Mauricio Taricco

Mauricio Ricardo Taricco (born 10 March 1973) is an Argentine football coach and former professional footballer who is assistant coach at French side Bordeaux.

Both were represented by FIFA agent, Marcelo Houseman, brother of 1978 FIFA World Cup champion René Houseman.

Taricco made his debut in a League Cup match which ended as a 3–0 home loss against Bolton Wanderers, playing the whole match in his sole appearance of the season, which saw Ipswich Town relegated from Premier League.

Taricco, whose father was Italian and hailed from Sardinia, was as a full-back capable of playing as right or left back who initially played from 1993 to 2004.

He began his career in his native Argentina for Argentinos Juniors before transferring to England where he spent the next 10 years representing Ipswich Town, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.

He suffered a hamstring injury on his debut for West Ham and agreed to cancel his contract after the game, retiring from professional football.

Taricco began his football career at Buenos Aires club Argentinos Juniors, coming through the club's famous youth team to make his first team debut in 1993.

After only one season in the first team, he moved to English side Ipswich Town.

In September 1994, Taricco joined Ipswich Town for around £150,000 after then Ipswich Town manager John Lyall looked for new players in South America.

He was signed alongside Uruguayan Adrián Paz, who played at Estudiantes de La Plata.

On 26 August 1995, Taricco played his first league match under manager George Burley, who replace Lyall midway in the previous season.

The match against West Bromwich Albion ended 0–0.

He quickly made an impression as a solid defender blessed with immaculate passing ability and considerable attacking flair, and he went on to make 47 appearances that season.

Early in the 1996–97 season, Taricco scored his first goal for Ipswich Town in a 5–2 win over Reading.

His club finished in 4th place in the 1996–97 First Division, only to be beaten by Sheffield United on away goals in the 1997 First Division play-offs semifinal.

He further endeared himself to his fans by leaving the Portman Road pitch in tears after the elimination, playing a total of 53 matches during the season.

and his second on 8 March 1997 in a 1–0 away win over Stoke City.

His talent earned him the 1997 Ipswich Town F.C. Player of the Year, receiving the award in 18 April, just before a match against rivals Norwich City.

Taricco confirmed his popularity by scoring in that match, which ended in a 2–0 win for Ipswich Town.

In the 1997–98 season, Taricco made another 53 appearances for Ipswich Town, reaching the quarter-finals in the 1997–98 Football League Cup before losing to Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out after a 2–2 draw in regular time, in which Taricco scored.

He also scored in the 2–0 win against Manchester United in the previous round.

Ipswich Town again reached the First Division play-offs after finishing 5th, but lost twice to Charlton Athletic in the semifinals.

That season, Taricco was named in the PFA Team of the Year.

Taricco continued his good form at the start of 1998–99, which included a spectacular goal following a run from inside his own half against Crystal Palace on 3 October 1998.

He caught the attention of Tottenham Hotspur, whose bid of £1.775m Ipswich found impossible to refuse.

His final game for the club turned out to be a 2–0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 3 November 1998, when he was stretchered off in the last few minutes.

He played a total of 137 league matches, scoring 4 goals.

Taricco was about to be signed by Tottenham Hotspur on 5 November 1998, but a knock to his ankle in his last match delayed the transfer in some weeks, in a deal worth £1.75 million, becoming George Graham's first signing at the club.

He did not take part in the 1998–99 Football League Cup triumph since he was cup-tied.

Taricco earned a regular starting role as left-back with Justin Edinburgh nearing the end of his Spurs career and Paolo Tramezzani failing to impress.

His Premier League debut came on 16 January 1999 against Wimbledon in a goalless draw, with his full debut being again a 0–0 draw on 6 February 1999 against Coventry City.

Taricco ended his first season with 13 league appearances.

He played a total of 29 league matches in the 1999–2000 season.

In the summer of 2000, after Ben Thatcher was signed as left-back option, Ipswich Town tried to sign Taricco back, but the deal was rejected.

The Argentinian played only five times in the 2000–01 season, being sidelined for most of the season due to injuries.

He returned as a starter in the following season as a right-back, filling in for the injured Stephen Carr and playing 30 Premier League matches in the season, even though he missed five matches for consecutive sending offs against Manchester United and Chelsea in March 2002.

Taricco also played in the 2002 Football League Cup Final where his side lost to Blackburn Rovers.

He later playing for lower league Italian side A.S. Villasimius and Castiadas before later joining Brighton & Hove Albion as an assistant manager to Gus Poyet in 2009.

He also resumed his professional football career in the 2010–11 season before retiring for the second time at the end of the 2012–13 season.

He would go on to follow Poyet to Sunderland, AEK Athens, Real Betis, Shanghai Shenhua and Bordeaux during the following seasons.