Born in Kinshasa in 1988, he
fled from the war-torn DR Congo (at that time Zaire) at the age of 11
with his father to England. There, he discovered playing football and
his talent immediately caught the eye as he was immediately enrolled
into the
Arsenal academy in London. His
career as a professional footballer kicked off in 2006 when Arsenal
loaned him out to Birmingham City. He played almost a complete season as
he appeared 38 times for the Blues as a midfielder.
He completely switched from a
« Gunner » to a « Blue » in the 2007-2008 season when Birmingham
completed his move from Arsenal. During this season, he played 37
matches and scored two goals as he became a familiar face at St Andrews
though he did not succeed to maintain the Club’s top flight status in
the Premier League.
Conscious of the fact that he
could not have a brilliant career while playing in the Championship,
Fabrice Muamba decided to leave the club and Birmingham sold the player
to Bolton for five million pounds.
After four seasons, he has
played 129 matches and scored three goals. He is one of the key figures
in the Bolton Wanderers squad with twenty matches in all competitions so
far. The fact that he has been handed several call-ups with the England
youth teams shows he is a prospect for the future.
In 2009, Muamba was part of the
England squad that finished runners-up at the European youth
Championships in Sweden losing four nil at the finals to Germany.
At 23, one would have been
seeking to know which of the countries Fabrice Muamba will represent at
the senior international level (England or DR Congo?) but the question
rather asked now is if he will ever play football again
