Of Headbands and Heartbreak…

Midfielder Rio has played for Lille since 2008. Interesting fact: His birth certificate says “born at sea.” His father (who played in the 1974 World Cup for Zaire) and his mother (an Angolan national) were fleeing the Angolan Civil War and little Rio was born on a boat in international waters. The family came to France as political refugees and he became a citizen in 2004. Sadly, his mother passed away when he was 2 and his father when he was 14. He turned to football for solace. He rose through the ranks at Bordeaux & Lille (and even played a season at Villareal). While he was recruited by the DR Congo National Team, he chose to play for France. He has represented his adopted country at the U21 and senior levels.  If you want to see more of Rio (and by that I mean ALOT more), check out the Dieux de Stade calendar. He posed for the 2013 and 2014 editions (this past year with Yohan Cabaye and Olivier Giroud – here’s the Making Of video). Here’s some sneak peeks of Rio getting his pose on.

Tags: Bordeaux, Congo DR National Team, Dieux de Stade Calendar, France National Team, France U21, Olivier Giroud, Rio Mavuba, The Daily Drool, Villareal, World Cup 2014, Yohan Cabaye