who had stated his desire to play in Italian football during his Tottenham Hotspur tenure, joined amateur Sardinian club AS Villasimius in 2005, who then competed in Eccellenza Sardinia, in the fifth tier of Italian football. He stayed at the club for four years before joining Castiadas, who also played at Eccellenza Sardinia, on 6 August 2009. In November 2009, he left Castiadas in order to become assistant manager to Gus Poyet, his former teammate at Tottenham Hotspur, at English team Brighton & Hove Albion. Brighton & Hove Albion Despite joining Brighton & Hove Albion as assistant manager, Taricco returned to professional football after almost six years from his last professional appearance starting at left-back for an FA Cup clash against Woking on 16 November 2010, with Brighton & Hove Albion winning the game on penalties. He was sent off for a second bookable offence after 105 minutes. Taricco also played four league matches as Brighton & Hove Albion won the 2010–11 Football League One title. After playing less than an hour in a 3–1 defeat against Crystal Palace on 27 September 2011 and not featuring in the playing squad against his former club Ipswich Town, Taricco announced his retirement from professional football on 3 October 2011, only to come back out of retirement weeks after when he played against Birmingham City on 29 October. He was sent off again, this time receiving a straight red card, during the 3–0 away defeat to Championship League leaders Southampton on 19 November. Taricco played his last match in a 3–0 win against Southampton on 2 January 2012. Coaching career On 10 November 2009, it was announced that Taricco would be assistant manager to Gus Poyet at English team Brighton & Hove Albion. During his spell, he also played 15 league matches after being away from professional football for six years. When manager Poyet left the club in June 2013, Taricco also left his position. On 8 October 2013, Taricco joined Sunderland, again as assistant manager to Poyet. When Poyet was sacked on 16 March 2015 after a poor run of results, Taricco also left the club. Taricco followed Poyet at AEK Athens when the Uruguayan has been named manager of the Greek club on 30 October 2015. After Poyet was hired by Real Betis on 9 May 2016, Taricco joined the Spanish club as assistant manager. On 29 November 2016, Taricco joined