Rio_Mavuba

Rio Mavuba

Rio Mavuba

French footballer

Rio Antonio Zoba Mavuba (born 8 March 1984) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He works as assistant manager at Bordeaux II.

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Zoba and the second or paternal family name is Mavuba.
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He spent most of his professional career with Bordeaux and Lille, winning the 2011 national championship with the latter.

A France international between 2004 and 2014, Mavuba represented the country at the 2014 World Cup.

Early and personal life

Mavuba's father was Mavuba Mafuila, a footballer who appeared at the 1974 FIFA World Cup with Zaire, while his mother was an Angolan national. He was born on board a boat in international waters during the period of the Angolan Civil War, and later stated that his birth certificate did not have a nationality on it, reading only "born at sea".[3] His nephew Kenny also became a footballer, in the French lower leagues.[4]

Mavuba's mother died when he was two, and his father when he was 12 years old. He launched himself into football to help deal with his grief.[3]

Club career

Bordeaux

Mavuba played youth football with Bordeaux. He made his Ligue 1 debut on 10 January 2004 in a 2–1 away win against Montpellier and, under recently appointed manager Michel Pavon, became an immediate first-choice.[5]

From the 2004–05 season until the end of his spell, Mavuba never appeared in less than 32 league matches.[1]

Villarreal and Lille

Mavuba playing for Lille in 2010

On 3 July 2007, Mavuba signed a five-year contract with Villarreal worth €7 million, as the Spanish side had lost Alessio Tacchinardi who returned to Juventus following a loan.[6][7] He found it hard to break into the first team,[8] only totalling 219 minutes in La Liga, and in late January 2008 joined Lille on loan until the end of the season.[9]

The transfer was made subsequently permanent in summer 2008, with the player penning a four-year contract for a reported fee of €7 million. He appeared in 46 matches between the league and the Coupe de France in his third year, helping Les Dogues win both competitions, the former after a 57-year wait.[10][11][12]

Mavuba suffered a knee injury midway through the 2012–13 season, being sidelined for more than three months.[13] On 22 December 2013, the team captain scored his first goal of the new campaign, helping to a 2–2 draw at Paris Saint-Germain and being involved in a scuffle with Zlatan Ibrahimović, with both players being booked late into the first half.[14][15]

On 26 May 2015, Mavuba signed a new four-year deal with Lille.[16]

Later career

On 21 July 2017, 33-year-old Mavuba agreed to a three-year contract with Czech club Sparta Prague.[17] He returned to his adopted homeland on 14 September 2018, signing with Championnat National 3 amateurs FCE Mérignac-Arlac [fr].[18][19]

Mavuba was appointed manager of his last team in April 2019.[20] In October 2020, he became assistant coach at Bordeaux's reserves.[21]

International career

In December 2003, Mavuba played a friendly match with the DR Congo national under-21 team.[22][23] He was also eligible to play for Angola.[24]

From the 2004 Toulon Tournament to the 2006 UEFA European Championship, he served as captain of the French under-21s.[25]

Mavuba won his first cap for the senior France side on 18 August 2004, in a 1–1 friendly draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina in Rennes.[26] He then turn down Claude Le Roy's invitations to play for DR Congo national team.[3]

Mavuba was selected by coach Didier Deschamps for his 2014 FIFA World Cup squad.[27] He made his debut in the competition on 15 June, coming on as a second-half substitute for Yohan Cabaye in a 3–0 group stage win against Honduras.[28]

