Taribo West: Nigeria’s Rock-Solid Defender!

Taribo West is a Nigerian former professional footballer who hailed from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and played as a defender.

Born on March 26, 1974, he represented the Nigerian national team, Super Eagles, in the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups where he proved his mettle as a rock-solid defender.

West is also known for the various unusual and colourful hairstyles that he sported over the years before retiring from the game that brought him great fame and honour for the country.
Club career

West began his football career with Sharks of Port Harcourt in 1991 before moving over to Julius Berger of Lagos where he featured prominently during the 1992/93 season.

He later moved to France in January 1993, spending four and half years at Auxerre and was part of a successful team that won the league championship and two French Cups.

His superlative form at the rear of Auxerre’s defence line stood him out, as Serie A club Internazionale came calling for his services.

West grabbed the opportunity with both hands as he played a vital role in capturing the UEFA Cup in 1998 with Inter.

However, West later found himself at the centre of heated transfer speculation at the end of the 1998–99 season following clashes with former Internazionale coach Mircea Lucescu.

As soon Marcello Lippi took over Internazionale, it became apparent that West had to leave.

After many months of talks with various clubs, including Newcastle United, Liverpool, Ajax and Juventus, West joined Inter's cross-town rivals A.C. Milan, and made just 4 appearances in his sole season there.

He also helped Milan to secure a berth in the following season's UEFA Champions League.
As providence had it, West spent brief spells with Derby County where he was a hugely influential performer for The Rams. He also played in Germany for top club, Kaiserslautern.

From records, West was again playing the spotlight of Europe when he was acquired by Partizan from Serbia. With Partizan, West played a crucial role in defence under then manager Lothar Matthäus and helped Partizan get to the Champions League group stage, where they were drawn in a group with Real Madrid, Porto and Marseille.

After that, in early August 2004, he signed a one-year contract with Al-Arabi Sports Club.

From Al-Arabi Sports Club, on July 5, 2005, West was on the move again as he was signed up by Football League Championship side Plymouth Argyle, but only made four appearances.

In August 2005, Derby County fans sent shirts to West's hometown in Nigeria in a campaign backed by BBC Radio Derby.

On August 18, 2007, it was getting clearer that West’s career was waning as he signed a one-year contract with Iranian club Paykan. He failed to make a start with the club, having his contract terminated by mutual consent only three months later.

In February 2008, West reportedly claimed to be joining Spanish Segunda División club Xerez, but the club's president denied any knowledge of his arrival.

In April 2013, a shocking revelation emerged from Zarko Zecevic, former president of Partizan Belgrade, who claimed that when West joined the club, he said he was 28 years old, but was in fact 12 years older. As expected, West denied the accusation.

International career

West was capped 41 times by the Nigerian national team, Super Eagles, and played in the 1998 (all matches and minutes). He also made two appearances at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by Japan/Korea

One of the highlights of West’s career was his involvement with the Dream Team that captured the men’s Olympic soccer gold at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.


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