| Intro | Nigerian footballer |
| A.K.A. | Taye Ismaila Taïwo |
| Is |
Athlete Football player Association football player |
| From | Nigeria |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth |
16 April 1985, Lagos |
| Age | 35 years |
| Star sign | Aries |
Taye Ismaila Taiwo (born 16 April 1985) is a Nigerian professional footballer who last played as a defender for HJK Helsinki.
Club career
Lobi Stars
After spending a year at Nigeria Division 1 club Gabros International, Taiwo was bought by Nigeria Premier League side, Lobi Stars. He spent one season at Lobi Stars.
Marseille
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. The Nigerian left back scored Marseille’s winning goal against Olympique Lyonnais on 21 March 2010, with a trademark left-footed strike from long range. He also scored Marseille’s winning goal against US Boulogne on 17 April 2010. On 23 April 2011, Taiwo scored the only goal at the Stade de France against Montpellier HSC to win the 2011 Coupe de la Ligue. After the match, Taiwo grabbed a microphone and joined fans in singing an expletive-laden chant aimed at the club’s rivals PSG, narrowly escaping a ban from the LFP. However, Taiwo received a one-match ban for his action, missing out on the last games of the season, which could have been his last match and since apologised. Though keen to sign a contract with the club, Taiwo announced that he would leave Marseille at the end of the 2010-11 season, to seek new challenge elsewhere.
Milan
On 9 May 2011, A.C. Milan coach, Massimiliano Allegri, confirmed the signing of Taiwo along with French defender Philippe Mexès. The two were to play for Milan for the 2011–12 season. He made his debut with the club on 24 September 2011 in the home league match won 1–0 against Cesena where he was eventually replaced by Luca Antonini. In December 2011, Taiwo made an interview for the French sports newspaper L’Équipe where he said that he was disappointed with his current experience at A.C. Milan, commenting on problems with Massimiliano Allegri and on the fact that he wasn’t playing. Despite the player spending much time on the substitutes bench, Taiwo iterated that he remained committed to the Italian club.
Queens Park Rangers
On 24 January 2012, Queens Park Rangers secured the signing of Taiwo from AC Milan on a loan deal until the end of the season, with the option to buy for a fee of around £3.5 million. After making a move to QPR, Taiwo said he was expecting to make an impact at the club, rather than sitting on the bench. He made his debut on 1 February against Aston Villa in Birmingham, in a match which ended 2–2. After making two appearance at Queens Park Rangers so far, Taiwo claimed that he would stay at QPR. He scored his first goal for QPR through a fantastic executed curling effort from a free kick 27 yards out in a 3–1 defeat against Sunderland on 24 March 2012.
Dynamo Kyiv
On 31 July 2012, Taiwo joined Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv on a one-year loan deal with the option of making the move permanent at the end of the season.
Bursaspor
On 5 July 2013, Taiwo signed a three-year deal with Turkish side Bursaspor. He was linked with a move to the Premier League by joining newly promoted club Cardiff City, but opted to move to Turkey. On 1 August 2013, Taiwo scored on his Bursaspor debut, in a 2–2 draw Vojvodina in the first leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie. On 27 April 2015, Taiwo mutually agreed to have his contract terminated with Bursaspor.
HJK
On 23 August 2015, Taiwo joined HJK for the remainder of the season with an option for a one additional year. In October of the same year, HJK exercised their option of keeping Taiwo under contract for the 2016 season. Taye Taiwo called time on his playing career with HJK after their final league game against SJK on the 23rd of October, 2016.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 17 July 2016
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other1 | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Marseille | 2004–05 | Ligue 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2005–06 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | — | 41 | 2 | |||
| 2006–07 | 38 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 41 | 4 | |||
| 2007–08 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | — | 40 | 5 | |||
| 2008–09 | 35 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | — | 52 | 4 | |||
| 2009–10 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 37 | 3 | |||
| 2010–11 | 30 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 5 | ||
| Total | 192 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 48 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 256 | 23 | ||
| Milan | 2011–12 | Serie A | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Queens Park Rangers (loan) | 2011–12 | Premier League | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 1 | ||
| Dynamo Kyiv (loan) | 2012–13 | Vyshcha Liha | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 10 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | ||
| Bursaspor | 2013–14 | Süper Lig | 27 | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | — | 37 | 3 | ||
| 2014–15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 27 | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | — | 37 | 3 | ||||
| HJK | 2015 | Veikkausliiga | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 8 | |||
| Total | 28 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 35 | 8 | |||
| Career total | 286 | 26 | 18 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 66 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 382 | 36 | ||
- 1 Includes Trophée des champions
International
| Nigeria | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005 | 2 | 0 |
| 2006 | 8 | 1 |
| 2007 | 9 | 3 |
| 2008 | 12 | 0 |
| 2009 | 4 | 0 |
| 2010 | 7 | 0 |
| 2011 | 9 | 1 |
| 2012 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 53 | 5 |
Statistics accurate as of match played 29 February 2012
International goals
- As of 15 November 2014
| No | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 23 January 2006 | Port Said Stadium, Port Said, Egypt | Ghana | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2006 Africa Cup of Nations | |
| 2. | 6 February 2007 | Griffin Park, London, England | Ghana | 1–3 | 1–4 | Friendly | |
| 3. | 17 June 2007 | Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niamey, Niger | Niger | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |
| 4. | 20 November 2007 | Letzigrund, Zürich, Switzerland | Switzerland | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly | |
| 5. | 9 February 2011 | Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria | Sierra Leone | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
Honours
Club
- Marseille
- Ligue 1: 2009–10
- Coupe de la Ligue: 2010, 2011
- Trophée des Champions: 2010
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2005
- Milan
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2011
Individual
- 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship Bronze Ball
- Confederation of African Football Young Player of the Year: 2006
- Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2008, 2009, 2011
- Africa Cup of Nations: Team of all Tournaments