Honours

Bordeaux

Lille

References

  1. [1]
    "Rio Mavuba". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  2. [2]
    "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players: France" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  3. [3]
    Copnall, James (14 October 2004). "Mavuba: born without a nation". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2008.
  4. [4]
    Evrard, Jean-Jacques (3 December 2023). "Colomiers fait preuve de caractère jusqu'au bout" [Colomiers prove their character until the end]. La Dépêche du Midi (in French). Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  5. [5]
    Cothenet, Olivier (7 April 2004). "Mavuba, nationalité: bordelaise" [Mavuba, nationality: bordelaise] (in French). Maxi Foot. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  6. [6]
    "El Villarreal ficha a Rio Mavuba por siete millones de euros" [Villarreal sign Rio Mavuba for seven million euros]. 20 minutos (in Spanish). 3 July 2007. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  7. [7]
    "Mavuba, al Villarreal" [Mavuba, to Villarreal] (in Spanish). UEFA. 4 July 2007. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  8. [8]
    "Mavuba tampoco juega en la UEFA" [Mavuba also does not play in UEFA]. Marca (in Spanish). 26 October 2007. Archived from the original on 29 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  9. [9]
    Cerbelle, Nicolas (21 January 2008). "Mavuba rebondit à Lille" [Mavuba rebounds to Lille]. Le Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  10. [10]
    "Le PSG perd sa Coupe contre Lille" [PSG lose their Cup against Lille]. Le Parisien (in French). 14 May 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  11. [11]
    Fosseux, Olivier (21 July 2017). "Football: Mavuba quitte le LOSC, retour sur 10 ans en 10 chiffres" [Football: Mavuba leaves LOSC, 10 years in 10 data revisited]. La Voix du Nord (in French). Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  12. [12]
    Tourbe, Léo (24 May 2021). "1946, 1954, 2011, 2021, les quatre glorieuses de Lille" [1946, 1954, 2011, 2021, the four times Lille touched the sky]. Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  13. [13]
    Gazeau, Florent (3 May 2013). "Mavuba, et maintenant?" [Mavuba, and now?]. Le Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  14. [14]
    "Lille hold PSG". ESPN FC. 22 December 2013. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  15. [15]
    Dorso, Damien (22 December 2013). "PSG-LOSC (2–2): Mavuba sur Ibrahimovic: "Il fait 2 mètres, on lui touche la tête et il tombe..."" [PSG-LOSC (2–2): Mavuba on Ibrahimovic: "He's 2 metres tall, you touch him on the head and he falls..."] (in French). Eurosport. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  16. [16]
    "Rio Mavuba signs Lille contract extension". Get French Football News. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  17. [17]
    "Rio Mavuba signs". Sparta Prague. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  18. [18]
    "Nationale 3: Rio Mavuba, ancien joueur des Girondins de Bordeaux, signe à Mérignac-Arlac" [Nationale 3: Rio Mavuba, former player of Girondins de Bordeaux, signs at Mérignac-Arlac] (in French). Actu. 15 September 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  19. [19]
    "Vidéo. Football: Rio Mavuba décisif lors de la victoire de Mérignac-Arlac" [Video. Football: Rio Mavuba decisive in Mérignac-Arlac win]. Sud Ouest (in French). 22 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  20. [20]
    "Football: Rio Mavuba, nouvel entraîneur de Mérignac-Arlac" [Football: Rio Mavuba, new manager of Mérignac-Arlac]. Sud Ouest (in French). 1 April 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  21. [21]
    "Rio Mavuba rejoint le staff de la réserve de Bordeaux" [Rio Mavuba joins Bordeaux reserves' coaching staff]. L'Équipe (in French). 11 October 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  22. [22]
    Mavuba, Rio; Labrunie, Étienne (22 November 2018). Rio Mavuba, capitaine de ma vie: L'exil, le foot, les Bleus (in French). edi8. ISBN 978-2-263-15943-5.
  23. [23]
    "EdF : Mavuba obtient la nationalité". news.maxifoot.fr (in French). Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  24. [24]
    "Football : et s'ils avaient choisi de jouer pour une sélection africaine ? – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). 1 April 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  25. [25]
    Demetriou, Greg (25 May 2006). "France flurry flattens Germany". UEFA. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  26. [26]
    "La reconstruction est entamée" [Rebuilding on its way]. La Dépêche du Midi (in French). 19 August 2004. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  27. [27]
    "World Cup 2014: Stephane Ruffier confirmed in France squad". BBC Sport. 3 June 2014. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  28. [28]
    "Benzema bags brace as Bleus beat Honduras". FIFA. 15 June 2014. Archived from the original on 11 July 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  29. [29]
    "Bordeaux fait plier Lyon en Coupe de la Ligue" [Bordeaux bring Lyon to their knee in League Cup]. La Croix (in French). 1 April 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  30. [30]
    Hémard, Adrien; Souhard, Alexis (5 October 2018). "Rio Mavuba: «Être entraîneur, c'est vraiment un objectif»" [Rio Mavuba: "To be a coach, it's really a goal"] (in French). Sofoot. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
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