Taribo West (born 26 March 1974) is a Nigerian

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

and former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender. He is best remembered for his various unusual and colourful hairstyles. After winning several major trophies with

Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

in French football, West went on to play for both

Milanese Milanese (endonym in traditional orthography , ) is the central variety of the Western dialect of the Lombard language spoken in Milan, the rest of its metropolitan city, and the northernmost part of the province of Pavia. Milanese, due to t ...

clubs,

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

and

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

. He also appeared in the top-level leagues of England and Germany. At international level, West was capped 42 times for

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

between 1994 and 2005, taking part in two

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

s and two African Championships. He also represented his country at the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, winning a gold medal.

Club career

Early years

Born in

Port Harcourt Port Harcourt (Pidgin: ''Po-ta-kot or Pi-ta-kwa)'' is the capital and largest city of Rivers State in Nigeria. It is the fifth most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano, Ibadan and Benin. It lies along the Bonny River and is locate ...

, West was discovered by Monday Sinclair, who recruited him to play for

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

. He started playing professionally with Obanta United in 1989, before returning to Sharks in 1990. West then played for

Enugu Rangers Rangers International Football Club, commonly known as Enugu Rangers, is a Nigerian professional association football team founded in 1970. Based in Enugu, the Rangers play their home games at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium. Enugu Rangers are one ...

in 1991, before joining Julius Berger in 1992.

Auxerre

Following successful trials in early 1993, West joined French side

led by Guy Roux. He was on the bench during a 2–2

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

draw against

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

on 15 September 1993, but failed to make his debut. West eventually played his first competitive game for the club in a 0–0 away league draw at

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

on 5 March 1994. He became a first team regular in the following season, making 31 appearances in all competitions. In the 1995–96 season, West helped Auxerre win their first league title in the club's history, alongside such players as

Laurent Blanc Laurent Robert Blanc (; born 19 November 1965) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back and is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad Club (J ...

and

Sabri Lamouchi Sabri Lamouchi (born 9 November 1971) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. During his 19-year playing career, Lamouchi played for clubs in France, Italy and Qata ...

, among others. They also won the national cup, thus collecting the double. West subsequently made seven appearances in the 1996–97 UEFA Champions League, as the club was eliminated in the quarter-finals by the eventual champions

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

Inter Milan and AC Milan

In June 1997, West was transferred to Italian side

, on a four-year deal. He made his competitive debut for the club in a 1–0

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

victory over

Foggia Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...

on 3 September 1997. Subsequently, West scored his first goal for Inter in a 2–1

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

win against

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

on 9 November 1997. He also scored the extra time winning goal against Schalke 04 in the 1997–98 UEFA Cup quarter-finals. Eventually, Inter won the competition led by Ronaldo and Iván Zamorano, with West being sent off in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

. In the next season, West made 21 league appearances, as the club missed securing a spot in

UEFA competitions UEFA competitions (), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur association football and futsal. Th ...

. He failed to make any appearance in the 1999–2000 season, being three times an unused substitute. In the 2000 winter transfer window, West switched to Inter's crosstown rivals

. He made his debut for the club on 24 March 2000, coming on as an injury time substitute for

Andriy Shevchenko Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (, ; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian former Manager (association football), football manager and Football player, player. Shevchenko is considered one of the greatest Striker (association football), strik ...

in a 2–0 win over

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

. On 14 May 2000, West managed to score his only goal for Milan in a 4–0 victory over Udinese.

England and Germany

In November 2000, West moved to English club Derby County, on an initial three-month loan. He made his debut for the Rams on 18 November 2000, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 home league win over Bradford City which was Derby's first league win of the season. In January 2001, West signed an extension to stay with the Derbyshire side until the end of the 2000–01 season. He helped the team avoid relegation, making 18 appearances, as Derby won 31 out of their 42 total points with him in the lineup. In May 2001, West eventually left the club because his "international commitments". In November 2001, West joined German club

1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern (), K'lautern or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to Association football, football ...

on a free transfer. He made his debut for the team in a 5–1 home league win over St. Pauli on 17 November 2001, starting the match and earning a yellow card in the process, before being substituted in the 81st minute. In April 2002, West was released by the club due to their "total disagreement". He made a total of 10 league appearances in the 2001–02 season. In August 2002, West trained with English side

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

for 10 days. He eventually failed to get a contract due to lack of fitness.

Partizan

On 24 January 2003, it was announced that West would join the reigning FR Yugoslavia champions Partizan under newly appointed manager

Lothar Matthäus Lothar Herbert Matthäus (; born 21 March 1961) is a German association football, football pundit and former professional player and manager. He captained Germany national football team, West Germany to victory in the 1990 FIFA World Cup and was ...

