Q & A with Taribo West
Taribo West is one of the most flamboyant players to ever play for the Super Eagles.
The 49-year-old who made his debut for Nigeria in 1994 went on to amass 41 caps in an international career spanning eight years.
He was part of the 1996 Olympic men's football team that won Gold for Nigeria at the 1996 games in Atlanta.
He represented Nigeria at several Africa Cup of Nations tournaments as well as the two Fifa World Cups in 1998 and 2002.
He played for some of the most prestigious football clubs in the world like Internazionale and AC Milan and recently took the time to have a heart-to-heart chat with supersport.com.
Supersport.com: Who discovered you?
Taribo West: I was discovered by Monday Sinclair. He was a former Super Eagles coach and also one of the greatest coaches to ever manage (Nigeria Professional Football League club) Sharks.
He drafted me into the Sharks feeder team and that was where I began my football education.
Supersport.com: Which other clubs did you play for in Nigeria before you left for French club, Auxerre?
Taribo West: My playing career domestically was a bit strange because I never spent more than a season at any club.
I began professionally at the now defunct Ibukun-Oluwa which later metamorphosed to Obanta United in 1989. I then went back to Sharks in 1990 after I left the feeder team to join Obanta a year earlier.
In 1991, I joined Enugu Rangers before proceeding to Julius Berger in 1992 which turned out to be the last club I played for professionally in Nigeria before moving to France
Supersport.com: What are the major differences in the Nigerian football league when you played and the current competition?
Taribo West: In those days, it was not referred to as a professional league but things then were a lot more professional than what we have today.
The fans those days were always filling up the stadia and the standard of the football was unbelievably high.
Also great philanthropists with the love of the game at heart like Chief Adewale Teluwo, Emmanuel Iwuayanwu and the late MKO Abiola all invested their money in football clubs in the country.
We had a proper football league then. Those were heady days.
Supersport.com: Why are things not so good now?
Taribo West: Greed and selfishness of the individuals who run our football at present. The structure is not right too. We have a major problem in our football.
Supersport.com: You scored several goals while you played in Europe, which was the best you scored.
Taribo West: It has to be the one I scored for Internazionale (on March 3) 1998 against German club, FC Schalke 04 in the UEFA Cup quarterfinal second leg (at the Parkstadion).
I went for a corner and hit it well. It was a fantastic goal and we went on to win the UEFA Cup that year so that moment will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Kanu Nwankwo (then on the books of Internazionale) played in that game and he told me afterwards that he had seen few goals like that.
Supersport.com: You spent three eventful and highly successful seasons at Internazionale so it was a surprise to many that you played just four league games when you joined city rivals, AC Milan in 1999. What was the problem?
Taribo West: There was stiff competition then for places involving me, Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Costacurta and (Milan coach, Alberto) Zaccheroni chose to go with the Italians even when it was clear that I was the best.
At that time, the Nigeria national team was involved at the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations. I missed part of the season because I was with the Super Eagles at the tournament.
When I came back to Milan from the Nations Cup, Maldini was injured so I duly took over his position in the team. I was fantastic in the games I played in his position but certain persons were not happy and the reaction I received was not pleasant.
I was told that Maldini has a godfather at the club and that no one could just come in and kick him out of the first-team.
I always had a good relationship with (the Inter Milan president, Massimo) Moratti so I discussed my situation with him but he told me what I was passing through was normal at Milan.
Moratti told me that no one could take Maldini's position at Milan and I was shocked.
They told lies against me to force me out of the club. They claimed I had a heart condition similar to that of Nwankwo Kanu but I was able to play four league games and score one goal even from my withdrawn position.
I was man-of-the-match in the four games I played for Milan that season but they refused to renew my contract at the end of the season.
Supersport.com: Those two games against Brazil at the Olympics in 1996 were pretty special. What were the major differences in those two games?
Taribo West: We heard so many stories about the Brazilian stars before the Olympics. Names like Juninho, Dida, Bebeto and Ronaldo sent the fear of God into people in those days. (Laughs)
However, when we met on the pitch, it was a different matter entirely. We realised the players were not as good as they hyped them to be.
In that first game, we were better than them especially in the second half even though we lost 1-0.
We were angry after the game because we knew we were better than them. When we met again in the semifinals, we never stopped believing even when they went 3-1 up.
As soon as we got it to 3-3, we knew we would win and we did.
Supersport.com: You guys still had to be focused against Argentina in the final though…
Taribo West: (Cuts in) Of course, they had pretty special players in that Argentina team. Wonderful players like Diego Simeone, Matias Almeyda, Jose Chamot, Ariel Ortega, Roberto Ayala, Javier Zanetti and Hernan Crespo.
