Almere City have announced that Hedwiges Maduro has returned to the club to become the sides head coach for the 2024/2025 season. Maduro was part of the set up at Almere City until this past summer when he left to join Ajax until 2026. However, after one season in Amsterdam he has returned to the club to lead the side for the next Eredivisie campaign.
Maduro said ‘As a native of Almere, Almere City FC and the city of Almere mean a lot to me. I am therefore happy to return to the club where I started my coaching career’.
Under the sides current head coach Alex Pastoor, the side have had a good first season in the Eredivisie. They are currently in 13th place in the league with seven wins, 13 draws and 13 defeats in 33 games.
As a player, Maduro began his career with Almere City before joining Ajax. During his career he played for Valencia, PAOK, Sevilla, FC Groningen and Omonia Nicosia before retiring in 2018.
WHAT HAPPENED? Pepi found the back of the net against Excelsior in the 50th minute, making the score 2-0 after Johan Hove’s opener in the 13th minute. The goal is Pepi’s ninth league goal of the season, with the American scoring one more in cup play to give him 10 across all competitions. It’s the first time he’s reached that milestone in Europe.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: It’s a good time for Pepi to start scoring as the striker will surely be looking to return to the U.S. men’s national team for the Nations League in March. The former FC Dallas striker was left out of the World Cup squad by head coach Gregg Berhalter after a dismal start to life with Augsburg, but his loan to the Eredivisie has helped him rediscover the form that earned him that massive move to the Bundesliga.
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WHAT NEXT FOR PEPI? Groningen are battling relegation as they sit 17th in the Eredivisie. Their next game will be a difficult one as Pepi and Co. will face league-leaders Feyenoord in their next match.
The Nigeria Football Federation is in a race against time to name a new head coach for the national team with about six weeks left to the crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and the Benin Republic
After inviting applications from interested tacticians last month, the NFF had the difficult task of screening more than 60 coaches who applied for the job.
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