. He arrived in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

for the final negotiations with the club five days later. On 30 January 2003, West signed an 18-month contract with Partizan. He made his official debut for the club on 1 March 2003, playing the full 90 minutes in a 4–2 home league victory over Radnički Obrenovac. West scored his first goal for Partizan in a 4–0 home league win over

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

on 7 May 2003. Eventually, the club convincingly won the 2002–03 First League of Serbia and Montenegro title. Subsequently, West was one of the most influential players on the way to helping Partizan reach the group stage of the

2003–04 UEFA Champions League The 2003–04 UEFA Champions League was the 12th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League, since its rebranding from the European Cup in 1992, and the 49th tournament overall. This was the first UEFA C ...

, eliminating

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

on penalties in the third qualifying round. He managed to record three appearances in Group F, despite missing numerous games in the first half of the 2003–04 season due to injuries. In February 2004, West left the club by mutual consent.

Later years

In August 2004, West signed a one-year contract with Qatari club Al-Arabi. He scored his only goal for the side in a 1–1 away league draw at Al-Wakrah on 4 November 2004. West subsequently returned to England, penning a one-year deal with Plymouth Argyle in July 2005. He made his debut for the club on 27 August 2005, picking up a yellow card in a 1–0 loss to Hull City. West appeared in only five games for Plymouth, before his contract was terminated in October 2005. In January 2007, West was close to signing with Croatian club

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

, but failed his medical. He eventually moved to Iran and signed a one-year contract with Paykan in August 2007. West 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

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

side Xerez, but the club's president denied any knowledge of the player's arrival.

International career

West was a member of the Flying Eagles at the 1993 African Youth Championship. He then went on to earn 42 full international caps for

, making his debut in a 3–1 loss to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

on 5 May 1994. West was also a member of the Olympic squad that won the gold medal at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. He played every single minute of the tournament. Two years later, West was named in the 22-man squad for the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

, together with Jay-Jay Okocha,

Nwankwo Kanu Nwankwo Kanu (born 1 August 1976) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was a member of the Nigeria national team, and played for Nigerian club Iwuanyanwu Nationale, Dutch side Ajax, Inter Milan of Italy, a ...

, and others. They reached the second stage of the tournament, but were eliminated by

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in the round of 16. In the

2000 African Cup of Nations The 2000 African Cup of Nations was the 22nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria, who jointly replaced Zimbabwe as host. Just like in 1998, the field ...

, West played the full 90 minutes in all of Nigeria's games in the competition, as they finished runners-up to

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. He also represented his country in the tournament's 2002 edition, finishing in third place. Additionally, West was a member of the team at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

. He made two appearances in the " Group of Death", as Nigeria finished bottom of the table, behind Sweden,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. After the tournament, Nigeria coach Festus Onigbinde blamed West for the team's failure, stating that the player "flouted' his instructions. In January 2004, West suffered an injury during the team's training session that ruled him out of the

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

. He returned to the national team on 17 August 2005, making his final appearance for the Super Eagles in a friendly against

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Style of play

Primarily a centre-back, West was a physically commanding and powerful defender. He was known for his ball-winning abilities, commitment, and hard-tackling style of play, as well as his forward surging runs.

Personal life

Religion and beliefs

A devout

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, West admittedly used charms before games during his professional career as a footballer. He eventually became a

after his footballing days. In 2014, West founded a church called "Shelter in the Storm Miracle Ministries of All Nation" in Lagos.

Age controversy

In 2010, it was reported that West and other Nigerian internationals, such as Jay-Jay Okocha,

and

Obafemi Martins Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins (born 28 October 1984) is a Nigerian former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. After leaving Nigeria for Italy at age 16, he played for a number of L ...

, were much older than they claimed to be. In April 2013,

Žarko Zečević Žarko Zečević ( sr-Cyrl, Жарко Зечевић; born 19 January 1950) is a Serbian retired basketball player, former football administrator, and current businessman. Known by his widely used nickname Zeka, he is most notable as the contr ...

, former Partizan general secretary, said that West is 12 years older than his claimed age. Shortly afterwards, West denied the accusation.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Auxerre *

French Division 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de Football Professio ...

: 1995–96 *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

: 1993–94, 1995–96 Inter Milan *

: 1997–98 Partizan *

First League of Serbia and Montenegro The First League of Serbia and Montenegro () was the top Association football, football league of Serbia and Montenegro, before the country's dissolution in 2006. The league was formed as the First League of FR Yugoslavia following the breakup of ...

: 2002–03 Nigeria U23 *

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Nigeria *

Afro-Asian Cup of Nations The Afro-Asian Cup of Nations, also called the AFC Asia/Africa Challenge Cup, was an intercontinental football competition endorsed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), contested between repr ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

runner-up:

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

; third place:

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

References

External links