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.
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
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 Dogueswin both competitions, the former after a 57-year wait.[10][11][12]
^Cothenet, Olivier (7 April 2004). "Mavuba, nationalité: bordelaise" [Mavuba, nationality: bordelaise] (in French). Maxi Foot. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
^"Mavuba, al Villarreal" [Mavuba, to Villarreal] (in Spanish). UEFA. 4 July 2007. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
^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.
^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.
^"La reconstruction est entamée" [Rebuilding on its way]. La Dépêche du Midi (in French). 19 August 2004. Archived from the original on 6 November 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2018.