Previous Clubs:
Licata, Trento, AC Milan, Como Calcia, Piacenza, AC Milan, Venezia, Reggina (loan)
Debut:
11/09/1999 v Liverpool (A) 3-2 (Premiership)
Farewell:
Transferred to Reggina, 28/08/2000, £2.5m
Passed Away:
Biography
Massimo Taibi was born in Palermo, Sicily, on 18 February 1970. A tall and experienced Italian goalkeeper, he represented Manchester United briefly during the 1999/2000 season after establishing himself during a long career in Italian football.
Taibi began his senior career with Licata before spending the 1989/90 season with Trento. His performances earned him a move to AC Milan, although competition for places prevented him from making a first-team appearance during his initial spell at the San Siro.
After a productive season with Como, Taibi joined Piacenza in 1992. It was there that he established his reputation as a dependable goalkeeper. He helped Piacenza win promotion to Serie A in 1992/93 and regain their top-flight position by winning the Serie B championship two years later. Across five seasons, he made 177 league appearances for the club.
Taibi returned to AC Milan in 1997 and made 17 Serie A appearances during the 1997/98 campaign. He subsequently joined Venezia, where his performances during the following season attracted the attention of Manchester United.
Sir Alex Ferguson needed another goalkeeper following Peter Schmeichel’s departure after United’s historic Treble-winning season. Mark Bosnich had already returned to the club, but injuries and concerns over the goalkeeping position led United to sign Taibi from Venezia on 31 August 1999 for approximately £4.5 million.
Taibi made his Manchester United debut away to Liverpool on 11 September 1999. Despite being caught underneath a free kick for Liverpool’s opening goal, he recovered to produce several excellent saves, including an important one-on-one stop from Vladimír Šmicer. United won 3–2 at Anfield and Taibi was named man of the match.
His Old Trafford debut followed in a 1–1 draw against Wimbledon. Taibi then started against Southampton on 25 September 1999, but the match produced the incident for which his short United career became unfairly remembered. With United leading, a relatively harmless long-range shot from Matt Le Tissier slipped through his hands and legs before crossing the line. The match finished 3–3.
Taibi retained his place for the visit to Chelsea on 3 October. United suffered a disastrous afternoon, conceding after only 28 seconds and eventually losing 5–0. Nicky Butt’s first-half dismissal contributed heavily to the defeat, but Taibi was held responsible for the opening goal after misjudging a long ball.
It proved to be his fourth and final appearance for Manchester United. His record comprised one victory, two draws and one defeat, with seven goals scored and eleven conceded during those matches. Although he remained at Old Trafford for the rest of the season, Mark Bosnich and Raimond van der Gouw moved ahead of him in the goalkeeping order. MUFCINFO records
Taibi later explained that personal circumstances and the difficulty of settling in England affected his time at the club. His wife and family had remained in Italy, and he eventually asked to return home. Although his United career lasted only four matches, his impressive debut at Anfield demonstrated the ability that had made him a respected Serie A goalkeeper.
In January 2000, Taibi returned to Italy with Reggina. He immediately became the club’s first-choice goalkeeper and helped them retain their Serie A status during his first season.
He produced one of the most remarkable moments of his career against Udinese on 1 April 2001. With Reggina trailing late in the match, Taibi went forward for a corner and scored a powerful headed equaliser. He became only the second goalkeeper to score from open play in Serie A, following Michelangelo Rampulla’s achievement for Cremonese in 1992.
After Reggina’s relegation in 2001, Taibi joined Atalanta. He spent four seasons in Bergamo, making more than 130 league appearances and helping the club win promotion from Serie B in 2003/04.
Taibi moved to Torino in 2005 and played an important role as the club secured promotion to Serie A. He later completed his playing career with Ascoli, retiring in January 2009 after more than two decades in senior football.
Following retirement, Taibi moved into football administration. He held recruitment and sporting-director positions with several Italian clubs, including Modena and Reggina. During his period as Reggina’s sporting director, the club won promotion to Serie B in 2019/20.
Massimo Taibi’s Manchester United career was exceptionally brief and became defined by one highly publicised error. That moment, however, represented only a tiny portion of a career in which he made hundreds of appearances in Italian football, earned promotions with several clubs and became one of the very few goalkeepers to score from open play in Serie A.
