The retired Nigeria defender is very critical of his time at AC Milan, claiming he was not chosen despite being better than his Italian counterparts
Former AC Milan defender Taribo West believes he was better than club legend Paolo Maldini, but was treated unfairly by the Italian side.
In one season with the Serie A outfit, the former Nigeria international appeared in just four games, despite his self-proclaimed status as the club's best defender.
West remains bitter about his time at San Siro and has suggested that his short spell with the Rossoneri was a failure because of Maldini's "godfather" status.
"There were three of us, but the coach would pick the Italians even though I was clearly the best," he told Supersport.com.
"In 2000, I played the African Nations Cup with Nigeria and when I returned Maldini was injured. I played the games in his place but I did not get very many.
"I was told clearly that nobody could force out Maldini because he was a godfather in the club."
West was forced to take a seat on the bench while watching Maldini and Alessandro Costacurta start regularly, which the former Inter defender claims was because of their Italian backgrounds.
"Because I had a good relationship with [Inter president Massimo Moratti], I called him to tell him what was going on," he continued. "He told me that at AC Milan this was a normal thing.
"No one could take the place of Maldini. I was in shock. At the time they told so many lies about me because they wanted me out.
"During the four games I played, I was always the best player on the field, yet my contract was not renewed."
Posted: at 23-09-2013 07:26 PM (11 years ago) | Hero
OMG...!!! Taribo are you kidding yourself or kidding me? You were never ever ever better than Maldini and you can never ever be better than Maldini even if you came to this world again as a footballer.. This man should just shut up and go to sleep cos at that time he's claiming to have been the best, non ever could compare to Paolo Maldini even in this present days (Not Puyol and not even Thiago Silva).. Get a life mahn...!!! BRIEF BIOGRAPHY for those interested.
Paolo Maldini is one of the most prestigious and legendary Italian footballers for Milan and the Italian national squad. He played left fullback and central defender and is naturally ambidextrous. He captained both Milan and Italy for several years. He was considered a leader of men having the nickname "Il Capitano" which means "the Captain".
Paolo played his entire career for AC Milan. He spent 6 seasons with the youth squad and 25 seasons with the senior squad (1985-2009). In his first senior season, at the age of 16, he was only in the starting eleven one match, but the following year had a starting role.
In the 1987/1988 season, he won his first Serie A title and scored 2 goals as a defender. In the 1991/1992 season, he won his second Scudetto (Italian Championship) and was a big contribution to Milan's title and undefeated season.
Alessandro Nesta later joined him at Milan, forming a successful partnership in the defensive line, and many believe they are the two best defensive partners in the history of soccer.
In 1994, after winning his third Champions League Title and reaching the World Cup Finals, Paolo Maldini was the first defender to win World Soccer magazine's annual World Player of the Year Award and Ballon d'Or Bronze Award.
Later he made a speech calling these awards "a matter of pride" due to the fact that goal scorers are usually the players who are presented with these trophies.
In the 2005 European's Club Cup final against Liverpool, he scored the fastest goal ever in a European Cup final, which only took him 51 seconds. With this same goal, became the oldest player ever to score in the final.
On February 16 2008, Maldini reached 1,000 senior games with Milan and Italy. He stated to the public that he wanted to reach 1000 appearances for the Rossoneri (AC Milan). He didn't make it, but still had a club leading 902 appearances.
He has been in eight UEFA Champions League finals and has won the trophy five times! At the end of the 2008/2009 season, Maldini announced that he would retire. Milan then went on to retire his number 3 shirt (unless one of his two sons make it to the senior team, as they both play in the youth squad).
Milan Trophies and Honors
In his time at Milan, Paolo Maldini acquired these trophies:
Serie A (7): 1987/88, 1991/92, 1992/93, 1993/94, 1995/96, 1998/99, 2003/04 Coppa Italia (1): 2002/03 Supercoppa Italiana (5): 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2004 European Cup/Champions League (5): 1988/89, 1989/90, 1993/94, 2002/03, 2006/07 UEFA Super Cup (5): 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007 Intercontinental Cup (2): 1989, 1990 FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2007
Posted: at 24-09-2013 08:59 AM (11 years ago) | Gistmaniac
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