Taye Taiwo (born 16 April 1985) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a left-back.
Having been in the ranks of Gabros International and Lobi Stars, Taiwo moved to France and joined Marseille in 2005, where he had a successful spell at the club, winning one Ligue 1, two Coupe de la Ligue and one Trophée des Champions. Taiwo then joined Serie A side Milan in the summer of 2011. Rarely used, he left the Italian side after two seasons, following two loan spells in Queens Park Rangers and Dynamo Kyiv.
Club career Olympique de Marseille
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Taiwo began his football career at Nigeria Division 1 club Gabros International and Nigeria Premier League side, Lobi Stars. On 10 January 2005, at the age of 20, Taiwo moved to France when he was signed by French club, Marseille, signing a three–year contract, with a reported transfer fee costing 200,000 euros. Taiwo was brought in to fill the void Bixente Lizarazu had left when he departed for Bayern Munich. At the end of January, Taiwo officially moved to the club.
On 12 March 2005 manager Philippe Troussier called him to the first team and made his debut for Marseille, starting a match and played 61 minutes before being substituted, as the club won 2–1 against RC Lens. After the match, Foot Marseille said about Taiwo's performance: "For his debut in White, this athletic Nigerian started well with a goal ball for Luyindula and a few good interventions then seemed completely lost on the pitch never knowing how to position himself. His second half confirmed these incredible mistakes. He will hardly be able to do worse but given his age and his physique, he will surely speak of him better, much better." After sitting for the next six matches due to competitions from fellow left–back players Salomon Olembé and Kōji Nakata, Taiwo went on to start the remaining three matches of the 2004–05 season, as the club went on to finish fifth place in the league. At the end of the 2004–05 season, he went on to make a total of four appearances in all competitions for the side.
2005–06 season
Ahead of the 2005–06 season, Taiwo was linked a move to Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven, with a player exchange involving Lee Young-pyo moving to the opposite direction, but Marseille's president Pape Diouf dismissed the move from happening. The transfer speculation ended when he signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him until 2009. Taiwo started the season well when he established himself in the first team, playing in the left–back position. Taiwo then scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–2 win against BSC Young Boys in the first leg of the UEFA Intertoto Cup's third round. In the return leg, he set up the winning goal for Samir Nasri, in a 2–1 win to send the club progress to the next round. Taiwo later helped Marseille win the Intertoto Cup after beating Lazio and Deportivo de La Coruña. On 14 August 2005 he scored his second goal for the club, in a 1–1 draw against Lyon. Taiwo played in both legs of the UEFA Cup first round against Germinal Beerschot and helped Marseille win 4–1 in the penalty shootout after playing in a 0–0 draw throughout the combined minutes of 210 minutes, in which he successfully converted in the shootout. After serving a one match suspension, Taiwo scored on his return to the starting line–up, in a 1–0 win against Heerenveen on 24 November 2005 to help Marseille qualify for the UEFA Cup knockout stage. After missing the whole January due to his international commitment, he returned to the starting line–up against Toulouse on 12 February 2006 and helped the club keep a clean sheet, in a 1–0 win. Following his return, Taiwo continued to regain his first team place, playing in the left–back position. After serving a one match suspension once again, he scored on his return to the starting line–up in the semi–finals of the Coupe de France against Rennes and helped Marseille keep a clean sheet, in a 3–0 win to reach the Coupe de France Final. Eight days later on 29 April 2006, Taiwo started in the final against Paris Saint-Germain, as the club lost 2–1. At the end of the 2005–06 season, he made fifty appearances and scoring four times in all competitions.
2006–07 season Ahead of the 2006–07 season, Taiwo's performances at Marseille and African Cup of Nations attracted interests from European clubs. But he wanted to stay at the club. Taiwo started the season well when he played in both legs of the UEFA Intertoto Cup against Dnipro, as the club won on away goals rule following a 2–2 draw in the return leg. However, Taiwo was sent–off for a straight red card in the 4th minute against Young Boys in the UEFA Cup Qualification Round, as Marseille won on away goals rule following a 3–3 on aggregate. He then helped the club keep four consecutive clean sheets in the first four league matches for the side. On 17 September 2006 Taiwo scored his first goal of the season in a 2–1 win against Bordeaux. He then scored his second goal of the season in the return leg of the UEFA Cup first round against Mladá Boleslav, as Marseille lost 4–2 on aggregate. Three days later on 1 October 2006, Taiwo scored his third goal of the season, in a 3–0 win against Toulouse. However, he was sent–off for a straight red card in the 56th minute, as the club lost 4–1 against Lyon on 22 October 2006 and served a two match suspension as a result. Taiwo returned to the starting line–up against FC Lorient on 4 November 2006, as Marseille lost 1–0. Following his return from suspension, he continued to regain his first team place, playing in the left–back position. On 24 January 2007 Taiwo scored his fourth goal of the season, in a 3–1 win against Auxerre. He then helped the club progress through Coupe de France, eventually reaching to the final. In the final against Sochaux, Taiwo started the whole game throughout the 120 minutes following a 2–2 draw and was the first penalty taker to successfully convert in the penalty shootout, as Marseille lost 5–4 in the shootout, therefore losing another final. At the end of the 2006–07 season, he went on to make 47 appearances and scoring four times in all competitions.
