An ode to Taribo West: CM legend & Henry’s ‘toughest opponent’

A list of some of the defenders Arsenal legend Thierry Henry faced during his career includes Paolo Maldini, Fabio Cannavaro, Carles Puyol and Jaap Stam.

All monsters of the game, who helped define the art of defending during their careers, but none were selected as the toughest opponent Henry ever faced.

Instead, the French forward claimed another defender gave him his toughest examination. “For direct opponent, I would go back in the days – Taribo West,” Henry said.

“Because [at Auxerre], they did man-marking. He followed you everywhere, even in the dressing room.”

Taribo West. Just the mere mention of his name brings back fond memories of Championship Manager 01/02 – a cult footballer for a cult game.

Any manager worth their salt would start proceedings by doing the following: Load Game. Choose Club. Search free transfers. Sign Taribo West.

And whatever the defender lacked in pace and finesse, he more than made up with his hard-tackling, commitment and surging forward runs. Coupled with an eye-catching haircut, West was a must-have.

In an era where defenders are wannabe Beckenbauers, here was a player who simply relished getting stuck in. Andrei Kanchelskis would testify to that.

It’s Taribo West’s birthday, so here he is removing Andrei Kanchelskis from his ankles.

Tackling 20.pic.twitter.com/GGP2iH8FFB

— A Funny Old Game (@sid_lambert) March 26, 2021

But there was more to West’s career than Championship Manager acclaim. After all, Cherno Samba is conspicuous by his absence from conversations about the best forwards of the 2000s.

Whereas West played across Europe, including spells at both Milan clubs, and became a household name across the world due to his impressive performances for Nigeria at France ’98.

It was in