Mauricio Taricco
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mauricio Taricco (born March 10, 1973 in Buenos Aires) is a retired Argentine footballer.
Taricco began his football career at Argentinos Juniors in Buenos Aires in 1993, but after only one season at the club he was transferred to Ipswich Town F.C. in England.
Taricco's career in English football began in 1994 at twenty-one years of age. He made his debut against Bolton Wanderers F.C. in a league cup match, which Ipswich loast 0-3. He stayed at Portman Road until 1998. In his time at the club he became a fans' favourite, making one hundred and eighty-nine appearances and scoring seven goals, including a screamer against Manchester United.
He transferred to Tottenham Hotspur in 1998, becoming George Graham's first signing at the club. Taricco was a regular in the first team for much of the time he spent at the club. His debut came against Wimbledon which ended goalless, with his full debut against Middlesbrough also ending in a 0-0 draw. He went on to make one-hundred and fifty-eight appearances for Spurs, scoring two goals.
He left them in 2004, after falling out of favour at the club. West Ham manager Alan Pardew signed him on a free transfer and stated he was very pleased Taricco was at the club. However, his West Ham career was short lived, as he tore his hamstring twenty-seven minutes into his debut against Millwall F.C.. Taricco then, bizarrely, offered to have his contract with the club cancelled which the club accepted. He consequently announced his retirement from football, at the age of thirty-one.