2007–08 season Ahead of the 2007–08 season, Taiwo continued to be linked a move away from Marseille, with European clubs, especially Valencia interested in signing him. He started in the opening game of the season against Strasbourg and helped the club keep a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw. After being dropped for the next two matches, Taiwo returned to the starting line–up against Nancy on 19 August 2007 and set up Marseille's first goal of the game, in a 2–2 draw. He continued to regain his first team place, playing in the left–back position. Taiwo then made his UEFA Champions League debut against Beşiktaş on 18 September 2007 and kept a clean sheet, in a 2–0 win. However, in a match against Saint-Étienne on 6 October 2007, he was sent–off for a second bookable offence, in a 1–0 loss and served a two match suspension as a result. After serving a two match suspension, Taiwo returned to the starting line–up against Lorient on 3 November 2007 and was then substituted at half time as the club drew 0–0. This led him to being dropped to the substitute bench after his performance received criticism from supporters and media alike. On 28 November 2007 Taiwo returned to the starting line–up for Marseille and scored his first UEFA Champions League goal, in a 2–1 loss against Beşiktaş. He then started the next five matches for the rest of the year before being called up by Nigeria for the African Cup of Nations. While on international duty, Taiwo was linked a move away from the club following the new signing of Juan Krupoviesa, but he made it clear that he wanted to stay at Marseille. Following the end of the tournament, on 10 February 2008, he returned to the first team, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 win against Nice. Three days later on 13 February 2008, Taiwo scored his second goal of the season, in a 3–0 win against Spartak Moscow in the first leg of the UEFA Cup third round. This was followed up by scoring against rivals, Paris Saint-Germain, as the club won 2–1. Two weeks later on 6 March 2008, he captained the club for the first time against Zenit Saint Petersburg in the first leg of the UEFA Cup Last 16 and set up Marseille's first goal of the game, in a 3–1 win. Three days later on 9 March 2008, Taiwo scored his fourth goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against Saint-Étienne. On 27 April 2008 he scored again, in a 3–2 win against AS Monaco. Since returning from his international commitment, Taiwo regained his first team place, playing in the left–back position for the rest of the season. It was announced that both he signed another contract extension in April 2008, keeping him until 2011. For his performance, Taiwo was named Trophées UNFP du football's Team of the Year. At the end of the 2007–08 season, he made forty appearances and scoring five times in all competitions.
2008–09 season At the start of the 2008–09 season, Taiwo made his 100th appearance for Marseille in the opening game of the season against Rennes and set up Marseille's third goal of the game, in a 4–4 draw. He played in both legs of the UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round against Brann, as Marseille won 3–1 on aggregate to qualify for the Group stage. Taiwo continued to regain his first team place, playing in the left–back position for the club. During a 2–1 loss against Atlético Madrid on 1 October 2008, Taiwo was subjected of a racist chant from the opposition's supporters. On 1 November 2008 he scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–1 win against Saint-Étienne. Taiwo then captained the club for the first time this season against Besançon RC in the first round of Coupe de France, scored the equalising goal and played 120 minutes following a 1–1 draw, in which he successfully converted in the penalty shootout, as Marseille won 5–4 in the shootout to go to the next round. During a 1–0 loss against Sochaux on 1 February 2009, Taiwo was at fault when he conceded the only goal of the game. After the match, Manager Eric Gerets criticised his performance. Taiwo made amends of his performance by helping the club keep five clean sheets in the next five matches between 8 February 2009 and 7 March 2009. He then played in both legs against Twente in the third round of the UEFA Cup and played combined minutes of 210 minutes following a 1–1 draw on aggregate, in which he successfully converted in the shootout, as Marseille won 7–6 on penalties. Taiwo then scored twice for the side, in a 4–1 win against Grenoble on 12 April 2009. However, he suffered a groin injury during a 2–1 loss against Shakhtar Donetsk in the return leg of the UEFA Cup quarter–finals, resulting in the club's elimination from the tournament, and was sidelined for three weeks. On 13 May 2009 Taiwo returned to the starting line–up against OGC Nice and set up Marseille's second goal of the game, in a 2–0 win. The club were unsuccessful to win the league, as they finished second place behind Bordeaux. For his performance once again, he was named Trophées UNFP du football's Team of the Year for the second time in his career. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Taiwo went on to make fifty–two appearances and scoring four times in all competitions.
2009–10 season