Koeman lands Hedwiges Maduro for Valencia
18 January: Ajax and Valencia have reached an agreement on the immediate transfer of Hedwiges Maduro. The midfielder will pen a deal for four and a half seasons at the struggling Spanish powerhouse, where head-coach Ronald Koeman is having a rough time at the moment. According to Dutch press reports, Ajax will receive 3 million euros for the midfielder, whose Ajax contract would have expired on 30 June of this year.
Maduro, in action against Heerenveen. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
An odd transfer, that's what it is... Ajax claim that they did not want to lose Maduro, whereas the players claims that he did not want to leave Ajax. Both parties claim that the other left them no other choice than to part ways.
The 'conflict' (although both parties will say that it's a bit of an exaggeration to use that word) leads us all the way back to Maduro's form crisis, which was at its worst in the year 2006. Ajax were offering their youngsters new contract, but had their doubts about Maduro, who was referred to as 'the new Frank Rijkaard' in his first months as a first teamer, but started to struggle in the latter months of the year. He lost his starting slot, even watched matches from the stands and was lightyears away from the form of his first months.
Maduro seemed on his way out, when he started to pick up form, especially in the latter half of the year 2007. He returned to the starting eleven and scored a few goals. Maduro was on on his way back and it didn't go unnoticed. Ajax offered him a contract renewal, but now it was Maduro who had his doubts.
Ajax and Maduro agreed to a deadline: Maduro would have to make up his mind by early December 2007. One day before the deadline, however, Maduro's agent informed Ajax that the player needed more time to think. Technical director Martin van Geel then explained to the press: "This forced me to say to Hedwiges: we want to keep you, but in the summer you can walk out for free, so you give me no other choice than to assume that you won't be here anymore in the summer. We want to do business in January, either with you or with your successor. That's why we have to withdraw our contract offer and start looking for a replacement."
Maduro's side of the story, as told to an interviewer of newspaper Het Parool, was different: "They kept me waiting for a long time. Now I had to keep the club waiting for a bit longer – and they withdraw their offer, just like that. Which sums it all up, really. It's obvious to me that certain people at the club don't believe in me."
Hedwiges Maduro (born Almere, 13 February 1985) started playing football for amateur clubs Waterwijk and FC Omniworld in Almere, his town of birth. He entered the Ajax youth systeem at a young age and eventually made his official Ajax-1 début in the UEFA Cup away game at AJ Auxerre on 24 February 2005. It was a painful début: Maduro was brought on as a defender in the 86th time. Ajax collapsen before had even touched the ball: 3-1.
Maduro's Eredivisie début was much more succesful: not only did he score in his first game, he also made a wonderful impression as an offensive-thinking central defender in his first weeks as an Ajax-1 player. Thanks to an unusually deep and persistent form-crisis in 2006 and the first half of 2007 he never ventiel lived up to the sky-high expectations in Amsterdam.
In total, Hedwiges Maduro had 107 first team appearances for Ajax in just under three years' time. He scored 11 goals. He won the KNVB Cups of 2006 and 2007 with Ajax, as well as the Johan Cruijff Shields of 2005, 2006 and 2007, but never the Eredivisie title, but three years as a fully fledged member of the Ajax-1 squad were not long enough to clinch an Eredivisie league title.
Hedwiges Maduro was succesful with Young Oranje: he was the captain of the Holland U-21 side that won the European title in 2007. By that time, Maduro had also made his début for the 'big' Oranje, in March 2005. He was the 102nd Ajax player to do so. In total, he played 12 matches for Holland. (Menno Pot)
(Source: Ajax.nl)
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