Rio Mavuba
French footballer (born 1984)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rio Antonio Zoba Mavuba (born 8 March 1984) is a French manager and former player who is manager of Régional 1 club Bordeaux.
|
Mavuba lining up for Lille in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rio Antonio Zoba Mavuba[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 8 March 1984[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Born at sea | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Bordeaux (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2003 | Bordeaux | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2007 | Bordeaux | 127 | (1) |
| 2007–2008 | Villarreal | 5 | (0) |
| 2008 | → Lille (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 2008–2017 | Lille | 282 | (4) |
| 2017–2018 | Sparta Prague | 11 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | Bordeaux B | 3 | (0) |
| Total | 455 | (6) | |
| International career | |||
| 2003 | DR Congo U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | France U21 | 21 | (1) |
| 2004–2014 | France | 13 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2026– | Bordeaux | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 08:59, 10 April 2026 | |||
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
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.[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] On 28 August 2024, it was announced that Mavuba had come out of retirement to help out his former club Bordeaux, recently relegated to the Championnat National 2.[22] Mavuba ended his term at Bordeaux in August 2026, leaving the club by mutual agreement.[23]
International career
In December 2003, Mavuba played a friendly match with the DR Congo national under-21 team.[24][25] He was also eligible to play for Angola.[26]
From the 2004 Toulon Tournament to the 2006 UEFA European Championship, he served as captain of the French under-21s.[27]
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.[28] 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.[29] 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.[30]
