Manchester United ended the 1998-99 season reaching heights no English club had ever or since scaled by winning the ai???Trebleai???. However 1999-00 season began with an essential part missing from this all winning team.
The Great Dane, Peter Schmeichel left the club to join Sporting CP in Portugal at the end of the 1998-99 season causing a huge dent in the hopes of retaining the title. The reserve goalkeeper Mark Bosnich was made the new number 1 but the then Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson felt it was necessary to take a plunge in the transfer market to look for another keeper to increase competition between Mark Bosnich and the reserve keeper Raimond Van Der Gouw.
Massimo Taibi was relatively unheard of at international level but was slowly building his reputation in domestic league which attracted attention of the biggest clubs on the planet. Prior to joining Manchester United he appeared for a host of clubs in Italy, most notably twice at AC Milan. In his first spell at Milan he was not played at all and he moved to Como where he appeared for one season and then moved to Piacenze where he played for 5 season and making 177 appearances. In 1997-98 he moved to his earlier club AC Milan and appeared in half the league matches for them before moving to Venezia for one season. Manchester United paid Venezia, an Italian Serie A side, A?4.5 million to sign their keeper. Adjusted to inflation the price Manchester United paid comes close to A?10 million.
Injuries to Mark Bosnich and Raimond Van Der Gouw soon presented Taibi an opportunity to introduce himself to English football and no stage could be bigger than a match against arch rivals Liverpool. His debut was marked with an error which resulted in goal for Liverpool and also numerous saves. During the match he flapped at a free kick and missed, allowing Sami HyypiAi?? to score but he later made a number of saves, including a one-on-one save from VladimAi??r Ai??micer. The match ended 3-2 in favor of Manchester United thanks to two own goals by Jamie Carragher and Taibi was awarded man of the match for his efforts. He again performed well against Wimbledon earning himself a second man of the match in as many games for Manchester United. United fans can be spared for thinking that all the three goalkeepers would be able to fill the hole left by the departure of Schmeichel.
Then came the match that defines the time Taibi spent at Manchester United. On 25th September, 1999 Southampton turned up at Old Trafford. Going into the second half Manchester United were cruising 2-1. From about 25 yards Southamptonai??i??s striker Matthew Le Tissier attempted a weak shot at goal which Taibi for inexplicable reasons allowed to slip under him. Manchester United fans present behind the goal watched in horror as the ball slowly rolled inside the goal. The ball had not just slipped between Taibiai??i??s hands but also between his legs. The match ended 3-3 and Taibi earned his place in Manchester United folklore. Taibi blamed the goal on wearing wrong studs. The tabloids had a field day at his expense and The Sun called him the ai???Venetian Blindai??? and the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport ran a headline: ai???Taibi, why did you opt to collect the ball in a fashion that left you open to humiliation should you misjudge the speed of the shot?ai??i??
The following match against Chelsea sealed his fate when Manchester United lost 5-0, when one more goal went through his legs and United lost first league match since December, 1998. He was promptly loaned out to Reggina in January, 2000 and the move was made permanent at the end of season for a fee of A?2.5 million. He scored an important goal against Udinese at 87th minute earning his side a 1-1 draw and thus becoming only second goalkeeper to score from open play in Serie A history. Taibi retired from the game at end of 2009 season while playing for Ascoli and in between turned out for Atalanta, and Torino.
In total he played for Manchester United 4 times and conceded 11 goals costing the club a princely A?1 million per game. While it is unfair to judge his time at Manchester United based on just a handful of games, it is fair to say he was not up to the standard required to fill the huge shoes of Peter Schmeichel. Manchester United had such scare recently when David de Gea was signed to replace Edwin van der Saar. But after a disastrous first season Manchester United showed patience with their new keeper and he has repaid the club handsomely, becoming one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Unfortunately for Taibi no such second chance came and fans have unanimously labeled him as the worst player to have turned out for Manchester United during his short stay at the club.
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