Eibar tie down homegrown gem Mada with bumper deal until 2028
Ander Madariaga commits his future to the Basque club despite previous ACL setback, continuing his impressive rise through Eibar's youth ranks.
The Three Kings have delivered an early gift to Eibar fans as local boy Ander ‘Mada’ Madariaga puts pen to paper on a contract extension keeping him at Ipurua until 2028.
Reward for perseverance
The talented midfielder has been absolutely mustard for the Basque outfit recently, cementing his place in Beñat San José’s starting eleven despite facing some proper challenges along the way. This extension comes as Mada has been one of Eibar’s standout performers over the past month.
It’s a proper fairytale considering what the lad’s been through. After breaking into the first team under Joseba Etxeberria last season, the Vizcaya native suffered a devastating anterior cruciate ligament tear during the second half of the campaign that required surgery.
But blimey, has he bounced back with a vengeance! In just a month since his return, he’s nailed down a spot playing as a false right winger with the freedom to drift inside – showing the sort of resilience that would make your average East End boxer look soft.
Homegrown hero
Mada represents the cream of Eibar’s youth development in recent years. The 16-shirt wearer arrived at the club at U16 level following brief stints at Athletic Bilbao’s famed Lezama academy and Itzubaltzeta FT.
Since landing at Eibar, he’s steadily climbed the ladder at their Unbe training complex before becoming a crucial first-team player. His stats speak for themselves:
- 38 official appearances for the first team
- 4 goals to his name
- Rapidly becoming one of the first names on the team sheet
Looking ahead
By tying down Mada, Eibar have secured the future of a player clearly on an upward trajectory with bags of potential. The extension also strengthens the connection between club and supporters, with local lads always getting the crowd going at Ipurua.
Injuries might have thrown a spanner in the works, but the Berango-born midfielder has shown proper bottle to overcome each setback. This new deal is nothing more than just rewards for his grafting. Safe to say, Eibar fans can look forward to plenty more Mada magic in the coming years.