groningen

On 26 August 2015, Maduro returned to his country and signed a two-year deal with FC Groningen for an undisclosed fee.

Shortly after making his league debuts with Ajax, Maduro gained 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.

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 semifinal spot and qualification to the Olympic tournament.

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

Maduro's father is originally from Aruba, and his mother is from Curaçao, both islands in the Caribbean.

As of 1 May 2016

Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Cup	Apps	Goals	Continental	Apps	Goals
2004–05	Ajax		12	2		0	0		1	0
2005–06	Ajax		28	3		6	0		9	0
2006–07	Ajax		15	0		7	1		7	0
2007–08	Ajax		15	4		3	1		2	0
2007–08	Valencia		11	0		4	0		0	0
2008–09	Valencia		22	1		6	0		6	0
2009–10	Valencia		18	0		2	0		12	1
2010–11	Valencia		18	1		4	0		2	0
2011–12	Valencia		7	0		0	0		1	0
2012–13	Sevilla		26	0		4	0		0	0
2013–14	Sevilla		0	0		0	0		1	0
2013–14	PAOK		9	2		4	1		2	0
2014–15	PAOK		11	1		1	0		4	0
2015–16	Groningen		27	1		2	1		6	1
Total			219	15	Total	43	4	Total	53	2

Club

Ajax

• KNVB Cup: 2005–06, 2006–07
• Johan Cruijff Shield: 2005, 2006, 2007

Valencia

• Copa del Rey: 2007–08

PAOK

• Greek Football Cup: Runner-up 2013–14

Country

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2007

Individual

• AFC Ajax: Talent of the Future/Talent of the Year 2005