Rio Mavuba

Rio Antonio Zoba Mavuba (born 8 March 1984) is a French footballer who plays for Lille OSC as a midfielder.

He played most of his professional career with Bordeaux and Lille, winning the 2011 national championship with the latter.

A French international since 2004, Mavuba represented the country at the 2014 World Cup.

Early years

Mavuba's father was Mafuila Mavuba, 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"; he received French nationality in September 2004.

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

Club career

Bordeaux

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