SOCCER: France's Rio Antonio Mavuba is aware of Roy Keane's reputation for being combative but insists he will give as good as he gets, writes Matthew Spiro.

Rio Antonio Mavuba's rise from the Bordeaux reserves to the full France side has been so dramatic he is likely to be pinching himself to make sure he's not dreaming when he walks on to the Stade de France pitch for Saturday's crucial World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland.

After all, it was only earlier this year that the 20-year-old midfielder, confirmed last night by France manager Raymond Domenech as part of the starting line-up against Ireland, nervously prepared to make his league debut for Bordeaux against Montpellier.

"It's all happened very quickly," sad Mavuba yesterday, before looking anxiously over his shoulder as a cluster of eager journalists at France's Clairefontaine training centre made their way towards him. "I've never played at the Stade de France before and I have to admit it's something I've dreamed about ever since I was little. It will be a very special occasion."

Mavuba's sudden emergence is all the more astounding given his humble beginnings.

Born on a boat off the coast of West Africa as his mother fled war-torn Angola to set up home in France, Mavuba never even met his late father, a professional footballer who represented his country, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A difficult youth in the south-west of France was helped greatly by Bordeaux, who signed the stocky midfielder at a young age. His athleticism, skill and endurance soon saw him marked out by scouts and coaches as a special talent.

"He makes the same kind of runs that Jean Tigana did when he was a youngster," commented former France defender Marius Tresor, who is on the Bordeaux coaching staff. "He also sprays the ball around with the same panache, though maybe loses possession less often than Tigana did."

Mavuba had already represented the Democratic Republic of Congo at under-21 level when Domenech, then coach of the France under-21s, invited him to play for France in the Toulon tournament in June. The hosts went on to lift the youth trophy and Mavuba was voted player of the tournament.

"That tournament made me think for the first time that maybe I did have enough talent to play for France," Mavuba said.

Domenech obviously felt he did, and selected him for the full France side in his first game in charge, a friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina in August. After a lively and productive opening 20 minutes, Mavuba's influence faded and he was substituted at half-time.

"I was not disappointed to go off because I considered the fact that I was even out there to be a fantastic achievement," he said. "It was a great experience, and considering what a step up it was I thought I did okay."

The French Federation set about acquiring official papers for Mavuba so that he would be eligible to participate in France's World Cup campaign, and while they could not get them in time for the Israel and Faroe Islands games, all is now in place.

"I'm proud to be officially classed as French," he said, "and now that is all sorted I want to concentrate on the football. People are always asking me questions about my past and not about football."

Mavuba is not yet used to giving interviews - which is not surprising considering he has played fewer than 30 matches for Bordeaux - but nonetheless carries himself with impressive maturity and appears unflustered by the prospect of going head-to-head with Roy Keane on Saturday.

"I know he's one of the best midfielders in the world and I have a lot of respect for him, but he doesn't scare me," Mavuba insisted. "I'll just play my natural game, play the way I play every Saturday."

When asked to comment on the physical nature of Keane's game, he replied nonchalantly: "But that's the advantage of playing in our position. We get to give out more kicks than we receive."

With Patrick Vieira's suspension compounding the midfield problems France are experiencing in the wake of the retirements of Zinedine Zidane and Claude Makelele, the pressure is on Mavuba and his central partner, Olivier Dacourt, to rise to occasion on Saturday.

Mavuba, though, is taking a philosophical approach. "The media are putting us under pressure," he said. "They expect too much from a side that has changed enormously over a short period.

"We know we're not going to start sweeping past teams straight away, which is why we're setting ourselves our own realistic targets. The most important thing is that we keep our feet on the ground."

After the whirlwind year that Mavuba has had, that will surely be no easy task.