3. Massimo Taibi – Venezia to Manchester United, 1999
Via goal.com
You’ve probably heard advice something along the lines of, “Don’t go grocery shopping on an empty stomach.” Well, in soccer, the comparison is don’t go goalkeeper shopping with an empty bench.
Unfortunately, in 1999, Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United were forced to do just that. After the retirement of legendary Peter Schmeichel, and injuries to both Mark Bosnich and Raimond van der Gouw, Ferguson had to go emergency goalkeeper shopping.
Starting quality goalkeepers are hard to buy, especially after the season has already started. The best that Ferguson could find was Italian Massimo Taibi. The Serie A journeyman was starting for Venezia at the time, but the Italian side shrewdly agreed to sell him to United for 4.5 million pounds.
Taibi made only 4 appearance for the Red Devils, which included a 3-2 win against Liverpool in which he muffed a free kick, a 5-0 loss to Chelsea, and a 3-3 tie against Southampton in which he let a weak shot roll underneath him. The papers began calling him the “Blind Venetian”, a clever play on words meant to disgrace and undermine him.
After being signed in August, Taibi was loaned back to Italian side Reggina for the remainder of the season. In July 2000, Taibi was sold to Reggina for 2.5 million pounds, a net 2 million pound loss in less than a season for Manchester United.
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