Mavuba Mafuila
Congolese footballer (1949–1997)
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Ricky Mavuba Mafuila Ku Mbundu (15 December 1949 – 30 November 1996) was a football player from Zaire, nicknamed The Black Sorcerer. His son is Rio Mavuba, who is a French international footballer.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mafuila Mavuba Ku Mbundu[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 15 December 1949[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Léopoldville, Belgian Congo | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 30 November 1996 (aged 46)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1968–1979 | AS Vita Club | ||||||||||||||||
| 1980 | 1º de Agosto | ||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| Zaire | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Biography
Born in Léopoldville,[1] he competed for Zaire at the 1974 FIFA World Cup in Germany[2] and also won the 1974 African Cup of Nations in Egypt defeating Zambia in a second game by 2–0.
Mavuba is remembered for taking direct free kicks and penalty kicks. He is credited as the first Congolese footballer to score directly from a corner kick, a curved shot that went straight into the net without deflections.
Following his football career, Mavuba moved to Angola. He fled the country with his family at the onset of the civil war in 1984 and lived as a refugee in France until his death in November 1996.[3]
Club career
Defensive midfield player from Zaire, winger from AS Vita Club of Kinshasa which won the CAF Champions League in 1973.
Honours
Zaire