We knew that they would beat us if we were not focused, but we also knew that we had great players in our team too.
We made some mistakes which was why they scored twice but after that win against Brazil in the semifinals, no one was ever going to stop us from taking the gold.
Supersport.com: What happened at Derby County. Why did you spend just one season with the club?
Taribo West: I had a problem with the assistant coach of the team at the time. Derby were at the bottom of the table but with my help we were able to claw our way back from the relegation zone.
However, I had to travel to Nigeria for the final of the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations between the Super Eagles and Cameroon's Indomitable Lions. Derby had an important game against Manchester United in the Premier League at the same time and I missed that game.
That was when my problems with the club began because the assistant coach made a big issue out of it.
I won the player of the year award that year at Derby but they refused to renew my contract because it was felt that I was not committed enough.
That was how I went to Germany to join Kaiserslautern.
I was supposed to join Liverpool that season but the deal fell through as a result of my issues at Derby and the heart problems suffered by the Liverpool Manager, Gerard Houllier.
Supersport.com: You have shared the same dressing room with legends like Roberto Baggio, Paolo Maldini, Javier Zanetti and Diego Simeone. What are these guys like away from the pitch?
Taribo West: (Pauses and breaks into laughter). Those guys were crazy in their prime, all of them.
Some of the things that happened in the dressing room should never be discussed in public (laughs again).
When I was at Inter, we would do crazy things in the dressing room. Female fans would send us nude photos of themselves.
You just had to be focused. Those were fantastic days. I was very good friends with Ivan Zamorano. He is a great human being. We communicated in French language.
Supersport.com: Around that period, your compatriot, Kanu was diagnosed with a heart defect. What role did you play in supporting him?
Taribo West: He was very depressed but believed he would play again. He is a very strong-willed person.
After the operation, he came back to the team. I stood by him and acted like an elder brother to him. We spent a lot of time together and I was sad when he left for Arsenal.
Kanu is a gift to the world of football. He is a destiny child.
Supersport.com: I was among the millions of Nigerians shocked when the Super Eagles lost to Denmark at the 1998 Fifa World Cup in France. What really happened in that game?
Taribo West: Our fitness level was not right before that game. After the 1997/1998 season, most of us 'took the time off' to go and have fun.
We believed we were superstars that could 'turn on the engine' whenever we liked.
The adrenaline carried us through in our first two games at the tournament (wins against Spain and Bulgaria) but finally against the super-fit Danes, we were badly exposed.
We tested fate and suffered for it. We felt we had long seasons with our different clubs and wanted some time off. It was a mistake.
Our coach at the time, Bora Milutinovic could have done more to curb the excesses.
Supersport.com: There has been so many versions of the problems that engulfed the Nigeria squad at the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations in Mali. What transpired there?
Taribo West: There were too many selfish people around the team. Many people did not want our coaches at the time; Amodu Shuaibu and Stephen Keshi to take the team to the Fifa World Cup later that year.
They said Amodu and Keshi were too immature to coach at the World Cup finals.
Some of these people lobbied their way to see the sports minister at the time (Late Ishaya Mark Aku). People were not happy that we had reached the semifinals of the competition.
A delegation arrived at our camp in Mali from Nigeria and ordered that our flight ticket fares be slashed.
Some of us who had tickets of $2,000 USD had our tickets slashed to $700 USD. Those who had tickets of $1,500 were slashed to $500 USD. It was a shocking situation.
Also some players in the team were contacted to work against other players. It was one of the saddest moments in the Super Eagles.
(Former national team coach) Adegboye Onigbinde was one of such persons who came in from Nigeria to work against the team in Mali.
He came to Mali under the instructions of some highly-placed individuals to work against the success of the team.
Onigbinde was rewarded with the job of national team coach after the Nations Cup.
Supersport.com: You were not happy with this?
Taribo West: How could I when he had no business coaching the team at the World Cup. His training methods were shocking. They were very outdated.
They dropped a lot of experienced players who gave their blood and sweat to see us get to the World Cup and filled up the team with inexperienced rookies.
Before our last group game against England at the 2002 World Cup, they called for a meeting among coaches, officials and the players.
Austin Okocha and Kanu refused to speak up but I was not afraid and I asked them why they left out Sunday Oliseh, Tijani Babangida and Finidi George and other senior players in the team.
They then banned me from playing for the national team because I spoke the truth.
Supersport.com: Thanks for your time, Taribo.
Taribo West: Anytime, Sammy.