Massimo Taibi facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 18 February 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Palermo, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1989 | Licata | 1 | (0) |
| 1989–1990 | Trento | 23 | (0) |
| 1990–1991 | Milan | 0 | (0) |
| 1991–1992 | Como | 34 | (0) |
| 1992–1997 | Piacenza | 177 | (0) |
| 1997–1998 | Milan | 17 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | Venezia | 34 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | Manchester United | 4 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | Reggina | 52 | (1) |
| 2001–2005 | Atalanta | 131 | (0) |
| 2005–2007 | Torino | 49 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | Ascoli | 47 | (0) |
| Total | 569 | (1) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Massimo Taibi, born on February 18, 1970, is a former professional footballer from Italy. He was a goalkeeper and played for many different clubs, mainly in Italy's top football leagues like Serie A and Serie B. He also spent a short time playing for the famous English club, Manchester United.
Contents
Massimo Taibi's Football Journey
Starting in Italy
Massimo Taibi began his football career at a club called Licata in 1987. He only played one game there before moving to Trentino in 1989. At Trentino, he became the main goalkeeper and played 23 matches.
After one season, he joined Milan, a very big club in Italy's top league, Serie A, for the 1990–91 season. However, he didn't play any games for Milan that season. Soon after, he moved to Como and played there for the next season.
His career really took off when he joined Piacenza in 1992. He stayed there for five seasons, playing in most of their games until the 1996–97 season.
After his time at Piacenza, Milan bought him back in 1997. This time, he played in about half of the 1997–98 season games. He was a backup goalkeeper to his teammate Sebastiano Rossi. In 1998, Milan sold him to Venezia. In his first season with Venezia, he played almost every game.
Time at Manchester United
In 1999, something exciting happened for Taibi. The main goalkeeper for Manchester United, Mark Bosnich, got injured. Manchester United, who were champions of England and Europe at the time, bought Taibi for £4.5 million on August 31, 1999.
He played his first game for Manchester United against Liverpool. He made a mistake early on, which allowed Liverpool to score. But then, he made some amazing saves. Manchester United won the game 3–2, and Taibi was even named Man of the Match!
Taibi shared the goalkeeping duties with another player, Raimond van der Gouw. Taibi played in league matches, while Van der Gouw played in the UEFA Champions League. However, Taibi made another mistake in a game against Southampton on September 25, 1999. A weak shot from Matthew Le Tissier went right through his legs into the goal. Because of this, some newspapers jokingly called him "The Blind Venetian". He only played one more game for Manchester United, which was a tough 5–0 loss to Chelsea.
Back to Italy
In January 2000, Taibi went back to Italy. He joined Reggina on loan for the rest of the season and played regularly there. After his loan ended, Manchester United decided to sell him. In July 2000, he officially rejoined Reggina for £2.5 million.
On April 1, 2001, Taibi did something incredible! He scored a goal with his head from a corner kick in the 87th minute. This goal helped Reggina draw 1–1 against Udinese. With this goal, Taibi became only the second goalkeeper in Serie A history to score a goal from open play.
After the 2000–01 season, Reggina was moved down to a lower league. Taibi then moved to Atalanta in 2001. In the summer of 2005, he went on loan to Torino and was their main goalkeeper. The move became permanent in 2006, but he became a backup goalkeeper.
In the 2007–08 season, he joined Ascoli. He played 47 matches for Ascoli before he decided to retire from football in 2009.
How Massimo Taibi Played
When he was younger, Massimo Taibi actually played as a centre-forward (a player who scores goals!). His favorite player was Roberto Boninsegna. But later, he changed his position to become a goalkeeper.
He was especially good at saving penalty kicks. He played a total of 292 games in Italy's top league, Serie A. During his career, he saved 12 penalty kicks in Serie A. This makes him one of the top goalkeepers for saving penalties in the league's history!
Achievements
Piacenza
- Serie B: 1994–95 (This means his team won the Serie B league title in the 1994–95 season.)
Manchester United
- Intercontinental Cup: 1999 (This was a big international club competition that Manchester United won with Taibi.)
See also
In Spanish: Massimo Taibi para niños
