Taye Taiwo @ 35: Gifted With Powerful Shots

By Chuks Ekpeneru

Former Nigerian international, Taye Taiwo will always be remembered for his powerful left leg which was a dread for many goalkeepers and footballers who dared to form the defence line!

In fact, the former Marseille and AC Milan star was rated among the top ten marksmen in the world, ahead of the release of Fifa 17 by EA Sports on 29 September 2016.

Taiwo was playing for HJK Helsinki left fullback that year when he was named the eighth best player with the highest shot power and was ranked ahead of Real Madrid star Gareth Bale and Man City defender Kolarov.

Before moving to Europe, he played for Nigeria Division 1 club, Gabros International and Nigeria Premier League side, Lobi Stars where he spent one season.

In 2005, at the age of 20, Taiwo was signed by French club, Olympique de Marseille. Taiwo was brought in to fill the void Bixente Lizarazu had left when he departed for Bayern Munich.

He has also played for AC Milan, Queen’s Park Rangers, Dynamo Kyiv and RoPS Rovaniemi in Finland.

On the international scene, Taiwo found the net five times from 53 appearances for the Super Eagles.

His journey in the Super Eagles ended when he fell out with late coach Stephen Keshi.

The altercation led some to say Keshi was not fit to continue as the national team coach especially after his failure to qualify the country for the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Equatorial Guinea in 2014.

Before then Taiwo was dropped from the African Cup of Nations winning Eagles of 2013.

Outside football, Taiwo has lined up businesses to take care of his future.

The left-back was born on April 16, 1985, in Lagos. He will be remembered for not just his commitment to the Nigerian team, but for his mesmerizing hot shots that sent dread to Nigeria’s opponents.

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