Fabrice Muamba
Personal information
Full name	Fabrice Ndala Muamba
Date of birth	6 April 1988 (1988-04-06) (age 21)
Place of birth	Kinshasa, Zaire (now DR Congo)
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Bolton Wanderers
Number	6
Youth career
2002–2005	Arsenal
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2005–2007 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–	Arsenal → Birmingham City (loan) Birmingham City Bolton Wanderers	00 (0) 34 (0) 37 (2) 53 (0)
National team2
2007–	England U21	24 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:00, 29 December 2009 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 16:04, 18 November 2009 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Fabrice Ndala Muamba (born 6 April 1988) is an English footballer. He is a midfielder who currently plays for Bolton Wanderers.

[edit] Early life

Muamba was born in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). His father fled the country in 1994 because of his political views and arrived in England seeking asylum. In 1999 he was granted indefinite leave to remain, at which time he was joined by the rest of the family.^[1] They settled in East London, where Muamba attended Kelmscott School in Walthamstow.^[2] Despite having arrived in England aged 11 unable to speak English,^[3] he went on to take A-levels,^[4] and excelled in football at school.

[edit] Club career

Muamba was associated with Arsenal's youth system as a schoolboy from 2002, joining their Academy as a first-year scholar in August 2004. He signed his first professional contract in October 2005 and made his first team debut on 25 October in a League Cup tie against Sunderland,in front of a 47,000 crowd at the Stadium of Light.^[5]

In August 2006, Muamba joined Birmingham City on a season-long loan.^[6] After a slow start, his energetic style of play, which has been likened to that of his hero Patrick Vieira,^[5] established him as a regular starter in central midfield. The fans were equally impressed, voting him their Young Player of the Season.^[7]

On 11 May 2007 Muamba made his move to Birmingham City permanent,^[8] signing a three-year contract for a fee reported by the club of £4 million.^[9] He scored his first goal for the club, a close-range volley from a corner, on 12 March 2008 in a 4–2 defeat at Portsmouth.^[10] He made 37 appearances as Birmingham were relegated from the Premiership after one season back in the top tier.

On 16 June 2008 Muamba joined Premier League Bolton Wanderers for a fee of £5 million, with add-ons worth a further £750,000, on a four-year contract.^[11]

[edit] International career

As a naturalised British citizen, Muamba is eligible to play for any of the Home Nations. He has represented England at all under-age levels, and captained the U-19 team.^[3] He received his first call-up for England U-21 for the friendly against Romania U-21 on 21 August 2007 at Ashton Gate, Bristol,^[12] and made his debut as a second-half substitute.^[13] Muamba was an integral part of England's U-21 European Championships side.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Fabrice Muamba career stats at Soccerbase