Player Who’s Caught My Attention: Rio Antonio Mavuba

It always interests me when a player is good enough to be called up for the National Team but is not considered good enough to start regularly for his club. Sydney Govou and Alou Diarra have both played that tune this year, but they play for Lyon — a team that’s up to its nasal passages in talent. Midfielder Rio Antonio Mavuba plays for Bordeaux — an interesting yet inconsistent team currently sitting 8th in Ligue 1. (Although technically, since Lyon has sucked up so many points from the table, they’re only 6 points out of second.)

So who is this kid? He’s twenty-two years old, and his mom was from Angola. His dad played football for Congo (Zaire) and appeared in the 1974 World Cup. Rio himself was born on a boat in international waters during the Angolan civil war and grew up near Bordeaux. Both of his parents died before he was 14.

When it comes to his footballing skills, the word I’ve most frequently seen used to decribe him is “tireless.” His ball handling skills and ability to apply bursts of intense speed make him fun to watch. He’s been compared both to former France midfielder Jean Tigana and to current tireless France midfielder Claude Makelele.

He has also captained the France U-21 team, (the delightfully named “Les Espoirs,” or “Hopes,”) and he caught the attention of Bleus coach Raymond Domenech in 2004. Since then he’s bounced back and forth between Les Bleus and Les Espoirs, most recently being called up in November for Les Bleus’ France-Greece game but not seeing playing time.

So what’s going on at Bordeaux? Says Rio: “I am surprised when I play a great match and I sit on the bench the week after. I am always surprised to be a substitute when I don’t deserve it. Of course, that could make me leave Bordeaux. I don’t know what the problem is, but if I want to reach a new step, I will have to play for a bigger club that trusts me.”

Given that, here’s a huge surprise: His name keeps popping up in transfer rumors. The strongest one seems to be Manchester United, but Liverpool and Juventus are also on the radar screen.

Recently displaced at Les Bleus by Makelele and former Espoirs teammate Jeremy Toulalan, Mavuba has a lot to gain if and when Makelele does finally retire from international play.

And when will that happen? Well, let’s see. A lot could depend on what we find out about who made those anonymous Henry comments…

While we’re waiting, check out this pretty Mavuba goal: