THE LONG AND WINDING RED
Chris Mavinga’s over-the-top success with Toronto FC follows stops in France, England, Belgium and Russia. He has clearly arrived,
Just 26, Chris Mavinga’s soccer journey has already taken him from France to England, Belgium, Russia and now Canada.
And after a bumpy debut, the French-born Congolese international has found a home in Major League Soccer, quietly becoming a key defender for Toronto. Mavinga has started17 of TFC’s last18 games, joining Drew Moor and Eriq Zavaleta in a three-man backline that is second in the league in yielding just 0.96 goals a game.
With awards season coming, TFC has begun talking up Mavinga.
Coach Greg Vanney calls him the team’s “safety blanket.”
“Not only does he defend his space and his responsibilities, he has incredible recovery speed . . . when you think you’re exposed, Chris comes out of nowhere to make a play,” said Vanney, a former elite defender himself.
Moor says Mavinga, a lean six-foot-one, is a candidate for MLS defender of the year.
“He’s smart, he’s athletic, he’s energetic. He’s a huge boost for everybody around him . . . for me, you can’t say enough good things about Chris right now.”
While quiet off the pitch, Mavinga is said to be a fierce, vocal competitor when he plays.
Mavinga and Toronto (16-3-8) host the San Jose Earthquakes (10-11-6) on Saturday. A win coupled with one of five other weekend scenarios — including a Montreal tie or loss against New England — will clinch a TFC playoff berth with six games remaining.
League-leading Toronto is looking to extend a 14-game home regularseason winning streak (11-0-3) that dates back to last October.
Mavinga, whose father is Congolese, has never been short on talent but has suffered from bad timing in the past.
He started in the Paris Saint-Germain system at 14, working his way up to train with the first team at 17. But a coaching change blocked his path so he left for Liverpool at 18.
He was later loaned to Belgium’s Genk, making headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2011in a title-deciding game in the season finale.
Chasing a high-bouncing ball down the flank, he caught Standard Liege’s Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez flush in the face with a high, hard boot. The Moroccan, who was knocked out on the play, suffered facial fractures and a concussion.
“Footballer suffers horror knockout,” was the English tabloid Sun headline. Genk went on to win the game — and the title. While his teammates celebrated, Mavinga cried.
“This night was terrible for me,” he said.
Over the next five years, he played for France’s Rennes, Russia’s Rubin Kazan and France’s Reims and Troyes.
Returning to Russia, he went six months without a game. Unhappy in the present but confident in his future, he told his agent he wanted a change. He told his agent he wanted a change — “something different.” The call from Toronto FC, ahead of interest from Montreal, was just what the doctor ordered.
“I was not scared because I went to Russia,” he said. “Now you’ve been in Russia, you can go everywhere in the world.”
Part of the appeal was being able to return to his favoured position of centre back rather than left back where he had been playing.
His arrival was rough, however. He was sick when he arrived in training camp and found himself going back and forth to France to be with his pregnant partner.
A groin injury lengthened his adjustment to TFC and MLS. But Mavinga is now a fixture.
“I think I am doing well but I can be better,” he said.