Tai Baribo doesn’t know much about the MLS All-Star Game yet, but he’s happy he’s going
“I heard it’s a big honor," Baribo said as he prepared to head to Austin, Texas, where he'll join Lionel Messi and other stars to face the All-Stars from Mexico's Liga MX on Wednesday.
Tai Baribo was already in a good mood when he found out he’d been named to this year’s MLS All-Star Game. He was told upon returning from being stuck in Israel amid war, greeted at the airport by Union staff and presented with a commemorative jersey.
But as he prepared for Wednesday’s showcase against the All-Stars from Mexico’s Liga MX in Austin, Texas (9 p.m., free on Apple TV), he had an admission to make.
Asked before he left what he thought the experience would be like, he said, “I don’t know.”
Such is life sometimes when an international player in the league earns his first selection.
“I think I will figure it out, because it will be my first time,” Baribo said. “I heard it’s a big honor to be one of the players for the All-Star [game], and it’s a big honor for me. … I’m looking forward to this, obviously.”
Between Wednesday’s game and the raft of events before it, figuring the thing out shouldn’t take too long. Baribo will team up with some of the league’s biggest names, including Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, Real Salt Lake’s Diego Luna, and San Diego FC’s Hirving “Chucky” Lozano.
It isn’t always easy to play a full-scale game when players are dropped into a team together. But there will be some familiarity with players from Eastern Conference rivals, and this time, Baribo will get to run alongside them instead of at them.
“It will be special for sure — obviously Messi,” he said. “You need a good connection if you want to create more chances, but the level there is really, really high. Amazing players, so yeah, I’m waiting to play with them.”
Baribo is one of 30 players picked for the honor, and one of 12 voted in by fans. Twelve more were picked by Austin FC manager Nico Estévez, who will coach the team as the hometown host, including Union centerback Jakob Glesnes; then two were picked by MLS commissioner Don Garber.
Some changes happened after that due to transfers and injuries, one of which led to Union left back Kai Wagner getting called in as a replacement on Sunday. (Plenty of people thought he should have been picked from the start, but Miami’s Jordi Alba won the fan vote and Columbus’ Max Arfsten was Estévez’s were chosen as backup.)
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Baribo said he got some early advice from Glesnes about what the week will be like.
“He told me a little bit about it,” Baribo said. “We will arrive on Sunday, Monday will be training, but it’s two days after a game so probably we will not train so hard. It’s more about the honor, he told me — it’s a really big honor to be there. I asked him a lot of questions, because I’m a curious guy and I want to know.”
He’s also a deserving guy. Baribo’s 14 goals in regular-season games this year have him No. 4 in the league’s scoring charts, behind Messi (18 goals), Nashville’s Sam Surridge (18), and FC Cincinnati’s Evander (15).
It’s been just over a year since Baribo suddenly went from barely playing to starting. His scoring tally this year has already almost tied last year’s total of 16 in all competitions.
“It was one year, but it felt like two years,” he said. “A lot of things happened, but life can change from the worst to the best. … When I didn’t play, I continued to work hard, continued to believe in God and myself, and I was waiting for the opportunity, and I knew that when the opportunity [came], I needed to take it.”
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