Fabrice Muamba excels both on and off the pitch

Fabrice Muamba lies in a coronary unity at London's Royal Chest Hospital, critically ill, fighting to extend a brief but exceptional life.

He must have thought he overcame the biggest obstacle in his life after his family escaped civil war and fled what was called Zaire and is now called the Democratic Republic of Congo because his father, Marcel, worked for the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko, who was overthrown as president in 1997.

When rebels rose against the regime, Muamba's uncle, Ilunga, was murdered.

His father, fearing the same fate, fled to London, claiming asylum. He woke the young Fabrice one morning to say he was going out, without saying where.

It was three years before father and son were reunited when Marcel Muamba was finally permitted to stay in England indefinitely. Fabrice and his mother Gertrude arrived at Heathrow Airport in December 1999 on the coldest day he had ever experienced.

Reflecting on his troubled upbringing, Muamba said last year: "It's Africa, isn't it? That's the type of continent it is. There are always dramas, wars and stuff."

Muamba's life was not simply changed but, like millions of others, endangered by the bloody civil war in his homeland.

The Muambas moved to Walthamstow in East London, no longer hearing the sound of gunfire as they lay in bed. Fabrice, who had played football on the streets of Kinshasa, asked Arsenal for a trial and, partly because of his pleasant, persuasive manner, they accepted. He was taken on.

 

To talk to them, however, the immigrant had needed to adapt. He did so swiftly. Despite not speaking English when he arrived in the United Kingdom at the age of 11, he excelled academically. Muamba passed 10 GCSEs, followed by A-Levels in French, his mother tongue, English and maths. His decision to start an Open University degree in accountancy last year highlighted a quest for knowledge and a fondness for numbers.

Sizeable sums were spent acquiring his services. Muamba only made two appearances for Arsenal before joining Birmingham City, initially on loan and then, in 2008, for a £4 million fee. Steve Bruce, the manager, was an admirer, comparing him to another African-born enforcer, Patrick Vieira. In 2009, Bolton Wanderers bought him for £5 million.

While the Premier League is often deemed surreal or a soap opera, it has brought stability, structure and safety to the Bolton midfielder.

"Some people look at footballers and think it is about the cars and lifestyle, but don't understand how it was for some of us who changed life from Africa," he said last year.

"This is my adopted country. People have helped me, welcomed me with open arms and given me this opportunity. I'm earning a more than decent living and leading a comfortable life. I'm very appreciative of that. When I hear the anthem, I just think about how far I have come."

 

Blessed with reserves of energy and considerable physical power, seeming capable of running from penalty box to penalty box for 90 minutes, the 23 year old is an England youth international with an unselfish brand of commitment whose self-sacrificing efforts made teammates and supporters appreciate his rare goals all the more.

He is approaching 150 games for Bolton, as well as representing England at five different age levels. He won 33 caps for the Under 21s, standing in as captain and resisting approaches from Congo to play for their senior side.

A committed Christian, he became engaged to fiance Shauna on Valentine's Day and is the father of toddler Joshua. Yesterday, fans left flowers, Muamba shirts and scarves at Bolton's Reebok Stadium close to the players' entrance. A popular figure wherever he has been, Muamba was visited in hospital by the Arsenal defender Johan Djourou and is particularly close to Justin Hoyte, the Middlesbrough right-back and another former Gunner.

"I seriously hope my best friend in football is OK," Hoyte tweeted. "Stay strong bro please please stay strong."

This it Video Fabrice Muamba Collapses 17th March 2012 Bolton vs Tottenham :

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Fabrice Muamba improving, said to be speaking

FABRICE Muamba began showing signs of improvement overnight as his heart started beating without the help of medication and he began speaking again, two days after collapsing during a football match from cardiac arrest.

The hospital treating the player stressed that he remained in critical condition in intensive care with an uncertain long-term prognosis. But a friend of Muamba said he was told by the family that the Bolton midfielder had started talking again.

Curtis Codrington said the family told him Muamba was speaking "minimal words in English and French, which is better than nothing."

Muamba, 23, collapsed on the field just before halftime in the FA Cup football match at Tottenham on Saturday and his heart only started beating on its own again when he arrived at a London hospital's heart attack unit that night.

Muamba has been in a critical condition since Saturday, but it was a more encouraging update yesterday afternoon.

"He is showing small signs of improvement," a joint statement from Bolton and the hospital said. "His heart is now beating without the help of medication and he is also moving his arms and his legs.

"However, his long-term prognosis will remain unclear for some time. He is still critically ill and will continue to be closely monitored and treated by staff in the London Chest Hospital's intensive care unit."

The player's fiancee has been issuing pleas on Twitter for the health of Muamba, who proposed on Valentine's Day. The couple has a 3 year-old son, Joshua.

"Fabrice WILL!! Pull through because God is good," Shauna Muamba tweeted. "Love u so much fmuamba keep strong we're praying for u honey ... where there is life there is hope."

Bolton manager Owen Coyle said the former England under-21 international is going through a "brave fight," adding that the club had been inundated with messages of support, including one from David Beckham.

"There is a real hope he can come through this. When situations like this occur there is a real strength, a real unity, a real togetherness ... that has given (the family) an incredible energy," Coyle said outside the east London hospital. "That source of energy that everyone is giving off is really bringing them together as a family and that is important for Fabrice's well being."

Muamba, a former Arsenal and Birmingham player, fled to England with in family in 1999 to escape the civil war in Congo.

"When you look what he has come through in his life already he is a natural fighter. He is a physically fit young man," Coyle said. "If those things can help at all it will be a source of help and encouragement."

FIFA President Sepp Blatter wrote to Bolton chairman Phil Gartside to wish Muamba "strength as he continues to fight to recover."

"Moments like these show us what is truly important in life and also illustrate the great solidarity that exists between football fans in times of trouble," Mr Blatter wrote in a message released by FIFA. "The football family's thoughts and prayers are with Fabrice's family, club and loved ones at this difficult time."

There is also concern in Muamba's homeland.

"We pray he recovers his health," Congo football federation president Omari Selemani said. "We are with him in heart and especially with his family at this difficult moment. Being of Congolese origin, it makes our country proud having a player from Congo playing abroad."

Bolton's next match, at Aston Villa tomorrow in the Premier League, has been postponed because of the situation. The team is scheduled to play Blackburn on Saturday, and then could face Tottenham again next week in the FA Cup at White Hart Lane to replay the quarterfinal match that was abandoned on Saturday.

"I know the decision will have to be made, but the immediate thoughts are with Fabrice," Bolton captain Kevin Davies said about the possibility of Bolton pulling out of the FA Cup. "I'm sure the club will take a stance on it in the next couple of days."

Davies, who visited Muamba in the hospital over the weekend, said the Bolton squad had the option whether to attend training today.

At Tottenham, players were due to undergo tests for potential heart defects, with cardiologist Sanjay Sharma saying "the players have all demanded cardiac screening" at a planned routine visit.

"That involves taking a history relating to cardiac symptoms, which include chest pain during exertion or breath which is disproportionate to the amount of exercise being performed and blackouts, (and) asking about a family history because many of these conditions that can cause cardiac arrest are hereditary," Dr Sharma said.

"We then perform a cardiac examination and following that we do an ECG (electrocardiogram) which is an electrical tracing of the heart which looks for electric faults of the heart and a cardiac ultrasound which looks at heart muscle problems or problems with the heart values."

This it Video Fabrice Muamba Collapses 17th March 2012 Bolton vs Tottenham :

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