Taye Taiwo with Marseille in 2008 |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Taye Ismaila Taïwo | ||
| Date of birth | 16 April 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Playing position | Left back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Milan | ||
| Number | 2 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003 | Gabros | ||
| 2004 | Lobi Stars | ||
| 2005–2011 | Marseille | 192 | (17) |
| 2011– | Milan | 4 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2004– | Nigeria | 48 | (5) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 December 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Taye Ismaila Taïwo (born 16 April 1985 in Lagos, Nigeria) is a Nigerian professional footballer who currently plays as a defender for Serie A club Milan. He is well known for his powerful and accurate long shots, and is a dead-ball expert.[1] Taiwo's primary position is left back.
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After spending a year at Nigeria Division 1 club Gabros International F.C., Taiwo was bought by Nigeria Premier League side, Lobi Stars F.C.. He spent one season at Lobi Stars.[1]
In 2005, at the age of 20, Taiwo was signed by French giants, Olympique de Marseille. Taiwo was brought in to fill the void Bixente Lizarazu had left when he departed for Bayern Munich. The Nigerian left back scored Marseille's winning goal against Olympique Lyonnais on 21 March 2010, with a trademark left-footed strike from long range. He also scored Marseilles's winning goal against US Boulogne on 17 April 2010. On Saturday 23 April 2011, Taiwo scored the only goal at the Stade de France against Montpellier HSC to win the 2011 Coupe de la Ligue.[2] After the match, Taiwo grabbed a microphone and joined fans in singing an expletive-laden chant aimed at the club's rivals PSG, narrowly escaping a ban from the LFP.[3]
On 9 May 2011, A.C. Milan coach, Massimiliano Allegri, confirmed the signing of Taiwo along with French defender Philippe Mexes. The two are to play for Milan for the 2011-12 season.[4] He made his debut with the club on 24 September 2011 in the home league match won 1–0 against Cesena where he was eventually replaced by Luca Antonini. Since then, despite the player spending time on the substitutes bench, Taiwo remains committed to the Italian club.[5]
| Club | Season | League | Cup1 | Europe2 | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Marseille | 2004–05 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 39 | 2 | |
| 2006–07 | 38 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 40 | 4 | |
| 2007–08 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 38 | 5 | |
| 2008–09 | 35 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 52 | 4 | |
| 2009–10 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 37 | 3 | |
| 2010–11 | 30 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 41 | 5 | |
| Total | 192 | 17 | 11 | 2 | 48 | 4 | 251 | 23 | |
| Milan | 2011–12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Career total | 196 | 17 | 11 | 2 | 52 | 4 | 259 | 23 | |
Marseille
AC Milan
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Obi Mikel |
CAF Young Player of the Year 2006 |
Succeeded by Clifford Mulenga |
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