Rio Antonio Mavuba

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Personal information
Rio Antonio Mavuba
Full name	Rio Antonio Mavuba
Date of birth	March 8, 1984 (age 23)
Place of birth	Born at Sea ^[1],
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Midfield
Club information
Current club	FC Bordeaux
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2003-	Bordeaux	98 (1)
National team²
? - present 2004-present	France U-21 France	5 (0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of August 23, 2006. ² National team caps and goals correct as of October 11, 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Rio Antonio Mavuba (born March 8, 1984 at sea) is a French football player who plays at FC Bordeaux.

His father, Ricky Mavuba, nicknamed Ndoki Ya Ndombe (The Black Sorcerer), was a Congolese international footballer who participated in the 1974 FIFA World Cup; his mother is an Angolan. He was born in a boat in international waters, far away from the Angolan coast, during the period of civil war.

He made his senior team debut on August 18, 2004 against Bosnia and Herzegovina in a 1-1 draw.

Mavuba has been likened to Jean Tigana in his playing days for his techincal abilities and clever ball use and touted as the next Claude Makelele for his tireless running and commandment in midfield. Before Makelele came out of international retirement, it was Mavuba that was expected to take the traditional defensive midfield responsibility ahead of Lyon's Alou Diarra.

This talent, and the inability to tempt Bayern Munich into selling Owen Hargreaves, has encouraged newspaper reports linking Mavuba with a move to Manchester United in the January transfer window.[1] The young France international has stated that he doesn't know what his future will be, but he has never hidden his ambition to play for such a big club. It is also rumoured that he could be joining the fallen Italian giants Juventus after their promotion to Serie A.

[edit] Notes

^ Mavuba: born without a nation at BBC Sport URL accessed on 28th May, 2006

FC Girondins de Bordeaux - Current Squad
1 Olimpa \| 2 Baysse \| 3 C. Henrique \| 4 Peruchini \| 5 Menegazzo \| 6 Jurietti \| 7 Cavenaghi \| 8 Alonso \| 9 Darcheville \| 10 Francia \| 11 Šmicer \| 12 Perea \| 13 Jemmali \| 14 Micoud \| 16 Ramé \| 17 Wendel \| 18 Faubert \| 19 Ducasse \| 20 Dalmat \| 21 Enakarhire \| 23 Marange \| 24 Mavuba \| 25 Cid \| 26 Obertan \| 27 Planus \| 28 Trémoulinas \| 29 Chamakh \| 30 Valverde \| Manager: Ricardo Gomes