Henry: Taribo West was toughest opponent I ever faced

Thierry Henry, the ex-France international, has named Taribo West, former Super Eagles defender, as the “toughest opponent” he ever faced throughout his career.

The 1998 World Cup winner spoke on CBS Sports’ In The Mixer during Tuesday’s Champions League analysis.

Henry and West played against each other in the Ligue 1 when the former was in the books of AS Monaco and the latter in the colours of Auxerre.

The Arsenal and Barcelona icon recounted that due to the man-marking system operated by Auxerre at that time, West would follow his opponents around, “even in the dressing room.”

“Toughest as in direct opponent? Or just a guy you hated to play against? Paul Scholes. For direct opponent, I would go back in the days and say Taribo West,” he said.

“Because (at Auxerre), they did man-marking. He followed you everywhere, even in the dressing room.”

After departing Auxerre in 1997, West went on to play for Inter Milan and AC Milan before his eventual retirement in 2007.

West registered 42 appearances for the Super Eagles between 1994 and 2005.

He was also part of the Nigerian side that won the gold medal in the football event of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.