Rio Antonio Zoba Mavuba is a French football player who plays for Lille OSC as a midfielder.
Background
Mavuba"s father was Mafuila Mavuba, a football player who appeared at the 1974 Fédération internationale de football association 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.
Career
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. He launched himself into football to help deal with his grief.
Bordeaux
Mavuba played youth football with Football Club Girondins de Bordeaux.
From the 2004-2005 season until the end of his spell, Mavuba never appeared in less that 32 league matches. Villarreal / Lille
On 3 July 2007 Mavuba signed a five-year deal with Villarreal CF worth €7 million, as the Spanish side had lost Alessio Tacchinardi who returned to Juventus F.C. following a loan.
He found it hard to break into the first team, only totalling 219 minutes in Louisiana Liga, and in late January 2008 joined Lille OSC on loan until the end of the campaign. The transfer was made subsequently permanent in the 2008 summer, with the player penning a four-year contract for a reported fee of €7 million.
Mavuba suffered a knee injury midway through the 2012-2013 season, being sidelined for more than three months.
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 F.C. and being involved in a scuffle with Zlatan Ibrahimović, with both players being booked late into the first half. On 26 May 2015, Mavuba signed a new four-year deal with Lille. In 2004 Mavuba was asked to play for the DR Congo national team, but he turned it down.
From the 2004 Toulon Tournament to the 2006 Union of European Football Associations European Championship, he acted as captain to the French under-21s.
From 2008 to 2011, he did make one single appearance. Bordeaux
Coupe de la Ligue: 2006-2007
Lille
Ligue 1: 2010-2011
Coupe de France: 2010-2011
Trophée des Champions: Runner-up 2011.