[citation needed] 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.

[4] His La Liga debut came late in the month a 0–1 home loss against Almería,[5] 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).

[6] 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.

[8][9] 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;[10] 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.

He turned down a contract extension at Valencia, and also had an offer from Spartak Moscow, who had just hired his former boss Emery,[14][15] 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.

[27][28] 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[29] in an eventual round-of-16 exit.

[citation needed] 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.

[citation needed] 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.