Rio Mavuba - 259.96 Performance Pts
Born: 08/03/1984 Born At Sea
Position: Midfielder Height: 1.72m Weight: 74kg
Mavuba had an interesting, challenging start to his life. He was born in 1984 without a nationality, having been born at sea, during the Angolan civil war. He was granted French nationality in 2004. He lost both his parents at a young age; his father Mafuila was a former footballer, who had represented Zaire at the 1974 World Cup. His club career started with Bordeaux in 2003, and he spent 4 years there before moving to Villarreal. He failed to settle in Spain, so returned to France, this time with Lille. He ended up spending 10 years there and enjoyed Lille's surprise 'Double' success in 2011. He spent a brief spell with Sparta Prague before returning to France in 2018 to continue his career at amateur level. In 2014, 40 years after his father had appeared at a World Cup finals, Mavuba emulated him - this time in the colours of France. This is some achievement, given where he had come from; this helped reinforce his identity and association with France, where his parents had escaped to as refugees 30 years prior to this. He won 13 caps in total.
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