Former Blue Mauricio Taricco, who is back at Portman Road with Brighton this afternoon, is considering retiring from playing again at the age of 38. The Argentinian, who is Gus Poyet’s assistant manager at the Amex, returned to playing in English football after a six-year hiatus last season.
Poyet, who along with Taricco signed a new five-year deal at Brighton yesterday, says even though the full-back’s ability is undiminished, his stamina isn’t what it was in his heyday.
This was illustrated during Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace when the veteran was withdrawn after an hour with his side a goal to the good, the Uruguayan says: "He didn't know and I didn't know if he was able to play the 90 minutes and maybe it was a mistake. We are not worried about accepting that.
"With Tano on the pitch for 90 minutes I think the result would have been totally different and that doesn't mean [his replacement] Romain Vincelot didn't play well.
"Tano didn't lose one ball, he didn't miss one pass. His player didn't go past him once, apart from a foul he made at the beginning of the second half, which shows how he was playing.
"The problem is 90 minutes, not 60, so Tano will make a decision. Probably the big decision is [his] and after we meet if he is going [to decide whether] to keep playing or not, because of course he needs to play 90 minutes."
Skipper Gordon Greer says he loves playing alongside Taricco: "He was fantastic the other night. When he went off we definitely missed him.
"He brings a wealth of experience and he is so calm on the ball. He is a fantastic defender. People don’t really realise how good a defender he actually is.
"To play alongside him makes everything so much easier. It’s just disappointing he had to come off.”
Blues boss Paul Jewell recalls Taricco in a manner which is probably typical of opposing managers: "I remember him being an annoying little so and so! I can’t remember coming up against him with Ipswich but I can when he was at Tottenham.
"He was a right-footed left-back, wasn’t he? He was feisty but they tell me he’s a nice guy off the pitch.
"I met him once at Peterborough and he seemed fine. He and Gus Poyet have done really, really well at Brighton.”
Taricco, who joined Town from Argentinos Juniors for £175,000, was with the Blues between September 1994 and November 1998, scoring seven goals in 169 starts and three sub appearances before leaving for Spurs for £1.775 million.