There are certain players who people of a certain age all remember using on Football Manager and its predecessor, Championship Manager.
The name Taribo West is synonymous with many fans of Championship Manager 01/02, as he was arguably one of the best free agents in the history of both Championship Manager and Football Manager.
Why was Taribo West so popular in CM 01/02?
In the summer of 2001, West had just left Italian giants Milan and was surprisingly available as a free agent, given his impressive statistics for a player of his calibre.
The defender 20 for bravery and strength, while all his other defensive stats made him a must-have player as soon as you started playing the game.
At the time, Everton were going through one of their many financially difficult periods in recent decades. If you started with the Toffees, then not only did you not have a transfer budget, but you also had a massive debt to clear before you could really operate in the transfer market.
Even then, free transfers were the name of the game when managing Everton, as regular readers know I do on the majority of my FM saves.
Signing a 27-year-old with his stats, even on big wages, was massive, as it gave the team a defensive boost, especially as he could play at centre-back and left-back.
He would be a key player for my Everton team, typically in his early 30s, consistently producing high-quality performances. He would only leave when his stats started to decrease dramatically.
Many football fans of a particular vintage (Like me, old!) may remember West more for his flamboyant hairstyles and his time as a free agent on CM than his real-life football career.
What happened in his real-life career?
Having progressed through the ranks of numerous youth clubs in his native Nigeria, the defender first caught a break in European football when he joined French outfit Auxerre in 1993.
He made 73 appearances in Ligue One. The highlight of his career in France was winning the French top-flight title in the 1995/96 season.
His performances caught the eye of Italian giants Inter in 1997, where he stayed until 1999, making 44 appearances in Serie A. West helped the Nerazzurri win the UEFA Cup in the 1997/98 season. However, he was dismissed in the competition’s final against Lazio. West fell out of favour with Inter. In the January 2000 transfer window, he made the somewhat controversial cross-city move to arch-rivals Milan.
He wasn’t even with the Rossoneri a year before he was on the move again. This time, he joined Premier League Derby County on a three-month contract after making just four appearances for the men from Milan.
West extended his stay with the Rams in January, signing an agreement that would keep him with the team until the end of the season. The Nigerian international helped the Midlands avoid relegation from the English top flight.
The former Inter star left Derby in May, but didn’t join his next club until November, when he joined the then-Bundesliga outfit Kaiserslautern, making ten appearances before exiting the German club in April 2002 due to reported behind-the-scenes issues.
After failing to win a contract at Manchester City following a ten-day trial, West’s next stop was in Belgrade, as he signed for Partisan in January 2003. During his time in Serbia, he made just 23 appearances, although he did win the title.
He ended his playing career with brief spells with Qatari club Al-Arabi, English Championship team Plymouth Argyle, and Iranian outfit Paykan.
During his playing career, Taribo West won 42 caps with the Nigeria national team. The highlight of his career with the Super Eagles was winning the Olympic gold medal at the 1996 games.
He was also part of the Nigerian squad for two World Cups and two African Cup of Nations, including the 2000 edition, where the Super Eagles finished as runners-up to Cameroon.
Always be remembered by CM fans
The fact that so many people still remember him from CM 01/02 shows the power of football’s greatest managerial simulation. Some would argue that his real-life career didn’t quite match his attributes on CM 01/02.
Despite West playing for massive clubs like Inter and Milan, or having played at World Cups, I remember him most from CM, which I suspect is a familiar story for many CM/FM players.
Taribo West, now in his 50s, is a Christian pastor who has reportedly been a devout Christian throughout his life. That makes sense, as for many CM 01/02 players, he was heaven-sent.
Do you remember Taribo West from his playing days or CM 01/02?
